Birds are Flying North

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Birds are Flying North

by SeasideMan ^Pro @ 26/08/08 – 08:57:36

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7571229.stm

“French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, scientists have found…The result is desynchronisation. If birds and the insects on which they depend do not react in the same way, we are headed for an upheaval in the interaction between species…At its worst, this desynchronisation could result in species extinctions…On average, bird populations moved 91km northward between 1989 and 2006...birds are lagging some 182km behind the increases in temperature”

And it’s the same in the UK:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7561497.stm

“A number of UK bird species are laying eggs significantly earlier than they were 40 years ago, a report reveals. A conservation coalition's report says some finches, robins and tits are all laying earlier and puts this down to warming caused by climate change…This year's report shows that climate change is with us already; and from our gardens to our seas, birds are having to respond rapidly to climate change simply to survive”

If you are one of the few remaining people who deny that Global Warming is happening, how do you explain this away?

This is bad news, but it is just one of many effects that Climate Change is already causing. It’s not just birds but mammals, insects and plants too, and all over Earth. And it isn’t just living things, it’s entire ecosystems. Co-ordinated global action is needed, and quickly. So as an individual what can you do? Three things:

1. Change your own lifestyle

Walk and cycle more, drive less, try and avoid flying, use energy-saving light bulbs, insulate your house and turn your heating down, only boil the water you need, not a kettle-full, re-use plastic bags etc. etc. There are many little things you can do. Not only are these things beneficial, you will save money as well!

2. Try to persuade people to change their lifestyles

If you talk to your friends and family and local businesses, perhaps some of them will think about these things. It’s surprising how many people do nothing because they trust the government to do the right things for them.

3. Tell your political representatives locally, nationally and internationally that Climate Change is important to you

If you don’t, they won’t know that votes depend on it. Many politicians only care about winning the next election.

Cheers, Tom.
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Tags:
- photography
- birds
- global
- environment
- change
- fly
- north
- climate
- warming
- global warming

37 Comments to Birds are Flying North

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- playwrite27
- http://www.davidtennant.blog.co.uk
- 26/08/08 @ 09:41:38
Well, I try. I walk to work every day, and take the bus instead of a cab, when I can. Again, when possible (like when I remember to bring them with me) I use sturdy re-usable shopping bags in place of plastic one's--which require more energy to make. I keep my heat down, use energy-saving (when I can afford them) light bulbs, turn off lights (when not in use), and likewise, my computer. I keep my overhead lights off, as much as possible (ceiling lights use more energy than table lamps, I've been told), I no longer drive a petrol-guzzling car (or any car). I even use a travel-size hair dryer, as that uses less energy than one of the big professional style one's (and works just as well, if you ask me).

Can't do anything about the fridge, as it doesn't belong to me, but if I was wealthy, I'd buy an energy saving 'fridge, 'ocs the electrician once told me that the 'fridge is the worst energy hog in any American home...that and air conditioners.

I know there's still some things I do, that I could change, but I figure I'm doing as much as I can, and if I want to run the fan more in hot weather, or turn the heat up one night a week, well...sod it.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 10:42:43
  It sounds like you are making an excellent contribution, far more than most people do. That engineer was right that aircons are heavy on electricity. But even more is used by electric cookers and kettles.
  
  Tom.
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- frankofyle
- 26/08/08 @ 09:55:36
Excellent piccies and advice Tom. My latest energy-saving act is peeing outside (very French) onto the compost pile. Saves electricity and water. Also apparently hastens the composting process.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 10:39:23
  Thanks. That's a great idea about the compost heap. I haven't heard that before, but it makes perfect sense now I think about it. brilliant way to save water. Nice one.
  
  Tom.
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- MissyMouse
- 26/08/08 @ 10:15:27
I just love that seagull picture. It reminds me of that childrens book "The lighthouse keeper" or whatever it's called!!

xx
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 10:37:40
  I'm not familiar with that story, but I'm glad you liked the picture :-)
  
  Tom.
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- metyu
- 26/08/08 @ 11:43:54
"If you are one of the few remaining people who deny that Global Warming is happening, how do you explain this away?"

1) What was the birds pattern 80 years ago?

2) Natural changes in migration patterns and changes in climate.

3) The global temperature has increased by about 0.26oC in 100 years.

4) Every living animal has always, throughout it's lifetime, had to adapt to a variety of changes.

5) Humans have removed the birds source of food through land-use changes and over fishing.

6) Seagulls, as you picture, are increasingly scavenging in cities because our waste is easier for them than the sea's.

The list is frankly endless.

Tom, (and I mean this sincerely and with best intentions) I have dedicated my life and career to environmentalism and sustainability. I care about the planet more than anyone I know - my friends are bored of listening to me rant. Yet I say that anthropogenic climate change is nonsense. Why?

If you tell your MP that climate change is important to you, I take it as a personal insult that can only cause harm to my children. Why would someone who has dedicated his life to encouraging people and companies to behave in more environmentally friendly ways react with such vitriol against this climate agenda?

Answers on a postcard...
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 12:10:12
  There is a very simple point here. It's this: warming is changing the birds natural habitat faster than they can adapt. That humans are affecting our world is beyond doubt: we are one of the factors in climate change. So, it only makes sense to do what we can to mitigate it's effect and the primary way to do this is by reducing our emission of greenhouse gases. But don't take my word for it, here's the Royal Society:
  
  http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?tip=1&id=6230
  
  This is for the good of your children, not the bad, so if you have a good reason for not minimizing our emission of greenhouse gases, please give it.
  
  Tom.
  - - metyu
    - 26/08/08 @ 12:26:41
    I have no problem with people minimising emissions. efficiency is common sense, and as you point out, it saves money. I also do not deny that humans have an impact on the earth, as I my comment makes clear.
    
    The problem is the political response, and the hysterical response of lay persons such as those protesting Kingsnorth.
    
    The UK contribution to total annual CO2 emissions (through on-shore fossil fuel burning) is 500 million tonnes in about 450 billion, or about 0.11%.
    
    All Kyoto has done is move our manufacturing abroad, to developing countries (often to their detriment, and it is controbuting to discontent against the UK). UK emissions as per the London Stock Exchange are far higher, estimated as some 17-18% of the 27 billion tonnes mankind emits each year.
    
    The ridiculous response to AGW means that we can't build houses because of NIMBY-ism. We can't build power stations because of protestors like stopclimatechaos.org.
    
    Where will we get our power from? North sea gas has run out. We are currently too reliant on Russia and other states that are turning against the UK / West. And how will this affect our economy, when developers are expected to have to spend an extra £14 billion per year to meet zero-carbon housing demand?
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- SeasideMan ^Pro
- 26/08/08 @ 12:31:39
Good, then we're in agreement: minimising personal emissions and improved efficiency is a Good Thing.

Energy provision could be amply supplied by Alternatives, as long as we reduce our usage too: the Contraction and Convergence plan is the only workable option.

I hope you are hounding your political representatives with your thoughts on these issues.

Tom.
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- hebburndelboy
- http://hebburndelboy.blog.co.uk
- 26/08/08 @ 12:40:28
I admire the fact you want to try and help mother earth mate but I liken it to attempting to empty Loch Ness with a thimble.

the damage is already done and nothing can put right the mess we've made of the earth.

we, as a species, are destined to die out, we've had our chance and blew it. the gig is well and truly fucked.

do your bit mate, its highly comendable of you but far too many people like myself just don't give a shit.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 13:19:24
  One person with one thimble would indeed be wasting their time. But a billion people with industrial sized thimbles really do stand a chance.
  
  It isn't too late yet, but it will be soon.
  
  Your attitude of not giving a shit is a common one and I understand perfectly why you have it: if a few million people you don't know die, that means nothing to you. I get that.
  
  But if enough people do care, then politicians will act, laws will get passed and change will happen regardless of your wishes. That's democracy in action. I think the don't cares such as yourself will soon be in the minority, if you aren't already.
  
  Tom.
  - - hebburndelboy
    - http://hebburndelboy.blog.co.uk
    - 26/08/08 @ 14:39:24
    I doubt anything we do will bring about change unless those in power want those changes. the little man aint worth shit mate. the majority of the country didn't want to go to war with iraq. guess what ? tough shit. boom bang kaboom.
    
    do you really think you can educate the chav generation to care about earth when they don't care about anything anyway?
    - - SeasideMan ^Pro
      - 26/08/08 @ 14:53:35
      Most of "the media" that matters are already behind action for climate change and they'll convince enough people that it will be electorally significant.
      
      As for chavs: perhaps they can't be made to care, but they can be made to obey the law and their options can be restricted so that perpetuating harm is far more difficult.
      
      Tom.
      - hebburndelboy
        
        http://hebburndelboy.blog.co.uk
        
        26/08/08 @ 15:03:41
        
        no 'media' matters Tom, its all just a tool of the government. they get people who care scurrying around trying to save the planet when they know its unsaveable. it just makes people like your good self feel like you're helping in some way. our eventual outcome is inevitable, we have been a pox on this planet from day one. its better off without us.
        
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        SeasideMan ^Pro
        
        26/08/08 @ 15:12:43
        
        That's where you're wrong. The media matter because people believe what they are told - many many opinions are formed and broken by what people read in papers and see on the television. They are important.
        
        We haven't yet reached the "tipping point" where the planet is unsavable. If you have evidence to the contrary, please present it, or are you just repeating an opinion you read somewhere? :-)
        
        Tom.
        
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        hebburndelboy
        
        http://hebburndelboy.blog.co.uk
        
        26/08/08 @ 15:36:54
        
        "are you just repeating an opinion you read somewhere?"
        
        nope, just personal opinion.
        
        I don't believe anything can be proved. there is always an unanswerable how or why. as Oasis say, "Don't believe the truth"
        
        the media is only important if you let it be. I believe what I want, not what propaganda tells me to believe. "oooooh sadam is the boogeyman" "the ice caps are melting". bollocks . there is ALWAYS an agenda.
        
        "many opinions are formed and broken by what people read in papers and see on the television. They are important"
        
        yeah, they can also fill peoples head with shit for the good of the Reich..... I mean the government.
        
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        SeasideMan ^Pro
        
        26/08/08 @ 16:08:26
        
        I asked for "evidence", not proof. In the absence of evidence, what you have there is a religious belief that we're all going to hell in a handbasket and there's nothing that can be done about it (confirmed by your "I believe what I want" comment). All the evidence I have seen says otherwise, which is why I was interested in what you have.
        
        Are you just guessing?
        
        The media are important because they form opinions in people. You might be better than most people and choose not to be influenced by them, but you are just one person. For the purposes of this discussion, it doesn't matter about agendas, merely that they do have an effect on people.
        
        The scientific evidence is solid: Humans are a factor in climate change and we can reduce our impact to help mitigate the worst effects. And as I already said, it'll save you money too.
        
        Tom.
        
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- metyu
- 26/08/08 @ 13:02:07
Delboy, honestly I have no problem with you not giving a sh!t, in fact I think that is the healthy and sensible option for the majority of people - I'm just not wired that way!

In fact, I wish more people didn't give a sh!t, then it could be left to the experts to get on with it. For, strangely enough, we're not all in the pockets of [insert oil/government/business depending on your preference] and most of us care greatly about what we do. Otherwise we'd become accountants or lawyers, where you can actually earn some money.

You are right about the thimble, but wrong about the species. We've a few surprises up our sleeves yet (http://bumface.blog.co.uk/2008/08/11/raymond-kurzweil-4574102).___##0##___
SeasideMan, I used to agree re: Contraction and Convergence - and I still think it's one of the most sensible models out there (even if it's leading proponent is a musician!) - sadly I became very sceptical of it's agenda when I discovered connections from GCI members to the SWP.

As for hounding people; not yet, due to personal and financial instability. But I have a long career in front of me, and there is much in the pipeline!

Best,
M.
- - hebburndelboy
  - http://hebburndelboy.blog.co.uk
  - 26/08/08 @ 14:45:15
  its all bollocks anyway.its got nothing to do with me. I haven't got a car. I didn't build any factories and pump polution into the atmosphere or seas. I didn't pass any laws or do anything at all of any note, ever.
  
  "Lets poison the world and when we fuck the place up we'll make the common man do our dirty work and try and sort out our mess, get them recycling and feeling guilty that **WE** fucked the planet" said industry. "suck my ass" said Hebburndelboy in reply.
  - - SeasideMan ^Pro
    - 26/08/08 @ 15:08:39
    Do you not even care about having more money left at the end of the month? Not caring is one thing, but not caring to the extent that it actually costs you money seems peculiar.
    
    But you are complicit in the problem, even if you'd like to think you aren't: you buy electricity produced in inefficient power stations and you buy food that's been transported thousands of miles in petrol-hungry lorries. So saying "it's got nothing to do with me" is simply wrong. Fair enough, you don't give a shit, but you are part of the problem.
    
    Tom.
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  - - metyu
    - 26/08/08 @ 16:00:05
    Some lyrics from a song I used to love and still enjoy listening to:
    
    "We're not the ones whose pollution blackened our skies
    And ruined our streams.
    We're not the ones who made the nuclear bombs
    That threaten our lives.
    We're not the ones who let the children starve in faraway lands.
    We're not the ones who made the streets unsafe to walk at night"
    
    As a teen, I subscribed to this line of thought. As an adult, I realised that actually, I am the one doing all those things. The choices I make directly affect the outcomes of all these scenarios. Which ones do I have the time and patience - and perseverence - to deal with?
    
    Someone once said, "All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing". Blah blah lecture over.
    - - SeasideMan ^Pro
      - 26/08/08 @ 16:24:52
      I believe that's The Offspring; I liked a few of their songs once. I agree with you that those words show a rather immature mindset. If we choose to remain in a society and we have a say, however small, in how it is run, then we are complicit in it's actions.
      
      I'll go and have a look at your blog now.
      
      Tom.
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- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 14:59:30
  I'd expect there to be "connections" between some GCI members and all major political parties. Environmental action inevitably has a political dimension since politicians are required in order to get laws passed.
  
  As for the hounding: you clearly have an internet connection!
  
  Tom.
  - - metyu
    - 26/08/08 @ 16:01:22
    Have you read my blog?
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- AmethystLady ^Pro
- 26/08/08 @ 15:11:39
Great post Tom. I do try and do my bit for the enviroment.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 15:14:29
  Thank you. All the little things that each of us do really do make a difference when added together.
  
  Tom.
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- hebburndelboy
- http://hebburndelboy.blog.co.uk
- 26/08/08 @ 16:02:19
I'm part of the problem? I didn't create it, but I'm expected to feel guilt about it? meh.

we'll have to agree to disagree as usual on this one Tom!

a little note about our beloved media and all the fine things they are doing for us;

they constantly tell us that our hospitals and the NHS are failing and are underfunded. yet do they kick up a fuss when we are prepared to spend billions on some olympics crap? nope because olympics sell papers. imagine what that money could do for our schools and hospitals. but instead of organizing a campaign to get the bastards behind this massive disgusting sickening obscene waste of money hung they do nothing. they big it up. pump that money into areas where its needed and we'll all see the benefits. pump that money into the olympics and see some twat run in a circle for a medal.

yeah the media kicks ass.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 16:14:37
  Of course you are part of the problem, all of us are. How can you not be? You live in this society, you consume what it makes and you have a vote.
  
  "The media" are profit-making companies with no other agenda than money. But, they have a huge amount of power in molding thought and that makes them important.
  
  Tom.
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- dennypoos
- 26/08/08 @ 16:13:38
Ah good, a hearty discourse. A full and frank exchange of views etc.

I do not at all feel sorry for mankind, rather I feel sorry for our avian chums.

My understanding is that global warming will affect the Gulf Stream and push it North. The affect of this will be a reduction in temperature of up to 5 degrees celsius as the Gulf Stream gives us temperatures way beyond what our latitude would have as a norm.

So should any dicky birds survive, they'll have to do an about turn or put on an extra layer as the Government would have other endangered species, ie 'Old Fogeys' do.
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 16:33:31
  This has been a good discussion and one totally without rancour, which is nice.
  
  On the Gulf Stream, there seems to be variation of opinion. This is what the BBC say:
  
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/gulf_stream.shtml
  
  "Current climate models predict that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the component of the gulf stream driven by the differences in water density is likely to decrease by 25% in the next 100 years. As the gulf stream becomes weaker, it may become less stable and therefore be more likely to shut down completely in the future"
  
  But apparently it is to be monitored:
  
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/20/climatechange.meteorology
  
  “An armada of robot submarines and marine sensors are to be deployed across the Atlantic, from Florida to the Canary Islands, to provide early warning that the Gulf Stream might be failing, an event that would trigger cataclysmic freezing in Britain for decades.”
  
  Tom.
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- metyu
- 26/08/08 @ 16:20:30
"My understanding is that global warming will affect the Gulf Stream and push it North. The affect of this will be a reduction in temperature of up to 5 degrees celsius as the Gulf Stream gives us temperatures way beyond what our latitude would have as a norm."

This hypothesis has been proven to be incorrect, Denny.

The UK government - based on accepted mainstream scientific and academic consensus - now officially ignores potential failing of the Gulf Stream in its projections for and response to future climate. We are in for a steady 50 year rise in temperatures up to about 2-3 degrees above our current summer average.

I can also state for the record that sea levels will not rise enough to warrant the construction of a new Thames Barrier for at least 50 years.
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- metyu
- 26/08/08 @ 16:41:35
In response to the Beeb and Grauniad articles: my comment comes from work I have done for the government and responses to questions I have personally asked relevant senior government officials.

I'm glad we're spening £16 million on ocean-floor sensors though.

(how long before they break under the stress of the ocean?)

God forbid we spend the money on, say, youth hostels.

(you can refurbish a youth-hostel for less than £200k).
- - SeasideMan ^Pro
  - 26/08/08 @ 16:49:56
  I'm happy to accept that you know more about this than I do. I've read quite a few books on the subject but I'm not a Climate Scientist and I haven't spoken with the government about it either.
  
  I should probably say that I am incredibly skeptical about our government in particular and governments more generally. Good politicians are very rare, it seems.
  
  Tom.
  - - metyu
    - 26/08/08 @ 17:01:12
    Oh yes, there is something we agree on!
    
    What scares me - and ultimately, why I am on the sceptical side of the climate fence - is that I can see carbon taxes becoming self-serving and draconian (e.g. carbon credit cards). And carbon trading will only benefit the rich (just look at Kyoto so far).
    
    We have been through a number of years of having our liberties systematically removed. And now we are asking the same government to help us reduce something we emit merely by getting up in the morning?
    
    By the way, I don't believe anything anyone tells me, scientist, MP or otherwise - and I expect the favour to be returned!
    
    Anyway cheers for the chat it's been fun - I do like a good debate.
    - - SeasideMan ^Pro
      - 26/08/08 @ 17:03:32
      Likewise, and thanks for your part in keeping the discussion pleasant and on-track :-)
      
      Tom.
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- metyu
- 26/08/08 @ 16:42:24
Youth club, I mean, not hostel.
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