Loggers Invaded Butterfly Haven

www.nytimes.com

Illegal loggers have chopped their way deep into unique forest reserves in a mountain range in central Mexico where millions of monarch butterflies from eastern North America roost for the winter, according to researchers who posted satellite photographs of the area on a NASA Web site Wednesday evening.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 7-3-2008 by Silenceisall]

I don't really expect to see too much interest in this story, but there are those who care. This is for you.

www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 7-3-2008 by Silenceisall]

I am interested in this, so thanks for posting it!

illegal loggers hmmm I think they are all illegal.

Terrible really, reminds me of a thread in fragile earth where no part of the Earth is untouched or corrupted by man.

The Monarchs are already on their way out.

Its too bad all that will happen is that they wil be fined, a slap on the wrist really.

reply to post by InSpiteOf


It makes me feel a kind of panic inside when I see stories like this. My fear is that the new economic instability will lead to more of this kind of thing.

Silenceisall,

Sir, I'm afraid you don't have all the facts. It is well documented, and has been extensively proven that butterflies are terrorists. That's right, you heard it here first. Butterflies are terrorist, and, as such, they must dealt with the way we deal with terrorist.

Shock and Awe.

We will destroy their homes, their entire "country," and the unfortunate occurrences of collateral damage are only the result of a butterfly culture on the brink of irrationality. The best thing we can do for the forest, and the rest of its inhabitants is gain a foothold in the region, instill democracy, and bring the good people of this butterfly-infested enclave the freedom they deserve.

We have to eliminate the butterfly terrorist, open up the region to the benefits of unfettered free-market, and allow commerce and good old fashioned hard work raise this environment up to the western standards of consumption and production it truly needs.

Don't weep for the butterflies, sir. You're either with us or against us. We will bring stability to the region, it will be a long and hard fought process, but the rest of the forest creatures will greet us with smiles and a carpet of pine needles. We are America, and we are strong.

reply to post by McKennalite


Excellent stuff. Starred.

i saw a nature documentary about this place and it was wonderful,god damn this consumption obessesed belief system of ours!.

when will it stop,can we forever go on using the worlds resources at this rate?,no we cant,we just cant something at some time has to change.

perhaps efficiency should become a desired value in economics,currently the opposite seems true,use a resource as much as possible and drive up the price.whilst efficiency would slay inflation forever,slash producer prices allowing for a similiar profit margin to our current system that has high producer prices.

Hi there. As hard as it is to read articles like this one, I do feel the change in the air. Some of it is fear inspired (fear of global warming) but even more of it comes from the right place.

[edit on 10-3-2008 by Silenceisall]

reply to post by Silenceisall


I disagree. Unfortunate but true. I think we will continue to consume untill there is nothing left. There, upon the ashes that once was a beatiful valley and forrest, we will look back and ask ourselves, where did this destruction come from?

Arrogance will kill us; Ignorance will make sure of it.

I hope you are wrong. I admit that things look grim, but that does not mean that we cannot wake up. I see it happening around me, slowly but surely. The problem I have with such pessimism is not that it is not founded, but that it creates apathy in some people, who might otherwise be energized into action with a bit of hope.





[edit on 10-3-2008 by Silenceisall]

Originally posted by Silenceisall
I hope you are wrong. I admit that things look grim, but that does not mean that we cannot wake up. I see it happening around me, slowly but surely. The problem I have with such pessimism is not that it is not founded, but that it creates apathy in some people, who might otherwise be energized into action with a bit of hope.

I hope im wrong too. Im having a bit of a down day so my outlook is a little more bleak than it usually is. Part of me thinks we have already past the point of no return, and that regardless of what we do, our finite resources (life sustaining resources) have been bled too thin. But I am no ecologist, so that is just my opinion...

reply to post by InSpiteOf


I get pessimistic too. The main thing is that you care, and I am glad to have you in this thread for that reason.

[edit on 10-3-2008 by Silenceisall]

reply to post by Silenceisall


Why thank you!

As expected by the OP, this thread isnt getting too much interest. But I for one will be sad to see the day no more monarch cross my path.

I remember, back when i was younger, my trips up north to see my family were always full of run in's with huge flocks of these winged beauties. They used to rest and sun in fields on the side of roads, changing the landscape into a fluttering collage of orange and black. If they were disturbed, they would lift off in a wave of colour that streamed to the sky. Something ill never forget.

If im not mistaken, a protien called Crynine C was developed (most likely by Monsanto) to act as a corn bore killer (a worm that ate corn crops) It had the unfortunate effect of falling on the milkweed plants that grew under and around corn crops, an important plant in the Monarchs life cycle. This protien acted as a pesticide and killed the young caterpillars before they had the change to morph into the well recognized butterfly.

It seems, we are attacking nature on all fronts. How much longer untill the wagons have gone full circle?

Some plants and animals seem to be making a decent living on the hedgerows and alleyways of human culture. Animals like white-tailed deer, coyotes, black bears, raccoons, not to mention feral cats and dogs keep popping up in the most unexpected locations. The monarch butterfly situation drives me crazy as I remember learning about them and their great migration in elementary school in the 1970s. So 40 years later with everyone looking crap like this happens. Maybe its one of the last straws. When we start losing charismatic megafauna (monarch fits the first word) maybe people will see what we have been warning about.

"In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation... even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine."

- Great Law of the Iroquois

You're right. We are changing the ecosystem so that the "specialists" like the butterflies and other life forms that live on specific foods and migrate according to specific patterns, are being replaced by "generalists," such as the squirrel, which are versatile and can live almost anywhere at any time. All animals are great, but we need both kinds for the beauty and complexity of nature to be maintained.




[edit on 11-3-2008 by Silenceisall]