Greedy Birds
One of the central tenets of the greens, though not often actually enunciated, is that humans are the only species that are greedy and exploitative and often overuse natural resources to such levels that they lead natural stocks to extinction. According to this sentimental view, animals live in harmony with each other and with Nature and never overexploit any resource, sharing the goodies with other members of the ecosystem that they share.
While this may fit in with the image of the ugly human, it does not square with facts. Less sentimental environmentalists have suspected this all along and now there is definite evidence to show that a bird species has overfished in the Baltic Sea to the extent that the survival of several fish species has become endangered.
This story started in the 1950s when the greater cormorant (which can often be seen near Indian water bodies, drying out its wings, was protected by the Governments adjacent to the Baltic Sea in order to prevent their extinction. This led to a great increase in their populations and they even colonized Estonia which had not been part of their range in historical times. During this same time, fishing was banned in the Baltic Sea, so that humans did not deplete the fish resources. It has been shown that over a period from 1995 to 2005, the numbers of fish in the Baltic Sea have declined precipitously and the cause is overfishing by the cormorants. Now there is a programme in place to control bird numbers to prevent the fish population from disappearing altogether.
This puts paid to the theories of some romantic environmentalists that humans are the root of all extinction and resource depletion. It appears that given the chance, birds and animals do the same! This is not to encourage human greed, but just to point out that we are not alone in our desire to have the best of everything!!!
While this may fit in with the image of the ugly human, it does not square with facts. Less sentimental environmentalists have suspected this all along and now there is definite evidence to show that a bird species has overfished in the Baltic Sea to the extent that the survival of several fish species has become endangered.
This story started in the 1950s when the greater cormorant (which can often be seen near Indian water bodies, drying out its wings, was protected by the Governments adjacent to the Baltic Sea in order to prevent their extinction. This led to a great increase in their populations and they even colonized Estonia which had not been part of their range in historical times. During this same time, fishing was banned in the Baltic Sea, so that humans did not deplete the fish resources. It has been shown that over a period from 1995 to 2005, the numbers of fish in the Baltic Sea have declined precipitously and the cause is overfishing by the cormorants. Now there is a programme in place to control bird numbers to prevent the fish population from disappearing altogether.
This puts paid to the theories of some romantic environmentalists that humans are the root of all extinction and resource depletion. It appears that given the chance, birds and animals do the same! This is not to encourage human greed, but just to point out that we are not alone in our desire to have the best of everything!!!
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