ABC NSW news report last night showed that the Cowan lake system, part of the murry darling riverine system, one of the largest in Australia is drying up due to extraordinarily high temperatures and irrigation. Birds have already began to decline in numbers and many will die if the lake dries out this summer as it is expected to do. This requires the intervention of both state and federal governments to implement measures to conserve the integraty of such important ecological systems, too big for individual wildlife organizations to manage alone.
Here in SA the ABC reported a decline of around 60% in the number of birds in the Murray-Darling system. While drought cycles & their accompanying booms & busts have been a normal part of the Australian environment nevertheless heed needs to be taken of the human interference factor. It's highly likely that, as well as irrigation, climate change is increasing the intensity of these cycles. So far, as a nation we're not serious about dealing with these threats to not only the environment but also ourselves. I fear that by the time the pain is severe enough for the nation to be motivated to do something about it (e.g., reduce water waste, re-introduce a meaningful carbon tax) it will be too late & our civilization will have suffered immensely. Civilizations long gone have provided us with models of what not to do. We're ignoring these models at our peril.
Ok, so the animals and their habitat are at the mercy of politicians who don't even know the meaning of the word habitat. They are totally responsible for the degradation of the environment and the countless deaths of animals. If this is the case then why do we keep going to the polling booth and voting for these politicians when we could show them our disapproval of their environmental management skills by not voting for them at all. Why do we keep leaving it at the incompetence and whims of such politicians. Surely there must be more intelligent people out there who can organize and manage environmental issues better than them.
For Australian birds, natives=life, exotics=death, so do them a favour and go plant some natives and save their lives.
Sadly, doubelbar, I fear that the majority of people aren't interested in the environment. Further, because of increased urban encroachment on natural habitats, an increasing majority of people are becoming divorced from the natural environment. Alas, in a democracy the majority won't make connections between the environment & their well-being & be motivated to make changes until it's in extreme pain. If then. And by then it'll be too late. That shouldn't mean that people who do make these connections shouldn't act to change things. We need as much as possible of the natural environment to remain so that at least there'll be a resource for regeneration when the crunch comes. But it does take a long term view, something sadly lacking at the moment.
Sound gloomy? Nah! It's just the natural process of events. Keep punching, folks.