tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post8777093223312911430..comments2024-02-11T05:15:15.006-05:00Comments on Notes From The Cloud Messenger: A REAL LIFE THING TO PONDERDeborah Godinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15175977572194074388noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-54379804369519980472008-10-22T15:36:00.000-04:002008-10-22T15:36:00.000-04:00Thanks for your input on this topic. My post was b...Thanks for your input on this topic. My post was based on info in an article in the local paper, and not my personal expertise - or lack thereof! As for the other points you make, I quite agree, we alter our planetary ecosystem to the detriment of many species, including our own, if we would only realize it.Deborah Godinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15175977572194074388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-65154372851074384962008-10-22T14:40:00.000-04:002008-10-22T14:40:00.000-04:00One comment in your blog has raised my hackles, it...One comment in your blog has raised my hackles, it is a comment I have encountered many times. I must take issue with the perception that cormorants are not native.<BR/><BR/>Throughout the archaeological record, cormorant remains have been found across North America, often as one of the most abundant items. So they are, indeed, native to the Great Lakes, the major drainages, both coasts...essentially, they are native to just about anywhere in North American where there has been enough water and an adequate food supply.<BR/><BR/>The whole issue around the population increase of the Double-creasted Cormorant is complex. Since Europeans first settled North America, they have been persecuting cormorants. They and their eggs have been targeted as food. To a lesser degree, their feathers were sought for the millinery trade. They suffered terribly from the effects of DDT.<BR/><BR/>And now, in the past 30 or so years, that their population is recovering, they are perceived as a threat. <BR/><BR/>In the grand scheme of things, cormorants only nest in a very tiny percentage of the landscape. The fact that their guano kills trees should be far less an issue than the number of trees we cut for our own needs. <BR/><BR/>In the end, I think that the way we treat cormorants is more a reflection of our own unwillingness to take responsibility for our impacts on the landscape, which is far greater than that of all of the cormorants of the world.adkRichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923748297938560862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-4364897473612972362008-10-19T11:42:00.000-04:002008-10-19T11:42:00.000-04:00I can identify with your reaction. The campus whe...I can identify with your reaction. The campus where our son is has decided to participate in a city wide culling of the deer which walk freely through town. I know it's dangerous but it makes me sad they have to do this. Thoughtful post; thank you.Quiet Pathshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00758542150832581706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-81871815096719299372008-10-19T09:58:00.000-04:002008-10-19T09:58:00.000-04:00I have a friend who is a Buddhist priest who often...I have a friend who is a Buddhist priest who often raises the question, What if we just leave things alone?" It's a great rhetorical question. Why do we need to "fix" nature? Food for thought. Thanks for this post.SandyCarlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752798823532580733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-53645769974754428642008-10-19T08:06:00.000-04:002008-10-19T08:06:00.000-04:00Yes, "man decides". And man so often makes mistake...Yes, "man decides". And man so often makes mistakes. We are not always good stewards. <BR/><BR/>Sylvia's question makes me ponder. Ann's observation is fascinating. I like the people who comment on your posts. All of them leave mini-posts that are so interesting.bobbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00658103343742852411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-48533845900035146802008-10-18T23:48:00.000-04:002008-10-18T23:48:00.000-04:00man decides...man decides...magiceyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848851692951192508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-51971826638389476752008-10-18T22:39:00.000-04:002008-10-18T22:39:00.000-04:00Funny how life makes its connections. It's intere...Funny how life makes its connections. It's interesting with what they call "invasive exotic" plants and animals ... how we lament that they can spread like wildfire. But from an evolutionary standpoint, that is biology in motion. Metaphorically and biologically, to be on the cusp of a frontier, with open territory ahead, all unclaimed, and ready for settlement: That is how nations and species (and ideas) are born. Long live the frontier!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17989947946488835186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-69060951153629931042008-10-18T16:16:00.000-04:002008-10-18T16:16:00.000-04:00I know, I hate to hear about these culls. Apparen...I know, I hate to hear about these culls. Apparently there's a big issue with rabbits on Robben Island in South Africa where Mandela was jailed. It seems more and more you hear about the huge populations. What is enabling their growth, I wonder??<BR/><BR/>KatKat Mortensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877694888419628533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-75168282651666450152008-10-18T11:54:00.000-04:002008-10-18T11:54:00.000-04:00Since I have become more aware of nature in the pa...Since I have become more aware of nature in the past decade, and more focused on the multitude of amazing creatures I share my surrounding area with, I am finding more and more birds species that I had never seen while growing up. Was I such an inattentive child? I don't think so for I spent much time during my childhood summers wandering around, in and through our river and had never until recent years seen such birds here as Osprey, Eagles, Great Blue Heron, and a rather surprising find when I had seen my first sighting of one here just a few years ago, a Cormorant.<BR/>I kind of like seeing them around and hope they do not increase to such a nuisance numbers that they would have to have their numbers reduced.me ann my camerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06083671096943783249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091316613928276649.post-3537342626950389232008-10-18T10:37:00.000-04:002008-10-18T10:37:00.000-04:00Wonder when they'll start culling us as being a da...Wonder when they'll start culling us as being a danger to the enviornment? Lovely picture! You do live in a lovely area!Sylvia Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18259032453252447339noreply@blogger.com