A Penguin for Your Thoughts

Penguin declines don't bode well for the rest of us

Posted at 3:49 PM on 01 Jul 2008

Penguin populations are declining, which is bad news not just for the tuxedoed birds but for, well, the world in general. A new scientific review published in the journal BioScience shows that everywhere they live, penguins are suffering from a combination of climate change, ocean pollution, overfishing, tourism, and development. "Many penguins we thought would be safe because they are not that close to people," says study author P. Dee Boersma. "And that's not true." Of 17 recognized penguin species, three species are endangered, seven are vulnerable, and two are "near threatened," according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. And what happens to penguins doesn't stay with penguins, says one expert: "What happens to penguins, a few years down the road can happen to a lot of other species and possibly humans."

sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Comments: (8 comments)

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which one was the most damaging?

Out of all the factors (climate change, ocean pollution, overfishing, tourism, and development), I would be interested in knowing which one is the most damaging?

The real sad thing is we as humans can stop all of the factors, yet we chose not to!

I only have this one life, so I am going to try my very best to make a positive change. --- The Happy & Healthy Vegan ---

by javaearth at 2:13 PM on 02 Jul 2008

travel

It is an interesting ethical problem of anthropology and history, that human beings love to travel to far-off places, e.g. Antarctica, and that the freedom to travel is included among the conditions of a "good life," or human flourishing -- on the one hand; but on the other, human traveling has introduced all kinds of ills into the world.

If environmentalists (for the sake of mitigating global warming) and wildlife conservationists and animal-welfarists (for the sake of the penguins) were to urge everyone to stop traveling to Antarctica, would that not raise a hue-and-cry of reaction, as being a highly inhumane anti-intellectual recommendation? : (

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 3:04 PM on 02 Jul 2008

Different strokes for different birds...

Out of all the factors (climate change, ocean pollution, overfishing, tourism, and development), I would be interested in knowing which one is the most damaging?

With at least 17 species of penguins inhabiting nearly every major landmass in the southern hemisphere, I imagine each one is effected in different ways. In Australia, they deal with development and tourists. In Galapagos, it's overfishing and pollution. In Antartica, it's global warming. In South America, it's pollution and tourism.

All face threats, but their wide range and unique combination of threats to seperate populations calls for a massive and fine-tuned conseravtion plan.

by Tasermons Partner at 5:55 PM on 02 Jul 2008

Galapagos penguins

In the Galapagos, habitat loss and invasive species (e.g. dogs, goats) are also growing problems for native wildlife. But I do not know if the Galapagos penguins have been directly affected by them yet.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 10:49 PM on 02 Jul 2008

Oceans in crisis

Our oceans are now showing the strain of industrial over-exploitation in many ways http://www.blueplanetsociety.org/about14.html

by Blueplanet at 5:35 AM on 04 Jul 2008

Travel To Antarctica

Canis,

When I worked for Greenpeace in the mid '80s, our position was that all people should leave Antarctica permanently. People clearly don't belong there, as they were unable to get there by natural means and didn't succeed until boats with engines and/or planes transported them there. So, that could be one standard: if humans can't sail or walk there, the place should be off limits to people.

And BTW, traveling does not have to occur by destructive means. You can bike or take trains across land and sail across water. Of course humans should not be able to bring non-native species with them, either.

by Wolverine at 11:37 AM on 04 Jul 2008

standards of travel

Sure, Wolverine, I am definitely on board the train you are driving.

But there are lots of people, from whom we have not heard here, who insist they have a right to go to Antarctica, and who would feel unfairly "fenced in" by your prohibition of travel to that continent, "Don't Fence Me In!" being the true American national anthem.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 6:30 AM on 06 Jul 2008

Over fishing not climate change

The fact is that Antarctic ice sheets are getting thicker. Overfishing is the overriding factor of the declines in all oceanic species.

by Larry9247 at 6:25 AM on 07 Jul 2008

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