#we did so much harm to not only the ecosystems but also endangered ourselves

[turtlesandfrogs]

One big thing that gets missed in the conversation about native plants is that when considering a plant, you really should ask two questions:

1. Where, specifically, is it native to?

2. Within that region, what ecosystem conditions does it live in? Will it thrive where you intend to plant it?

I cannot tell you how many times I've come across a plant labeled as native that doesn't even grow in my state. Sure, it's native to the continent, but not this side of the rocky mountains! That's not nearly specific enough if your goal is to support endemic animal species and the overall ecosystem.

You also need to consider what conditions that plant needs to thrive. One example I see a lot of here is planting understory plants in full sun. They're stressed out, they're getting sunburnt, and they're slowly dying. People will also try the reverse, planting praire plants in deep shade, and wonder why they're all floppy and anemic looking. Plants may be native to your area, but they still have specific needs and you will have much greater success if you match the conditions you have to a plant that will thrive there.

A third, extra credit question is a two parter: is it endemic (aka, unique to your region) or does it have a a broader, or even circumpolar distribution? I mean, check out the range maps for Henderson's shooting star & twinflower:

Twinflower is found across the northern portions of Eurasia as well.

The second part is, are any of the vulnerable species in your area depending on it? An example from my area is Viola Adunca, which has a pretty broad range,

But is also host to multiple fritilary butterfly species in my area, some of which are on the decline and some of which are no longer found in my state. Due to habitat loss. Both due to human activity (agriculture, subdivisions, etc) and human inactivity (banning the intentional burns the Native peoples did, that maintained the Oak savanna ecosystem, leading them to be "invaded" by non-fire adapted Douglas firs, another native species. Also at the same time making the region more vulnerable to bigger and more devastating wild fires).

[thehritikkaushal-blog]

Blog Assignment

Part 1. Question

How does Truth and Reconciliation in Canada relate to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals?

The United Nations laid down a total of seventeen sustainable development goals in 2015. ‘Reduced inequalities’ was one of the adopted sustainable development goals and the very foundations of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada are based on the motive of reducing inequalities. For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments, ignore Aboriginal rights, terminate the Treaties, and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada (Truth and reconciliation, 1). Canada has perpetuated inequality towards Aboriginal people through many ways like introduction of residential school system and banning aboriginal festivities. The Truth and Reconciliation mission initiated the process of reconciliation among Canadians and defined it as an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships (Truth and reconciliation -16). This definition aligns well with UN’s sustainability development goal of reducing inequalities. It involves repairing damaged trust among Indigenous communities by making apologies, providing individual and collective reparations and establishing respectful relationships that require the revitalization of Indigenous law and legal traditions all as ways to reduce the past and present inequalities (Truth and reconciliation -16).

           Furthermore, ‘No poverty’, ‘Good health and well-being’ and ‘Clean water and sanitation’ were another sustainability development goals adopted by the UN. Truth and Reconciliation in Canada also aimed at improving the financial, health and sanitary outcomes for Indigenous communities and especially for children. To move towards more respectful and healthy relationships, the Government of Canada recognized and addressed the broader context of the child-welfare crisis (Truth and reconciliation -143). This included matters of child poverty, housing, water, sanitation, food security, family violence, addictions, and educational inequities.

http://nctr.ca/assets/reports/Final%20Reports/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf

https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html

Part 2. Question

1. How did the information presented in the talks above affect how you think about nature?

The talk given by Dr Suzanne Simard provided a human analogy to the cooperative communication between trees. It was interesting to learn how tress communicate amongst themselves and send each other the required nutrients. I have always heard and used the term ‘mother nature’ but never really knew the underlying meaning and implications of these words. Learning about the efforts put by ‘mother tress’ to raise their ‘children tress’, are very intriguing and describe what the term ‘mother nature’ actually means. The talk by Dr Simard has changed the way how I perceive nature. Before, I looked at nature as something very valuable to humans as nature provides humans with innumerous resources but now, I perceive nature in a more holistic way. I think of nature as a combined web of social relationships among various organisms that not only provide resources to humans but also work integratively with their own as well as other species and make sure of the survival of all.

            The talk given by Dr Munir Virani presents new and unknown facts about vultures. I always thought of vulture as a bird similar to an eagle. However, I failed to notice that eagles are often looked upon as a source of pride whereas vultures are often viewed as disgusting creatures. The talk changed the way I look at nature and vultures. I now view vultures as crucial organisms in maintaining ecological balance and have understood more about the near extinction of vultures. This understanding had helped me learn more nature’s processes such as decomposition and how these processes will be impacted by the extinction of involved organisms.

https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/11/15/what-counts-as-nature-it-all-depends/

2. What aspects of nature and biodiversity do you feel are most important to protect? How can you take action to protect this aspect?

I feel that each and every aspect of nature is very important and should be protected. However, since some of the aspects are more threatened and need more protection, they should be prioritized over the others. I believe that endangered species is one of the most threatened biodiversity aspects. Each and every species has a role to play in the ecosystem and if a species gets extinct that can cause severe imbalance in nature as well as lead to extinction of another dependent species. I believe that even small but important steps can help save the endangered and threatened species. For example, recycling products can help reduce the waste as well as can reduce the need of new materials needed in further production. Similarly, buying sustainable products, reducing the water consumption and one’s carbon footprint can help maintain the needed ecological balance in nature which can fulfill the survival needs of all the organisms and can prevent them from extinction. I believe that it is really important to educate and spread awareness regarding an individual’s role in helping prevent extinction of species and being an ecology student, I can impart my knowledge to others by getting more involved with conservation initiatives.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/17/biodiversity.un.summit.briefing/index.html

Part 3. Question

1. Describe where and when you spent your time in nature?

I decided to spend my one hour in silence in nature and chose to sit at Kildonan park on 15th of October.

2. What did you experience in your time in nature? What did you see, hear, smell, feel? What effect did this time in nature have on you?

My time in nature was very calming. I had a very stressful day before and this silent time was much needed to soothe myself. During the one hour, I noticed the importance of silence. I was able to hear the sound of birds chirping, the sound of the river flowing by and most importantly, I was relieved to not hear any automobile sounds. I purposely left my phone in my car and not having the urge to constantly check social media was very relieving on its own. I experienced the beauty of nature, the trees, the children playing and laughing nearby and the very beauty of me being myself in the nature without the presence of any sort of distraction. Overall, it was a very unique and remembering experience and I have made this one hour of silence a part of my self-care routine.

https://www.tourismwinnipeg.com/things-to-do/attractions/display,listing/05871/kildonan-park

Part 4. In-class Blog Questions A

1 a. What promotes human connection to nature?

The beauty of nature is very fascinating, and we can only enjoy this beauty by experiencing it. Our lives in these big cities is full of stress and we are always busy in our work and other things that we don’t enjoy the beauty of nature. If we spend some time in nature, we can experience the peace, silence and beauty of nature. There are so many beautiful things in the developing world but there is nothing comparable to the natural creations like rivers, mountains and so many other natural beauties. We can promote our connection with nature by spending some time in nature and we can do that by camping, photography, bird watching, hiking and any other activities in nature.

1 b. What promotes disconnection from nature?

There are so many things which are pulling the new generation away from nature. Technology is enhancing day by day which is one of the reasons behind the disconnection from nature of modern world. Mobile phones, play stations, video games are the new type of entertainment in this new world which doesn’t involve nature. People are living in big cities which are away from nature, there are parks in these cities but that cannot give the experience of the natural beauty. New generation is so busy in their hectic lifestyle that they don’t have time to go out and experience this beautiful mother nature.

1 c. Is there a danger to a growing disconnect from nature?

As technology and the world is developing so fast that we are disconnecting ourselves from nature. Modern world care more about gadgets, technology, automobiles but they do not care about mother nature. We our so busy in our life that we don’t have any idea that what we are missing by not experiencing these beautiful rivers, water falls, mountains and the wildlife. As our interest in nature is decreasing, we are harming our world more and more because we don’t care about deforestation, global warming, pollution and many other environmental problems which are directly affecting our health and is going to affect badly our future generation as well.

2. Where do your environmental ethics lie?

I believe in ecocentric approach because I think every living organism is equally important whether that organism is important or not important to humans. Every organism plays a role in the environment so directly or indirectly every living organism is dependent on each other for example in a simple food chain a lion is not directly dependent on grass but he is dependent on a dear and dear is dependent on grass so indirectly lion is dependent on grass and this way in every food chain every organism is dependent on each other.

3 a. Can parks meet its dual mandate of access and protection?

According to me parks can definitely the dual mandate of access and protection but for this the people who are visiting, government and the workers of the park all have to understand their responsibilities. As the visitors have to make sure that they are following the laws and rules of these wildlife parks and sanctuaries as by visiting these places people can experience the beauty of nature. Government also have to make some strict laws like against hunting and any other activities which are dangerous for the wildlife of these park and the workers of the park have to make sure that the rules of the parks are followed properly.

3 b. How can this be achieved in Wapusk?

Wapusk park is different from the other national parks of Canada as people cannot visit the park but they can only see the park from the helicopter. Wapusk park has many native species so this park can achieve dual mandate of access and protection by following park’s rules of limited visitation.

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/mb/wapusk/decouvrir-discover/ne1/ne1a/ne_2010_5

Part 5. Questions

Describe 3 challenges and 3 opportunities that you see in the slow movement. Do you want to slow some aspect(s) of your life? If so, what concrete steps can you take to achieve this?

I listened to the European Vacation 2.0 part of the slow podcast. I chose this part because I could personally relate well to this podcast and to the need of wanting a tech-free vacation. The last time I was on vacation, I remember checking my phone often to see how many likes and comments I have received on my vacation photos. Listening to the podcast makes me feel the need to actually slow down in my life and especially slow down when I am on a vacation.

I feel that there would be challenges in starting the slow movement and once, an individual has initiated the movement, then it would be a lot easier to continue with the movement. In the beginning, just cutting off distractions and unnecessary workload would be very hard. Deciding what is unimportant is a difficult task and could take a lot of time itself. Then, it would be hard to maintain a slow routine. An individual who is practicing the slow movement might feel like they are behind others and not achieving as much as they are capable of. Another challenge would be fighting the urge to go back to the old routine which could result in getting distracted.

However, there are a number of challenges in the slow movement, but it still has many prospective opportunities. Participating in the slow movement is rewarding in the sense that it helps the individual explore the options they would not have considered otherwise. It opens a wide range of possibilities and helps the individual focus better on the things they want to achieve and help them make less mistakes. Slow movement breaks the vicious cycle of working more, wanting more and stressing more. Slow movement develops strong and nurturing relationships and is essential for the wholistic development of an individual.

And in order to slow myself during vacation, I would make sure that I have a camera on me instead of using my phone to capture photos and in this way, I would distract myself less. Moreover, I would like to join a group tour to cultivate new relationships along with giving time to myself through some reading alone in the nature.

https://degrowth.org/2017/11/08/conversations-degrowth-exploring-slow-movement/

Part 6. Action

1. Investigate the chemicals in 5 of your household’s     personal care products. Use the product guide from the Environmental Working Group http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ to see how your products are rated for carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, etc.

a) Herbal Essences Bio: Renew Golden Moringa Oil Shampoo

HIGH

·      Contamination concerns

·      Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

·      Miscellaneous

·      Occupational hazards

·      Persistence and bioaccumulation

·      Use restrictions

MODERATE

·      Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

LOW

·      Enhanced skin absorption

·      Ecotoxicology

·      Neurotoxicity

 b) Colgate Total SF Whitening Toothpaste

HIGH

·      Multiple, additive exposure sources

·      Contamination concerns

·      Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

·      Miscellaneous

·      Persistence and bioaccumulation

·      Use restrictions

MODERATE

·      Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

LOW

·      Enhanced skin absorption

·      Ecotoxicology

·      Occupational hazards

 c) Dial Omega Moisture Body Wash

HIGH

·      Contamination concerns

·      Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

·      Miscellaneous

·      Occupational hazards

·      Persistence and bioaccumulation

·      Use restrictions

MODERATE

·      Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

LOW

·      Enhanced skin absorption

·      Ecotoxicology

 d) Axe Deodorant Wipes

HIGH

·      Contamination concerns

·      Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

·      Miscellaneous

·      Use restrictions

MODERATE

·      Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

LOW

·      Enhanced skin absorption

·      Ecotoxicology

 e) Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Sunscreen Spray

HIGH

·      Multiple, additive exposure sources

·      Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

·      Miscellaneous

·      Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

·      Use restrictions

MODERATE

·      Endocrine disruption

·      Contamination concerns

·      Persistence and bioaccumulation

LOW

·      Enhanced skin absorption

·      Ecotoxicology

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Degree-Stay-Fresh-On-The-Go-Deodorant-Wipes-White-Flowers-and-Lychee-25ct/312795048

2. Do an analysis of your purchases for one week. Record all products, food, beverages and services purchased othis period.  Create screening     criteria to categorize all items as “Good”, “Bad” or “Ugly”.  The criteria is up to you, but must be justified.  You may wish to consider factors such as: environmental impact, social impact, local or foreign, corporate or small business.  Add up the dollar values spent in each category and reflect on where you would like to make changes – if any.

a- 12 cans of coke-$3.99- “Bad” it is bad because it is bad for health but if we see on the basis of environmental factors the cans needed to be recycled and energy is wasted in recycling. Coca-Cola is a American company and its profits also goes to America.

b- Apples-$5.47- “Good” apples are good because they are good for health and I bought it from real Canadian superstore so its profits will also stay in Canada and I can use the peels are also biodegradable, so they are good for environment also.

c- I bought meals from Indian food corner which I consider “good” and it costs me $49 for whole week as this restaurant is local so I am encouraging local business and this food is healthy too and there is not too much waste produced so it is good for the environment too.

d-     Windshield water fluid-$3.78- “good” it is good because I needed it but the plastic is not good for environment.

e- Peanut butter-$5.98- “good” this is good for health and its is produced by a Canadian company, so the profits stays in Canada but the problem is plastic box packing.

f- Breads-$7.96- “good” it is good for health and I bought it from Canadian Superstore .

          I mostly spend my spending in the good products which is around $73 and I spend around $4 on bad things and I want to quit drinking coke and change this habit too and I am going to buy the stuff which use less or no amount of plastic so I can help in saving the environment.

3. Investigate the options and end fate of your household’s e-waste.  Discuss where and how you will dispose of this waste and your future electronics purchase plans in relation to the waste they will one day become.

Th e-waste generated from my household is very low as me and my family has taken initiatives to reduce it greatly. I dispose my waste batteries in the e-waste cartons outside the library at the University of Manitoba. However, it is known to me that the e-waste which is recycled is often shipped to developing countries. Workers in these countries extract the useful materials from the e-waste and dump the rest. Moreover, these workers do not have the adequate equipment for extraction and often are at a high risk of getting cancerous diseases. If I buy any electronic product these days I make sure that the retailer has a take-back or 

trade-in program.

https://www.greenbiz.com/news/2013/04/30/staples-brings-responsible-e-waste-recycling-across-us

4. Consider your food system and the ways in which you can improve the sustainability the food that you consume and throw away. Are there ways to improve sustainability such as shopping locally, growing your own food or reducing your household’s food waste? Which options might suit your household and value system? Create a plan for one change that you think would improve the sustainability of your food system. 

I prefer to buy food locally specially from farmer food markets. By doing so I make sure that my food is ethically sourced and it also gives farmers the share that they deserve and I only buy as much food as needed by which I can reduce my waste consumption. I was planning to start delivering left over food to the food desert location in Winnipeg to help the people who don’t have food by doing this we can reduce the food wastage along with that we can also help the people in need.

Part 7

Zoos

a. What role, if any, should zoos play in conservation / education?

Zoos play a vital role in conservation and education as there are many breeding programs which are continuously going on in many zoos to protect endangered species and a person can learn many things about wildlife by watching them by their own eyes and observing their behaviour.

https://cincinnatiusa.com/things-to-do/attractions/cincinnati-zoo-botanical-garden

b. Is it ethical to keep animals in zoos? If so, what size / type of animal or zoo?

I believe that it is ethical to keep animals in zoos because in most of the cases where animals are kept in the zoos they are provided with a secure food supply, care and shelter as compared to the outer conditions where all these things cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, zoos also protect endangered animals from getting extinct and are a means of keeping biodiversity. Animals who are under the risk of getting threatened, endangered or extinct should be kept in the zoos.

c. Do you enjoy visiting zoos?

Yes, I like visiting zoos as I recently visited Assiniboine Zoo and I really appreciated and enjoyed the experience. Visiting the zoo gave me a chance to learn a lot about the natural habitats of various organisms and about their behavior.  

Food

Consider your food system

a. What do you like about it?

I really enjoy the taste of a variety of foods. I like fruits a lot because they are very nutritious and help build the immune system of the body. I like that how there are cheap options available to satisfy one’s appetite. Basic food options are available for the general public as well as the elite, but options get narrower and expensive if a person has very specific food choices.

b. What do you dislike about it?

Consider taste, nutrition, cost, equity, and environmental issues

I often eat unhealthy food to satisfy my instant hunger. Although it tastes good, yet I end up not getting the right amount of required nutrition. I have tried cooking healthy alternatives at home, but they have not worked well for me. Eating outside also proves to be very expensive. Moreover, I do not like the imbalance between the cost of organic, ethically sourced foods and non-organic foods. I do not like how major forests are cleared and converted into grasslands for increased grain production. This sort of production is not sustainable or long-term. Moreover, animal cruelty is also a major concern as so many animals are killed to serve as so called delicacies.

 Oceans

a. What are your primary concerns about the oceans?

My primary concerns regarding oceans are the increased, untreated waste disposal into the oceans. I am also very concerned about the marine life which is affected from the water pollution. Water pollution is caused by many factors such as oil spillage, waste disposal and release of harmful chemicals into the oceans.

b. What, if anything, do you plan to do about it?  

I plan on spreading awareness regarding the causes and impact of water pollution on marine life. I intend to take part in climate change protests and will definitely vote for a government that not only advocates reducing water pollution but also, takes strict initiatives and actions to achieve so. 

https://www.voanews.com/science-health/water-pollution-invisible-threat-global-goals-economists-warn#&gid=1&pid=1

Part 8. Sustainable Wellbeing 

a. Happiness, Wellbeing and Sustainability

b. Connect with Ourselves, Connect with Nature

Mindfulness is very helpful in today’s life. In the beginning, I didn’t believe in its benefits but after some time I realized it helps to calm our mind. As in the first case when I did mindfulness exercise in the snow, I enjoyed the weather a lot more than before as I appreciated the mother nature and I enjoyed the beauty of nature even more then before. When I did this mindfulness exercise in the gym, I felt more relieved and I was able to concentrate more on what I am doing, and I was more into myself as my mind was more calm and I was more dedicated then earlier. The third time when I did this while eating burger, I appreciated the taste of it more and I enjoyed my meal a lot more than earlier. 

c. Solution Revolution

a)Gym- I started going to gym regularly from September. Its been two months now that I am going to gym regularly with my friend. I usually go to gym in the evening around 6pm or in the night around 12pm depending on my work schedule and it is helping me a lot as I feel more active and energetic these days.

It is my picture in the gym.

b) Eating salad in dinner- from around last one and half month I started eating salad in dinner because I have this habit of eating heavy meals during night due to which I was gaining weight so I quit that habit and started eating healthy.

https://www.fifteenspatulas.com/caesar-salad-with-parmesan-peppercorn-croutons/

c) I started writing from last three months as I usually write some poems every week which is enhancing my personality and I am taking my hobby more seriously. I usually write every week on different topics.

these are two poems which i wrote this month.

d)Mindfulness- I Started doing these mindfulness activities a lot these days like while snowing, while working out, while eating and sometimes when I am free and after this I feel more confident and I started appreciating things more and I feel more came and relaxed then before.

[ntrending]

Feral pigs are ruining ecosystems across 35 states and hunting is making it worse

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/feral-pigs-are-ruining-ecosystems-across-35-states-and-hunting-is-making-it-worse/

Feral pigs are ruining ecosystems across 35 states and hunting is making it worse

Feral pigs pose a big problem, especially in the southern United States. (Deposit Photos/)

They��re smart, secretive, adaptable—and have an appetite for everything in sight.

That’s why the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced $75 million in funding toward a pilot program to control feral pigs. The effort is focused on areas where the hogs are causing the most damage, primarily in the Southeast. But officials in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas face significant challenges, not just due to the pigs’ rapid feeding and breeding, but also because of their value as game.

Today, they number an estimated nearly seven million and have established themselves in 35 states (and have been spotted in 48!). According to the USDA, they cause $2 billion in damage every year. “This situation has been described as the greatest emerging wildlife challenge that the United States faces in the 21st century,” says John “Jack” Mayer, a biologist Savannah River National Laboratory who’s been studying wild pigs for over 40 years. “This is something we did to ourselves.”

The pigs’ rooting and wallowing all began in the 1500s, when European settlers brought them to the states for food. Then, in the 1900s, sport hunters imported wild boars. Today, America’s feral swine include wild boar, escaped domestic pigs, and hybrids of the two.

In the 1950s and 60s, says Mayer, wildlife departments promoted pig hunting and sometimes even stocked the animals. Now, they’re the second most popular game animal after white-tailed deer. But even when state officials encouraged sport hunting for the explicit purpose of curbing the tidal wave of pigs, it’s backfired. Hunters love to shoot them so they transport the animals to new areas. Even when the new hunting spots are fenced properties, the swine are notoriously good at digging their way out and escaping.

Once they’re out in the open, feral hogs simply breed too fast for hunters to keep up. To wipe out a population, you need to shoot 60 to 80 percent a year, says Mayer, but recreational hunting can only cut their numbers by about a quarter. And while plenty of non-human predators would enjoy some pork—including mountain lions, alligators, coyotes, and hawks—there are just too many pigs to make a dent. Meanwhile, they thrive almost anywhere between the Arctic and the tropics and females can birth two litters every year. They are “opportunistic omnivores,” which is a fancy way of saying “if it’s got a calorie in it and they can get their mouth around it, they’ll try to eat it,” says Mayer.

This is bad news for farmers, conservationists, and even archaeologists. The hogs literally tear up fields, especially in the Southeast. It’s not just that they voraciously eat anything edible, but they also vigorously root around in the soil as they search for food, leading to their nickname “the rototillers of nature.” They also wreck areas through repeated trampling. About half of that $2 billion in damage is agricultural impacts.

They also trash natural habitats. Perhaps the worst impacts are to watersheds—pigs love living around and rooting through these areas. They also need to wallow in water to cool off. These activities lead to loss of plants, soil erosion, and increased sediment in streams. Swine waste also introduces pathogens and nutrients into water, posing a health risk and contributing to algal blooms and fish kills downstream.

Importantly, feral swine are a vector for diseases that spread to both domestic pigs and humans. That’s not only a public health concern—it could destroy the nation’s livestock. African swine fever is currently devastating the Asian and European pork industry. If it hopped the pond, wild pigs could quickly spread the deadly disease, bringing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to the pork industry here, says Mayer.

The impacts go on and on. Feral pigs have damaged cultural and archeological resources. On Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California, the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy moved quickly to wipe the island of pigs after they discovered that the animals had been rooting through archeological sites belonging to the Chumash, a Native American group whose presence in the state dates back as much as 11,000 years. They’ve even been found to eat dusky gopher toads, an endangered species, according to a USDA spokesperson.

That’s why the USDA has poured money into fending off the swine. In a previous effort, they helped fund control efforts in less-densely populated states. Officials used corral-like traps to round up as many individuals of a sounder (a group of hogs) as they could and then euthanized the animals. According to a USDA spokesperson, Idaho, New York, Maryland and New Jersey are now pig-free. Iowa, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin are nearing success, too.

Damage caused by feral pigs rooting. (Deposit Photos/)

But the Southeast is another scenario. “I don’t know that the Southeast is solvable,” says Mayer. Not only are feral pigs long-established and numerous, he says, “People in the South, they grew up hunting wild pigs, it’s a part of the culture.”

In the new effort, a lot of the funds will go to local soil and water conservation districts, which will work with USDA officials to implement trapping and shooting efforts. In addition to the corral traps, aerial shooting is also a popular control measure. In the early spring in Louisiana, before trees have leafed out, officials fly in helicopters and gun down hogs, says John Pitre, the state’s resource conservationist.

But since pigs like densely-vegetated marsh habitat it can be hard to track them down. So, in what’s called the “Judas pig technique,” officials capture a hog and equip it with a tracking collar. They then free it and let it betray the whereabouts of its sounder.

To stop the swine’s destruction, officials might need additional tools. Though not in use yet, scientists are developing contraceptives and toxins that would target the pigs. The challenge is ensuring that these measures only affect pigs. Feeders laced with such chemicals need to be only accessible to pigs and not other wildlife. And toxins need to degrade quickly, so that hunters or animals that eat the pigs aren’t harmed.

But measures to control the pigs aren’t always appreciated. After announcements of eradication efforts, game biologists in the Southeast have had their tires slashed and received death threats, according to Mayer. In states like Louisiana, AKA Sportsman’s Paradise, “the bulk of the population enjoys hunting and fishing,” says Pitre. So people aren’t happy with their pigs getting taken away.

Wild hogs are also big business, says Mayer. In some states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Florida, ranchers can round up the animals and sell them to government buying stations, after which the animals are slaughtered and the meat sold. If you’ve ever eaten a “wild boar” pulled pork sandwich, chances are that’s where the meat came from. In Texas, ranchers are making a killing off of charging hunters to fly in a helicopter on their property and shoot wild pigs, says Mayer.

Hunting the pigs for food might seem like a way to at least recycle the animals instead of letting their carcasses rot away, but it’s created an industry that relies on their continued existence. In Texas, although some 25,000 to 30,000 pigs are killed annually, that’s nothing compared to an estimated population of over two million. Some states have banned sport hunting or even possession of feral pigs for that reason. “We’re not going to barbecue our way out of this one,” says Mayer.

Written By Ula Chrobak

[philosophicalplantboy-blog]

Our Fragile Earth

Word Count: 1219

The Earth, while a remarkable planet with untamed power and wonder, is much more fragile than many realize. Before the human race dominated the globe, our untampered world was surprisingly and ironically much safer, with all species following the natural laws of survival which kept ecosystems in check. However, this natural system has been changed following the technological advancement of humans and our domination over large masses of land to sustain an ever-growing population.

Seeing as how the world population clock is currently at 7,481,332,170, one cannot deny how human overpopulation is a very real and dangerous thing to our planet’s environment. Surely the planet was not created to sustain roughly 7.5 billion humans all over the globe, and considering the number is on a constant rise, one should be worried about the impact 8 or 9 billion humans coexisting - if one could argue humans ever peacefully coexisted - could have on all ecosystems. Our yearly population growth rate has been decreasing over the years to 1.11 percent currently in 2017; yet that still confirms we are increasing in population more than our death rate of 56 million humans a year. The World Population Forecast predicts that within 8 years we will surpass 8 billion humans living at once, and that number will rise to over 9 billion by 2040.

We humans as Homo sapiens sapiens are unique as a species in how we impact other ecosystems. Due to our advancements in technology and use of technological tools for the bettering and sustaining of human life, our species directly and indirectly impacts almost all other species in surrounding ecosystems. It's a scary thing to think about considering we’ve only started making such a massive impact on our environment following our technological advancements of roughly the past 200 years. Before then, our carbon footprint did not include things such as greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel use and mass land pollution due to toxic waste.

One of the best examples of how humans may have surpassed their ideal population to maintain the structures of other more fragile ecosystems is the impossible hamster scenario. The film depicts a hamster that continuously grows past its natural limits to eventually destroy the earth. The hamster, a metaphor for humans, creates no problems when it stops growing at its intended natural limit. Since things like natural disaster, predators and even disease are constantly being defeated by human technological advancement, we find ourselves in a predicament where there is no longer a glass ceiling strong enough to contain our own species, which has been already greatly impacting our planet, endangering all other ecosystems and extincting countless species. In other words, we have successfully been the hampster for decades now.

After measuring my ecological footprint, I have discovered that there would need to be 3.8 Planet Earths to exist simultaneously to provide enough resources to sustain all lifestyles if they were to exactly match my own. What’s even more surprising about this discovery is that I know most people my age would actually surpass my limit of consumption. While not every person in the world is consuming as much as me, since poverty and famine plague most of the world, there is still an overwhelming amount of people in America alone who consume up to double what I do a year. So as the human population continuously rises and the amount of resources that we use surpasses what we are naturally intended to consume, how can society progress without destroying the planet?

One solution that has been growing in popularity is the concept of degrowth. Degrowth is a movement based on the idea that reducing the production and consumption of goods in communities will help solve social inequalities and environmental issues. Degrowth does not mean to reverse production of goods or to deprive communities of necessary goods, but to instead utilize things such as art, family and culture to encourage communities to share work and consume less, while still maximizing happiness. Governments and communities would greatly benefit from adopting the idea of degrowth into their societal structures as a means to reduce our carbon footprint and benefit other fields of interest simultaneously. Imagine that instead of watching TV shows on our every night alone in our apartments, we could visit different places in their city or town that show collective groups of people shows either displayed on large monitors or put on publicly by other members of the community. Perhaps instead of families being encouraged by advertisements to get fast foods, they could all contribute to growing their own food and cooking together. Such small changes could have an enormous impact on our planet and reduce our impact on the environment.

The need to decrease our consumption is not something to be taken lightly, and our time to make the change is running out. After measuring my ecological footprint, I have discovered that there would need to be 3.8 Planet Earths to exist simultaneously to provide enough resources to sustain all lifestyles if they were to exactly match my own. What’s even more surprising about this discovery is that I know most people my age would actually surpass my limit of consumption. While not every person in the world is consuming as much as me, since poverty and famine plague most of the world, there is still an overwhelming amount of people in America alone who consume up to double what I do a year. What this does in contributing to our planet’s temperature increase is explored in “Six degrees could change the world”.

Greenhouse gasses created by our consumption and use of fossil fuels is causing a serious problem for our planet in a way never before seen. Our planet needs to remain at its current temperature in order to sustain life as we know it. Earth’s whole temperature increasing by only 3% is enough to melt away the arctic and dry up the tropical rain forests. While the planet has experienced climate change before, it has done so over the course of millions of years. Human made greenhouse gasses, as stated in “Six degrees could change the world”, are already threatening harm to not only animals, but our very own species. Greenland’s ice sheets and other ice sheets in the arctic, for example, can melt in the very near future, and have already been confirmed to be melting. This will lead to mass flooding in cities all over the world as the water levels rise and destroy the homes and lives of millions.

Our best bet right now would be to adopt degrowth as the main objective for our countries to make sure we still have a planet to govern 30 years from now. Also, a complete halt to the use of fossil fuels and instead using reusable biomass needs to be instated to prevent greenhouse gasses from rapidly increasing our temperature as they currently are. The questions that I end this with are: Can our government and communities adopt degrowth so late into our practiced level of consumption? If so, is there any way to reverse our growth and consumption rate to the point that the earth will still be similar to what it is today in the next 100 years?