As I continue to evolve my journal, I will R&D my topics. In my edge of the world, R&D stands for "Rip Off & Duplicate". So, with that in mind, I R&D the Music Moment from Beth and establish the Science Second. [Editorial Note: I am not completely happy with this title, as it implies minimal information. So I hereby solicit ideas on a better name]. The next morning: I decided to change the title to Science Scene. :o)
Today's Science Scene comes via the National Wildlife Federation. The subject is the demise of the shark. While at first blush, many might say good riddance, but that would be rash (and most likely a shudder moment if JAWS came to mind). The reality is that the mean for human deaths due to shark attacks, in the entire world, is 4.2 per year. The number of sharks killed, often for their fins which are considered a delicacy, is 73 million per year!
Again, some might say so what! In North Carolina, the bay scallop has basically been eliminated. Since the number of sharks off the United States coasts has declined dramatically, the cownose (yes, cownose, look closely at the picture below) has increased 20 fold to approximately 40 million. They have decimated the scallop population. Oysters could be next.
Always remember that our world is an ecosystem, and changes, however benign they may seem, may have far reaching consequences.
2 comments:
It's a delicate balance, and every action has a consequence. Very interesting!
Beth
Bravo for speaking out for these creatures! As Beth has said it is a delicate balance. Native Americans have always believed in never taking more than you need from the Earth....Now if we could get everyone else on board this would be a saving grace.....
On another note human's are said to be the dominate species. That says very little about their intellectual awareness....I think when it comes to the animal kingdom we are gutter feeders for all the knowledge we display. In short the lessons on how to preserve this world come from the animals. (Hugs) Indigo
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