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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40961721/ns/us_news-environment/ In the past eight months, the USGS has logged 95 mass wildlife die-offs in North America and that's probably a dramatic undercount, White said. The list includes 900 some turkey vultures that seemed to drown and starve in the Florida Keys, 4,300 ducks killed by parasites in Minnesota, 1,500 salamanders done in by a virus in Idaho, 2,000 bats that died of rabies in Texas, and the still mysterious death of 2,750 sea birds in California. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On average, 163 such events are reported to the federal government each year, according to USGS records. And there have been much larger die-offs than the 3,000 blackbirds in Arkansas. Twice in the summer of 1996, more than 100,000 ducks died of botulism in Canada. "Depending on the species, these things don't even get reported," White said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The irony is that mass die-offs — usually of animals with large populations — are getting the attention while a larger but slower mass extinction of thousands of species because of human activity is ignored, Wilson said. On Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 9:59 AM, Dennis Brasky <dmozart1...@gmail.com> wrote: > Is it possible that the process of environmental destruction and species > extinction has progressed to the point where quantitative change has or is > about to become qualitative? If so, we will be entering an era of wars not > for oil, but for water and against millions of refugees who will be fleeing > flooded coasts and newly hostile climates. A new meaning for the phrase, > "socialism or barbarism". ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com