Green Options

With concerns over climate change globally, you might think that the last thing that environmentalists would worry about would be the natural food chain of wildlife; but for the Great Lakes there could be severe consequences posed if the carp manage to enter waterways they’ve been barred from entering.

The Greatest Shoal on Earth, less prosaically known at the Sardine Run, has been an annual event along the east coast of South Africa for decades. What was simply a natural resource that provided an easily accessible protein source for local inhabitants and an income for fisherman has become a tourist event, classified with the Serengeti Migration and Iceland Atlantic Puffins as “Must See Nature Sites“.

The Sardines

The sardines, which are more correctly known as the Southern African Pilchard (Sardinops sagaxis), are the most fished species in South African waters, although not the most valuable industry. The pilchards are harvested on the Agulhas Bank, a broad, shallow part of the continental shelf which extends 250 kilometres (160 miles) south of Cape Agulhas, the southern most tip of Africa. The meeting of the warm Indian and cold Atlantic oceans fuels the nutrient cycle for marine life, resulting in one of the best fishing grounds in South Africa.

Little thought is generally given to the origin of animal research subjects, whether we accept or abhor their existence. The Mauritian case seems like a solution: find a place where an introduced species causes environmental harm and reduce the effect of the species both by reducing numbers and by using the profit made to repair environmental harm.

There has been significant success in decreasing the levels of chemical contaminants in our nation’s water ways in recent years, thanks to the Clean Air and Water Acts passed by Congress. However, low levels of many contaminants (such as metals, pesticides, and synthetic molecules like PCBs) persist in many rivers and streams, home to salmon and related trout species.

A gray wolf was captured alive, fitted with a radio collar and ear tags, and then released in  May in Baker County (Eastern Oregon).

Hippy types’ who once wanted to live in partnership with nature find that the partnership isn’t so enticing when nature just ate your entire winter vegetable supply!