If a substance really "billows" into the atmosphere and then settles back down "thickly", should the soil contain more than 1/4 part per million of that substance?
If you argue that global regulations are necessary to stop the decline of your local loon population, is your argument less persuasive if people realize that your local loon population isn't declining?
Mercury Sickens Adirondacks Loons - NYTimes.com
Human hands do not have to physically touch a place, though, to disturb it. Mercury that billows into the atmosphere from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants has settled back down thickly in the Adirondacks, causing trouble for common loon, which nest in large numbers in the park, and other wildlife.
...“Seventy-five percent of the loons that we sampled were at either moderate or high risk from mercury in their blood,” said Zoe Smith, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program. The Wildlife Conservation Society was one of the contributors to the project.
...Dr. Evers has been testing loons for mercury poisoning for two decades. He estimates that he has sampled over 4,000 loons across North America over the years. Loons are especially good indicators of mercury pollution in an ecosystem because they are long-lived – up to 30 years – and territorial, he said...
Mercury can be found naturally in ecosystems, but pollution causes there to be three to five times more than occurs naturally...He said he hoped the known risks to the beloved loons of Adirondack Park would lead to global regulations on releasing mercury into the environment.
Wisconsin Loon Population Survey | LoonWatch | Northland College
The results indicate that the outlook for Wisconsin's loon population looks good. The adult loon population for 2005 was estimated at 3,373
(±495) and chick population was estimated at 805 (±218). This represents a marginal adult population increase over 3,131 adults estimated in 2000 and
significant chick population increase over 462 in 2000. Thus 2005 had the largest loon population estimate since the survey started in 1985.
Soil collected in the Adirondack Mts, NY, had the highest mean soil Hg concentration ( = 0.25 ppm)
Census results reveal a relatively stable population estimated at approximately 2000 loons in the Adirondacks
Common Loons - National Geographic
to this day the Inuit legally hunt over 4,500 a year for subsistence. Loon populations are currently stable
CANADIAN LAKES LOON SURVEY - How many Loons are there in Canada?
Breeding Bird Survey results show an increase in Common Loons from 1966 to 1994, and no significant trends are evident in numbers of wintering loons in North
America from Christmas Bird Count data collected between 1959 and 1988. No obvious trends in numbers of breeding pairs of loons were detected in Quebec between 1954 and 1979 nor determined from aerial surveys conducted in Ontario and southern Quebec between 1990 and 1995. So, it seems likely that if Common Loons have declined since pre-settlement times, most of that decline occurred before modern survey programs were implemented.
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1 comment:
Well, obviously, the missing loons are at the NYT.
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