There were two items of news that I heard recently relating to conservation. The first was the News that in Rwanda and DR Congo, there has been ten newly born Mountain Gorillas. While on the face of it that sounds like good news, I know that in many natural systems that is unusual. Also having been a big fan of the work that Dian Fossy did, and the project, I also knew that in Gorilla troops such a spike in numbers of births seems to be triggered by a fall in numbers. As the Mountain Gorilla is limited to the territory of the mountain, a greater abundance of food could not be the reason.
So I looked a little deeper. While the war(s) have prevented some of the poaching, the troops or fighters have been killing gorillas for bush meat. So while this boost in numbers is welcome news, the boost to the numbers may just be to raise the numbers to previous levels.
The other item of news was regarding the Emperor Penguin. This was rather an alarmist piece as it was reporting that the Emperor Penguin could be extinct by the end of this century. This is based upon the fact that breeding numbers at the main breeding site has fallen from three thousand pairs to four hundred pairs. However while that sound really bad, it appears that at least some of the birds may have relocated as a result of the melting ice shelves. The picture is not as clear as the reports would have us believe.
Both are endangered, but looking beyond the reports the picture is much more complex. It is the way the media seems to think that everything has to be reported in simplistic terms. That may be the lack of understanding by the reporter, but often it seems that the media just want to cut complex stories or issues down, to make them not simple but simplistic. However what is significant about both species is that they are endangered and are further endangered by Climate Change.
As I was writing this last night I had to stop as a thought crossed my mind regarding climate change, and it struck me that it has been the medias attempt to over simplify the issue of Climate Change. Even today, the papers are full of the news that in Britain we are due to have a cold snap that makes this the coldest winter for thirteen years. While they were not explicitly saying so, there was the implication that it proves that Climate Change is not happening.
Even with a stable climate there would be variations in the weather from one year to another. Therefore, having one cold spell does not mean that CC is a myth. What makes this so dangerous is that people are influenced by these press reports, and unless everyone is willing to help solve the problem then tackling the dangerous climate change that is happening will be even more difficult than it needs to be.
I wish I knew the solution to all this, but I do not. I am most sorry for the future generations that will not see the many species that will be lost in the coming century.
So I looked a little deeper. While the war(s) have prevented some of the poaching, the troops or fighters have been killing gorillas for bush meat. So while this boost in numbers is welcome news, the boost to the numbers may just be to raise the numbers to previous levels.
The other item of news was regarding the Emperor Penguin. This was rather an alarmist piece as it was reporting that the Emperor Penguin could be extinct by the end of this century. This is based upon the fact that breeding numbers at the main breeding site has fallen from three thousand pairs to four hundred pairs. However while that sound really bad, it appears that at least some of the birds may have relocated as a result of the melting ice shelves. The picture is not as clear as the reports would have us believe.
Both are endangered, but looking beyond the reports the picture is much more complex. It is the way the media seems to think that everything has to be reported in simplistic terms. That may be the lack of understanding by the reporter, but often it seems that the media just want to cut complex stories or issues down, to make them not simple but simplistic. However what is significant about both species is that they are endangered and are further endangered by Climate Change.
As I was writing this last night I had to stop as a thought crossed my mind regarding climate change, and it struck me that it has been the medias attempt to over simplify the issue of Climate Change. Even today, the papers are full of the news that in Britain we are due to have a cold snap that makes this the coldest winter for thirteen years. While they were not explicitly saying so, there was the implication that it proves that Climate Change is not happening.
Even with a stable climate there would be variations in the weather from one year to another. Therefore, having one cold spell does not mean that CC is a myth. What makes this so dangerous is that people are influenced by these press reports, and unless everyone is willing to help solve the problem then tackling the dangerous climate change that is happening will be even more difficult than it needs to be.
I wish I knew the solution to all this, but I do not. I am most sorry for the future generations that will not see the many species that will be lost in the coming century.
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