Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
Update Date: 2008/07/20 17:25 International Center Comprehensive Report
Over the past two months, more than 400 bodies of Antarctic penguins have been found on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is common for penguins to be washed from the icy coasts to tropical areas due to the strong and rapid currents of the Strait of Magellan, but never before have such large numbers been washed ashore on the Brazilian coast. Experts have differing views on the cause of this ecological disaster, with some believing that overfishing by humans has led to a shortage of food for penguins, while others think that environmental pollution has caused the penguins to die from illness.
Hundreds of penguins were washed from the icy coasts of Antarctica and the Patagonia region at the southern tip of Argentina to the tropical coasts of Brazil, where they died from the unbearable heat. Despite the efforts of Brazilian authorities, who dispatched rescue workers and penguin experts to assist, they were unable to stop the penguins from dying one by one. Regarding the reason for the large number of penguins being washed to tropical coasts, a veterinarian named Muniz believes that excessive fishing by humans has forced penguins to swim to more distant waters to find food, making it difficult for them to withstand the strong ocean currents.
It is understood that the largest zoo in Rio de Janeiro state has received about 100 penguins in 2008, many of which were covered in oil. Given that the Campos oil field is located offshore, the director of the Coastal Protection and Environmental Bureau, Pimenta, believes that environmental pollution is the main culprit. Pimenta stated that the oil pollution from the Campos oil field and environmental pollution have weakened the penguins' immune systems, making their lungs more susceptible to bacterial infections.
However, Costa, a biologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, holds a contrary opinion. Costa believes that environmental pollution should not affect penguins' lives so quickly, especially since the penguins washed ashore are mostly young ones that have just left their nests. Therefore, he speculates that this is related to the rise in global temperatures; as temperatures rise, ocean currents are affected, generating more cyclones, which the penguins cannot withstand while foraging in the turbulent seas.
In fact, regardless of the exact cause, the plight faced by penguins is indeed due to the sudden changes in marine ecology caused by human activities. Environmental pollution, depletion of fish resources, and shrinking breeding grounds all threaten their survival. As promoted in the movie "Happy Feet," only by not ignoring the importance of ecological balance for the sake of profit can humans ensure that penguins can dance happily in their habitats.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080720/ 17/ 13l3z. html
Hundreds of Penguin Corpses Wash Ashore in Brazil: A Consequence of Global Warming?
Over the past two months, more than 400 bodies of Antarctic penguins have been found on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is common for penguins to be washed from the icy coasts to tropical areas due to the strong and rapid currents of the Strait of Magellan, but never before have such large numbers been washed ashore on the Brazilian coast. Experts have differing views on the cause of this ecological disaster, with some believing that overfishing by humans has led to a shortage of food for penguins, while others think that environmental pollution has caused the penguins to die from illness.
Hundreds of penguins were washed from the icy coasts of Antarctica and the Patagonia region at the southern tip of Argentina to the tropical coasts of Brazil, where they died from the unbearable heat. Despite the efforts of Brazilian authorities, who dispatched rescue workers and penguin experts to assist, they were unable to stop the penguins from dying one by one. Regarding the reason for the large number of penguins being washed to tropical coasts, a veterinarian named Muniz believes that excessive fishing by humans has forced penguins to swim to more distant waters to find food, making it difficult for them to withstand the strong ocean currents.
It is understood that the largest zoo in Rio de Janeiro state has received about 100 penguins in 2008, many of which were covered in oil. Given that the Campos oil field is located offshore, the director of the Coastal Protection and Environmental Bureau, Pimenta, believes that environmental pollution is the main culprit. Pimenta stated that the oil pollution from the Campos oil field and environmental pollution have weakened the penguins' immune systems, making their lungs more susceptible to bacterial infections.
However, Costa, a biologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, holds a contrary opinion. Costa believes that environmental pollution should not affect penguins' lives so quickly, especially since the penguins washed ashore are mostly young ones that have just left their nests. Therefore, he speculates that this is related to the rise in global temperatures; as temperatures rise, ocean currents are affected, generating more cyclones, which the penguins cannot withstand while foraging in the turbulent seas.
In fact, regardless of the exact cause, the plight faced by penguins is indeed due to the sudden changes in marine ecology caused by human activities. Environmental pollution, depletion of fish resources, and shrinking breeding grounds all threaten their survival. As promoted in the movie "Happy Feet," only by not ignoring the importance of ecological balance for the sake of profit can humans ensure that penguins can dance happily in their habitats.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080720/ 17/ 13l3z. html