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A third of North America’s birds have vanished

nautil.us

431–440 of 901 posts

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as far as i can tell, every part of this comment is fabricated. grackles are not invasive in texas, nor have they driven other birds to near-extinction, neither were they brought in by hitchcock, neither was the film produced in texas. where did you get this idea?

This is common knowledge where I live (in Texas.) Hollywood studios have a lot of power to change the "facts" that are on the Internet, and to shove truth down the Memory Hole.

i have lived in texas my entire life and i have never heard anything like this bro

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#435
post #114
post #35

One thing I dislike the most about these problems – and the information/media/activism around them – is the "solutioning". Yes, we should recycle and reduce carbon emissions and learn to live in a more integrated fashion with earth. But the problem is so diffuse and requires substantive work against powerful forces (government, business, apathy). What I'd like to see more of, when presented with these sorts of proble…

Individuals cannot solve this. I leave trees up, dead or alive. I plant native plants. I remove invasive species. I only keep invasive bushes if they house birds. I don't spray for insects except around the base of my house, I don't kill off chipmunks, voles, squirrels, rabbits, etc. How can this compete with the dozens of neighbors in a half-mile radius that have removed in excess of hundreds of trees, big ones like…

No person can solve this. Techno-optimist HN won’t believe me now, but we’re living through the Collapse of the civilization right now. Ukraine, banks, covid, climate change and all else are merely symptoms of human population overshoot. See https://medium.com/@CollapseSurvival/overshoot-why-its-alrea...

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#436
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Individuals cannot solve this. I leave trees up, dead or alive. I plant native plants. I remove invasive species. I only keep invasive bushes if they house birds. I don't spray for insects except around the base of my house, I don't kill off chipmunks, voles, squirrels, rabbits, etc. How can this compete with the dozens of neighbors in a half-mile radius that have removed in excess of hundreds of trees, big ones like…

> How can this compete with the dozens of neighbors in a half-mile radius that have removed in excess of hundreds of trees, big ones like oak, pine, maple, hickory and up to five feet in diameter, and turn their yards into grass wastelands? I never even see my neighbors use most of their yards. How do you compete against that level of narcissisim and lack of empathy? Moving might be an option. There are places where…

I don't think the issue is whether GP lives next to neighbors with these kind of lawns, but more that the relative proportion of bird-hostile yards is outpacing any individual attempt to counterbalance. Moving only solves the problem if the only thing you care about is the extent to which you, personally, are forced to see one of the causes of this population drop in your daily life. It doesn't address the problem itself, which is kind of also GP's point.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#437
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Individuals cannot solve this. I leave trees up, dead or alive. I plant native plants. I remove invasive species. I only keep invasive bushes if they house birds. I don't spray for insects except around the base of my house, I don't kill off chipmunks, voles, squirrels, rabbits, etc. How can this compete with the dozens of neighbors in a half-mile radius that have removed in excess of hundreds of trees, big ones like…

I think it might have something to do with feral and outdoor cats killing 1.4-3.7 billion birds per year in the US alone. [1] Individuals can do something here I wager, between education and taking responsibility by spaying and neutering. It’s pretty wild to me that cats aren’t mentioned at all in this article since they’re absolutely massacring wild birds. They’re the leading cause of both bird and small mammal deat…

Cats in europe are even worse. You go to certain cities and there are thousands of strays lying on the roads and roofs, populations seemingly sustained by dumpster diving, rats, plus plenty of restaurant owners or workers straight up feed the cats regularly. There are seemingly no catch and fix programs like in the US.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#438
post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you believe that the American people, by focusing on change via government, have been sufficiently effective in preventing a forthcoming (or probably currently underway) environmental collapse?

Do you believe a majority has tried what you’re suggesting? I think the answer is no. Nevertheless, over a trillion dollars will be spent over the next ten years on incentives to make our country carbon-neutral because enough people turned out to vote in 2020 to secure a slim majority of federal legislative seats to affect such a change. https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/the-us-is-po... . Here’s another…

Right, or you can just start doing it on your own, per my original suggestion.

Government is useless and f*cks up nearly everything it touches. People need to do it themselves now.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#439
post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, no one cares about the planet, and rightfully so. The planet will be fine. It's humankind that's at stake.

> The planet will be fine. It's humankind that's at stake. This is oft repeated, but it fails short of anything meaningful. The planet, as in a rock floating around in space, will be fine, yes. But what about the untold amount of species of plants and animals that are suffering and will continue to suffer in our wake?

All of life comes at the cost of other life, whether it be a human or a wolf or a kudzu vine.

Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished

#440
post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you believe a majority has tried what you’re suggesting? I think the answer is no. Nevertheless, over a trillion dollars will be spent over the next ten years on incentives to make our country carbon-neutral because enough people turned out to vote in 2020 to secure a slim majority of federal legislative seats to affect such a change. https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/the-us-is-po... . Here’s another…

Right, or you can just start doing it on your own, per my original suggestion. Government is useless and f*cks up nearly everything it touches. People need to do it themselves now.

Good luck!
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