Oklahoma Prairie Country

The Bush administration seems to refuse to admit that global warming is a reality. They feel that taking steps to reverse this process will cost too much with respect to jobs. This is a very short-sighted view and will jeopardize future generations. Scientists already have data to indicate the rise in ocean levels and the loss of land areas. Fortunately we have a new administration coming into power in January. It appears that the Obama administration will be much "greener" and more in tune to the needs that will hopefully save this planet, if that is at all possible.

Our weather patterns have changed. Consider the record number of tornadoes north and east of "Tornado Alley." Iowa is flooding and the majestic Mississippi River is miles wide in places due to the rising water level and the breach of levees. The excess water will be traveling south into the Gulf of Mexico, but not without creating havoc along the way. In 2005 it was announced that the ice cap on Mt. Kilimanjaro has melted and disappeared for the first time in 11,000 years.

Now the Arctic sea ice is melting faster than thought before. The rate of melting is 3,000 square miles a DAY. In one year the sea ice has decreased by 55,800 square miles. I don't know how people can repute these scientific facts. Will the melting continue or will the process reverse so that some time in the future sea ice will start being produced again.

So we have two main factions, one that thinks that global warming is due to man-made green house gases and the other faction that contends that the global warming is just a natural occurrence and has been cycling for eons. The latter faction believes that no action needs to be taken as the global temperatures will reverse and the earth will be in a cooling off period. Who is right and who is wrong will be decided by future history of the planet. I tend to say, "but IF." I don't want my great-grand children to be suffering and saying "Why didn't my great-grandfather's generation do something, because it is too late now!"

Here in Oklahoma we have indications of global warming in the migration of species to the north. The Saturniidae Sphingicampa hubbardi moth has normally been found across Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. A sighting of this moth in Oklahoma by Jim Whitehead, and confirmed and documented by Rex Moore, a student at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. A letter of confirmation was received from Dr. John Nelson, a biology professor at Oral Roberts University. This moth is considered to be in the silk moth family. The moth has gray wings with red coloration at the bases. It feeds upon mesquite leaves and can be found also in shrub land and oak woodlands.

The warmer weather in Oklahoma caused by global warming is changing the ecological system and allowing the moth species to move northward. This is just one more indication that global warming is indeed a reality. Similar patterns can be seen in bird populations.

Let me say that I don't think the fact that we have two opposing factions is a bad thing. Each will do research to prove themselves right. That means that the scientific community will continue to gather data, and with that, hopefully, the truth will emerge.

Ever since I became interested in nature and conservation I have been concerned about the lack of interest of most people in preserving what has been put into our hands to be nurtured and protected. This includes not only plants and animals, but the air we breathe and the water we drink. This disdain by many people can be illustrated by the trash, bottles, and cans that litter the roadside. As a docent at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, I volunteer to periodically pick up the litter along the roads. In a five-mile stretch I picked up seven large trash bags of litter. And this is on an area designated as a preserve! It is even worse on other public roads.

I never intended establishing this web site for political propaganda, but what is happening to the conservation of our natural resources by the Bush administration should alarm everyone. Some of the initiatives being made by politicians may very well threaten the health of our children and grandchildren. The refusal to accept the scientific findings of reputable researchers borders on the irresponsible and will have lasting detrimental effects upon the future of this planet. Seriously consider the following, which are just a very few of the administrations actions:

It is important for the people of this great country to become aware of the actions taken by our government, whether Republication or Democratic, which may affect the natural resources in a detrimental way.

I have found that it is hard to impress upon people the seriousness of species extinction. It is perhaps harder to explain to children. The use of illustrations or symbols can offersome degree of enlightenment. I have had some success using the idea of a very large net. Each knot in the net represents one species. The knot (species) is directly dependent upon other knots for strength and stability.

Let us cut out and remove one of the knots (species) and immediately the knots surrounding that position have become weakened and the dangling dependent ends of the twine can now move about with some freedom, but in doing so can allow the attached knots to loosen.

Continue cutting knots out of the net at random and large holes develop until the integrity of the net is destroyed and there is no resemblance between the remaining fragments and the original net.

The Endangered Species Act was signed into law in 1973 by President Nixon. There had been two previous laws, but they did not do much more than make lists of vanishing wildlife. The 1973 law, however, made it illegal to contribute to the extinction of any species. It also protected the habitat of listed species. It also funded the states for carrying out the assessment programs for protecting America's most jeopardized animals and plants. Unfortunately the Bush administration, before vacating the White House for President Elect Obama, has made midnight directives that will hurt the Endangered Species Act. A suit was imediately filed against them to try to prevent this from happening. Last minute decisions have also been made to allow drilling and mining in the scenic red mountains of Utah.

The National Wildlife Federation and 10 other conservation groups made a list of 30 species that would now be extinct or greatly diminished if we did not have this law's protection. The following is just a few on that list.

We know that the law works. Unfortunately, the law is under assault from developers and some industrial interests. With their financial support and active lobbyists they have found support in Congress and the White House and are gradually whittling away at the Endangered Species Act.
(From the National Wildlife Federation, Aug/Sept 2004 eNature.com)

The elections are over and we are looking forward to what the new administration will enact. Hopefully the positive aura around the future Obama administration will come to fruition. What we fear during the interim period are the negative threats that the Bush/Chenney administration is proposing behind closed doors. They have the right to change the Endangered Species Act by presidential decree to eliminate protection for various species which may be suggested by big industrly. They can also alter environmental laws before the next administration comes into power. Some of this has already happened.

Oklahoma Prairie Country

~Conservation of Nature~