Ecosystem Failure

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SITE MOVED!

April 24, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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bye bye buffalo?

April 13, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Categories: Buffalo
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key issues

April 7, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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key websites

April 7, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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communities

April 7, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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mission statement

April 7, 2008 · 1 Comment

The site: Ecosystem Failure

Almost two years ago, honey bees around the country started dying by the millions.

Why is that important?

Because without the penny-sized pollinators, your neighborhood grocery could be forever without:

  • alfalfa
  • almonds
  • apples
  • avocados
  • blueberries
  • cantaloupe
  • cherries
  • cranberries
  • cucumbers
  • pumpkins
  • sunflower seeds
  • watermelon

Not to mention honey.

The phenomenon, dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder, remains a puzzle. Brainy researchers and embattled beekeepers have pointed to mites, parasites, pesticides, viruses, industrialized agriculture and even the practices of commercial beekeepers. But CCD continues its creep.

And honey bees are not alone.

Within the last year, bats in the northeast began losing numbers at genocidal rates. Bats may not be responsible for pollinating 1/3 of America’s food, but they are key members of the ecosystem as limiters of insect populations.

So, why the blog?

Because honey bees and bats are getting the short end of an “artificial selection” stick. Extinction is a sad reality – think the Ibex or the Black Rhino – but these phenomena move too fast for Darwin.

You should know about them.

ALSO: The reporter is not immune to the plights of animals with less utility than bees or bat, but more cache for the stuffed-animal crazed milieu (I like monkeys), so, the blog will keep up with tigers, loons of the Great Lakes, turtles of Madagascar and more…

The reporter: Sol Lieberman

Bolivian Capuchin monkeys...and me

  • Working for a master’s at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism
  • Born and raised in Minneapolis
  • B.A., political science, the University of Wisconsin – Madison

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