- Effects of habitat destruction
- Human caused extinctions
Bird Kill Resources
Monday, December 6, 2010
Wings Without Us
"In a world without humans, what will be left for birds? What will be left of birds? Of the more than 10,000 species that have coexisted with us, ranging from hummingbirds that weigh less than a penny to 600-pound wingless moas, about 130 have disappeared." (Weisman, 2007) While the numbers, only about 1% of all species, may not strike immediate emotion for the birds, it's not the amount of birds that have gone extinct, it's how. In 2005 there were 175,000 towers that were required to have lights on top of them because of their height. The blinking lights attract birds during inclement weather, thus killing an estimated half billion birds a year. (Weisman, 2007) Other man-made bird killers include, cell phone towers, windmills, electrical wires and towers, insecticides, DDT, windows, and automobiles. "Although technological advance has been blamed for a variety of ills, its most obvious and long-lasting consequence has been the alteration and even the destruction of the natural environment. For most of human existence people left the environment pretty much as they found it. But beginning with sedentary agriculture and accelerating with industrialization, the use of new technologies has at times left a ruined environment as its legacy. And there is a strong possibility that environmental problems will worsen as more nations make greater use of industrial technologies." (Volti, 2009) There continues to be a line between technology and our environment. I think it is important to study how technology has changed our environment, for better or worse. The example of birds being killed by such a variety of man-made technologies is a great place to start in the classroom. Other topics that could relate to this chapter would be
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