Global Warming, Personal Health, & Finances

[missymaya]

Yeah, isn't that nuts? I remember seeing tons of dragon flies through out the spring up until a few years ago. I didn't really notice until my BF pointed out how all the insects just aren't around any more. It's just crazy and sad.

[Python]

The decline in wildlife can be put down to many other factors apart from global warming. We are invading natural habitats (especially here in the UK) and driving wildlife out. There is too much use of pesticides etc which is killing the insects and small creatures. As for our song birds, again the same is true. Also Magpies are on the increase and they have been killing our songbirds for years. They really need to be severely culled but no-one seems capable of doing that.

Another cause of the decline in wildlife is many people now are concreting or paving their gardens. My garden at the back deliberately has wild patches to attract the bees, butterflies etc.

Global warming aside, it's us human beings with our selfish attitude to other living creatures that is causing the most harm to this planet.

[Trek420]

Another cause of the decline in wildlife is many people now are concreting or paving their gardens. My garden at the back deliberately has wild patches to attract the bees, butterflies etc.

Good for you, gardening for wildlife. Inspired by a coffee shop I stopped at after a ride and their set up for birds I just bought a birdbath, now I need another bird feeder. I don't know if I'd ever be able to get my patio certified as a backyard habitat but it would be cool to try.

http://www.nwf.org/backyard

[lph]

Yeah, I read somewhere that hedgehogs like messy gardens with a pile of brush or something they can tootle around and unearth insects in.

A month or two later we had a hedgehog couple mating right next to our front door. Doesn't say much for our "front garden", but they sure were cute

As for the global warming thing: I'm convinced, but I'm also enough of a scientist to not rule out other explanations. My view is: global warming MAY turn out to be natural variation, but as long as most of the facts point towards mankind's influence, we can't afford to ignore it. We don't have the time to experiment.

[Tuckervill]

I've heard about the bee numbers being down, but as for other insects...not around here! We have lots and lots of bugs of every kind here. We have plenty of wildlife. A flock of goldfinches landed in the yard yesterday. We have so many birds that our 50 yards of grapevines on our south fence never get to finish a grape--the birds eat them while they're still green. Our seven pecan trees get pillaged by the squirrels before we can get enough to make a pie. The grass beneath the old giant oak is paved with acorns, but only the tops. The squirrels get those nuts, too. A nutria pair live in the neighbor's lot, and I frequently see a fox and an opossum late at night. I live in the middle of a town of 20,000 people, not in the country.

I just got back from a 5300 mile trip to the west coast and back. As far as I can tell, the Earth has a long way to go to before it's paved over. We went through thousands of miles of desert and forest and living, breathing wilderness. Still, I don't think developers should cut down all the trees and replace them with saplings when they build a neighborhood. I wouldn't buy one of those houses, either.

I believe the planet is warming up. I suspect it's part of a natural cycle, but that we should do what we can not to contribute. And sometimes I think the danger is overstated. Some of the posters who have posted need a wider perspective, too.

Karen

[Python]

Thought you'd like to see this wonderful little fellow. He's a Slow Worm and is a protected species in the UK. Athough he looks like a snake, he's actually a legless lizard. At the back of our house is a nature reserve which is home to many animals like squirrels, badgers, Slow Worms and foxes. There are also Owls, Woodpeckers and many other species of wildlife. There are also wildflowers that only grow in this area and are therefore protected. That is why building is not allowed on that land and I'm lucky to be able to open my back gate and walk straight into this beautiful place which is on the outskirts of the town.

The Slow Worm turned up under the compost heap last summer. We took pics of him then put him back into the woodland. Last week we had another one which my cat was about to pounce on. It was much younger so he was promptly put back into the woodland too. Last seen slithering off under a pile of twigs.



I hope we never lose these lovely animals. Like hedgehogs they are gardeners friends as they will come into your garden and eat many of the garden pests like slugs

[Trek420]

Where's Nanci? She needs to see this. He's beeyooteeful.