How many birds should we have?
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A third of North America’s birds have vanished
461–470 of 901 posts
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#462Like almost every other goddamn problem we face, the solution is boring as hell: campaign finance reform. If politicians actually represented their constituents, they would be able to effect the policy changes required. But they don’t, because campaign finance is broken, allowing the richest, most blood-sucking elements of society to have the biggest influence. If you have the opportunity to vote for someone who beli…
I don't think it's actually that simple. Let's imagine money's out of the picture. How many people are eager to keep their homes at 78 degrees? That's just one tiny example of many but I think in your heart of hearts you know that many people will resist every small step tooth and nail. On this very forum I've seen people muse about starting a civil war because California put certain efficiency standards on computer…
To what extent does 78 degree homes impact climate change? The answer is very little if we had leadership that pushed zero carbon energy production (nuclear, wind, solar) instead of being bought and paid for by fossil fuel industries
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#463Earlier quoted context omitted.
Could we add electoral reform to the list? We need to introduce competition in our political system. People deserve the right to vote for who best represents them, while still counting their vote if that candidate doesn't win. The First Past the Post electoral system most states use will always result in a two party system. Since the electoral process is run at the state level, we can pass electoral reform one state…
How do you expect electoral reform to happen, when the people elected were elected because of the current electoral system? Meaningful electoral reform via the current electoral system is a wish.
This is why some political ideologies advocate that reform will never happen without revolution
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#464Earlier quoted context omitted.
We at most did things like run a mill on a river. Now compare the megawatt output of a proper modern hydroelectric project and say it isn't much energy. Imagine a society side stepping coalburning and going right to big hydro projects. Even something like a forest specifically grown and cultivated for energy is a relatively new idea, and doesn’t require any real technology even beyond understanding systems theory.
Big hydro requires ungodly amounts of reinforced concrete, labor (to dig millions of cubic meters on earth) and transportation capacity (gotta transport that concrete on site - hard to do with ox-powered carriages on unpaved roads). I can't see say Louis the XIV's France ever pulling that off.
Despite this, dams and other monumental architecture as well as complicated water management controls were built in ancient times all over the world.
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#465Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
a quick google search tells me that there are 75 million feral cats in the usa, far more than any other country - by area or population or any way you want to measure it
This seems like a number that would never be accurate no matter where you look. Either way, you just don’t see cities coated in cats like you do in Europe. Like dozens and dozens of cats up on a roof is a very common sight when you start exploring especially Mediterranean cities. Cats visiting you multiple times as you sit outside at cafes. Hotel and resort feral cat populations that the workers know by name at this point. I’ve seen it all. There’s just nothing like it in the US. Maybe in Key West at hemingways old home, I’m told.
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#466Earlier quoted context omitted.
a quick google search tells me that there are 75 million feral cats in the usa, far more than any other country - by area or population or any way you want to measure it
This seems like a number that would never be accurate no matter where you look. Either way, you just don’t see cities coated in cats like you do in Europe. Like dozens and dozens of cats up on a roof is a very common sight when you start exploring especially Mediterranean cities. Cats visiting you multiple times as you sit outside at cafes. Hotel and resort feral cat populations that the workers know by name at this…
I have no idea if it’s accurate, but would suggest that if it isn’t, then neither is the number of birds they supposedly kill a year
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#467But the science of bird study was advancing, and a close-knit group of scientists was experimenting with using radar imagery, satellite photos, and citizen science to add precision to the dozens of conventional bird counts done for groups of species.
Curious how this determines the total bird population today vs the last 50 years without a whole lot of speculation and estimation based on ___________.
Is the author assuming that when a wooded area is cleared to make a pasture, the birds just vanish? Is the author assuming there are no tree lines or hedgerows surrounding pastures? Is there an assumption that fields don't have an abundance of seeds? What exactly is citizen science? This kinda sounds like a problem formulated to generate more study/grants.
The end is neigh.
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#468Earlier quoted context omitted.
I didn't say anti-social. And what do you call displacing hundreds of birds, animals, plants, insects by planting literally wastelands made of grass just so that the grass can be looked at? How is that not narcissism, a lack of empathy, and vanity? It's the very definitions of those words. We must first come to terms with what we as humans do and how we interact with and perceive the world. Look up Benjamin Vogt and…
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Yikes - you can't attack other users like this on HN and we ban accounts that do, so please don't.
If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#469Earlier quoted context omitted.
I completely agree and in no way do I like what we are collectively doing to this planet. I try to live a pretty minimal life and limit my impact on the environment. But the fact is that we seem hell-bent on running the planet for our own gain and it would take a miracle at this point for us to pull out of the tailspin, even if we actually had the will. I can only speak to the people I've engaged with in the US and p…
Once you've established that and, luckily, don't fall into the camp of the ones who don't give a damn and just profit. How do you cope? It's a very depressing thought that puts in perspective absolutely everything, including reproduction.
That's a great question and really the ultimate trick. For me the situation is oddly a bit of optimism and hope in an otherwise totally screwed up system. I find peace in the idea that the planet will go on one way or another, if we humans cause too much damage it will get rid of us like a bad cold and move on.
That can absolutely be depressing as well, but that's where I have to remind myself that the environment functions on the scale of thousands of years rather than decades. This planet and the life on it is an absolutely amazing thing, and amazingly resilient. I hope we can pull out of this nosedive so that we can continue to see what humans come up with, but I rest assured that we can't literally destroy the planet and that "the end" for us will be well down the road.
In the meantime, I just try to do my part to minimize my impact and partner with nature rather than fight it. I want to enjoy my life, and for me part of that is pushing myself to the point of some frustration and discomfort. I live in a small house with simple utilities and hope to have it off grid soon. Yes I still have a car and buy some things from Amazon or the grocery store, but I do without when I can and at least a few times a week I get annoyed that I don't have more storage in my tiny house. I figure if I'm feeling a bit of that pain I must be doing something right and can better enjoy the good parts of life.
Re: A third of North America’s birds have vanished
#470The estimate is about 200 species go extinct every day from the actions of human beings -- ecosystem destruction, degredation, climate change etc. We are a meatgrinder to the biosphere.
the biosphere is a meat grinder. nature is scary
Does nature even exist anymore? Even remote areas often have roads or hiking paths carved through, or huts to sleep in. Or worse, they are dumping sites of plastic.
The concept of nature as someone 2000 years ago might have imagined it is consigned to history. There's just spaces between towns.