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Stupid people

don't you just hate stupid people?
the sad thing is that we're stupid too :p it's VERY hard not to impact the environment in a negative way. almost anything you do is bad for the environment. even reading this is consuming energy which was probably created by burning fossil fuels. using pesticides, fertilizers, cars, plastic, rubber, eating, .... what DOESN'T harm the environment?
but what really gets me is people releasing non-native animals (and wasting resources... like leaving the water turned on, using tons of pesticides/fungicides, etc..)
like Burmese pythons in the everglades and brown snakes in guam (rats/pigs/dogs/cats in the galapagos islands, hogs in hawaii, etc.)
now the pythons are breeding in the everglades!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2004....ex.html
and snakeheads... which are now invading everywhere. I remember that when I was in 9th grade, only a couple of them had been found in a couple of lakes. now they're even up in the great lakes!
http://www.cnn.com/2004....ex.html
but don't hate the invasive species. that would be stupid. hate the people that bring them here.
and now they say that "The world's population is consuming about 20 percent more natural resources than the planet can produce" ... a while back there was also an article that said that a bunch of species would become extinct by 2050, that there are MANY times more humans than sustainable... etc.
I'm not having any kids :p
if I REALLY want one I'll adopt (I don't see why I would want a kid... *shrugs*
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20041018/humans.html
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]

but what really gets me is people releasing non-native animals (and wasting resources... like leaving the water turned on, using tons of pesticides/fungicides, etc..)

Me too. Because they have a personal interest in it or its 'pretty', people just stand in the way of invasive species, expecially ones appealing to the eye(hint hint butterfly brush, mimosa)

People around here (south dakota) know that theres invasive trees invading our prastures and praries here. They just say there dont care, or that "but tere such pretty trees. Isnt more good?"


And exuse me if i offend anyone but just because theres a visually apealing invasive species on your property [burning bush, butterfly bush, norway maple, autnm olive, water chesnut, tamerisk...] that you like is not a exuse to not do something about it.

However, many non-native species [ginko, lilac] are perfictly well behaved.
And i feel that i speak for most of us when i say that theres some species that some of us wouldnt mind if they got established [neps in florida, vtf's in Europe] Personaly i woulddnt mind it if Ginko Biloba, Nikau palms (one of the most hardy palms.. can be groun in irlind) and NZ Treeferns became established in america.

Some people try to introduce species because there their favoriets (Mile-a-minut vine is good example of a invasive specie introduced this way) But i still say that its not a good idea

Or snakeheads, wich have cultural values to asians.

And some repulicans suggesting we make more 'updates' to the endangerd species act. Darn havent they weakened it enough already? "were for the enviorment, but current legeslation goes too far..."
mad.gif


yah, right,

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]and snakeheads... which are now invading everywhere. I remember that when I was in 9th grade, only a couple of them had been found in a couple of lakes. now they're even up in the great lakes!


Those lakes are prety much ruined from invasive species anyway
 
well yeah but snakeheads can also eat other stuff that zebra mussels and the others can't.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]And i feel that i speak for most of us when i say that theres some species that some of us wouldnt mind if they got established [neps in florida, vtf's in Europe] Personaly i woulddnt mind it if Ginko Biloba, Nikau palms (one of the most hardy palms.. can be groun in irlind) and NZ Treeferns became established in america.
personally I don't like seeing non-native species in the wild. not even if they're not invasive. and invasive species begin like that too. people wanting to see them established.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]personally I don't like seeing non-native species in the wild


I dont like it either. I just said i wouldnt mind too much if said species were, expecially since all species i mentioed are declining in their native habitats and many are rare, have virtually none of the qualities of invasive species (all are very slow growing and not invasive) and have almost zero chance of escaping anyway because ones been cultivated for 4000 years around the world and its not naturalized.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ](all are very slow growing and not invasive)

Except for the tree ferns
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I'm against any introduction of non-native species. Every ecosystem has its own awesome plants, there is not need to bring in exotic plants. You can't mix and match members of an ecosystem. Personally even if burmese pythons were native to the everglades, I would not want to come across one while kayaking...

Peter
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I'm against any introduction of non-native species

Me too dont you get it? i said i wouldnt mind if they were i didnt say i was going to!

uh-oh better get rid of all the plants in your garden then. Rip up all the farmers shelterbelsts...

Take down the palms in florida...
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Personally even if burmese pythons were native to the everglades, I would not want to come across one while kayaking
I'D LOVE that
biggrin.gif

palms aren't native to florida??? GASP! the universe is backwards!
 
palms are, but 90% of those planted arnt native
 
ah ok... the universe is right side up again :p (well... as right side up as it ever was)
 
  • #10
Royal palms (the really tall straight ones) are all introduced exotics. We DO have a fine native royalpalm, The Florida royal palm, but it is rare in cultivation. All the the royal pakms you are likely to see are Cuban, Carrabean, And Peurtorecan species.

Date palm, queen palm, fishtail, coconut, nanila, queen, bottle, foxtail and others are introduced. The native palms are Parutois-palm (restricted to the everglades- cultivated(?)) Cabbage palmetto [and closely related species](florida, gorgea, south carolina- thretened by palm-rusking for nursery trade, and the saw-palmetto, a shrub. Oh and the thatch-palms. hey did u know that theres cactices native to florida?
 
  • #11
cererobi.jpg


look at the size of this endangerd one
 
  • #12
I dislike invasive species...but we all keep them in are homes and backyards.

However, I wouldn't mind if some weirdos made a plan to go kill all the bullfrogs in CA...heck, it would be nicer for our native Pacifics after the job was done....but that is almost impossible.

We humans has awesome power to change ecosystems and I believe it should be taken far more seriously than just a few laws tacked up.
 
  • #13
I wouldn't like any native species completely wiped out aldough I'd LOVE it if there were WAY less mosquitoes (and roaches). besides, there are so many mosquitoes (and roaches) because of humans.
 
  • #14
[b said:
Quote[/b] (TheAlphaWolf @ Oct. 24 2004,2:09)]I wouldn't like any native species completely wiped out aldough I'd LOVE it if there were WAY less mosquitoes (and roaches). besides, there are so many mosquitoes (and roaches) because of humans.
Actually, we have in some cases decreased the mosquito population.

Oddly enough, while I dislike the bites and possibility for disease, I think they are quite useful and are welcome to lay eggs in my backyard...

Little do they know they all are removed and turn into fish food.
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #15
LOL
that's the best way to get rid of them. get them to waste their eggs.
and I guess if you drain up wetlands you do decrease the mosquito population :p
 
  • #16
did you know theres citrus ,bananas, palms native to my backyard . I put them there but its suprising to see them in zone 6B. They have been living there for 2 years over winter and everything.
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #17
was that supposed to be a question or something?
and no they're not.
 
  • #18
now look at this
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news....gs.html
they want to poison prarie dogs!!!
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Using all-terrain vehicles, a crew of state employees and contractors will roar through thousands of acres of federal land over the next few weeks, spreading oats saturated with zinc phosphide over prairie dog burrows.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]But conservation groups are concerned that the reduction of prairie dogs might affect a population of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), which rely on the rodents for 90 percent of their diet.

The black-footed ferret is listed as an endangered species by both the state of South Dakota and the federal government and is considered to be one of the rarest mammals in North America. Biologists say the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands' Conata Basin, where the ferret has been reintroduced, is home to the only self-sustaining population in the world.
after all that trouble with getting back the population from JUST 18 ferrets, now they want to poison their food.
it's probably bush's fault. he is a cattle rancher after all (they say that prarie dogs compete w/ their cattle)
PS.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), the only species of prairie dog found in South Dakota, had been a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced two months ago that it had determined that the black-tailed prairie dog was not likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future, so the service was removing the rodent as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
ok.. it's not endangered. so let's kill them.
 
  • #19
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]they want to poison prarie dogs!!!

Dude, if your ever in the prarie states, NEVER bring up saving the prarie dogs. Never. Its not good. trust me, i know.
 
  • #20
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]uh-oh better get rid of all the plants in your garden then.

Actually, most of the plants in my garden are natives
smile_n_32.gif


Now, since when is putting a bunch of poison in the environment not going to hurt the environment?
confused.gif

I sure understand the prarie dog problem, but can't they at least use gas or something? Or issue prarie dog hunting licenses to all the young boys in town
smile.gif


Peter
 
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