Op-Ed Contributors The Winter of the Monarch By LINCOLN P. BROWER and HOMERO ARIDJIS Published: March 15, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/opinion/the-dying-of-the-monarch-butterflies.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130316&_r=0
[Excerpted] Today the winter monarch colonies, which are found west of Mexico City,
in an area of about 60 miles by 60 miles, are a pitiful remnant of their
former splendor. The aggregate area covered by the colonies dwindled
from an average of 22 acres between 1994 and 2003 to 12 acres between
2003 and 2012. This year’s area, which was reported on Wednesday, hit a record low of 2.9 acres.
Reasons for the decline are multiple, including: out-of-control
ecotourism, extreme weather and diversion of water. Two threats loom
above all others: the destruction of breeding habitat in the United
States because of the widespread use of powerful herbicides and
genetically engineered crops, and illegal logging in Mexico’s
high-elevation Oyamel fir forests.[end]
Majia here: Sadly, 2012 was a record bad year for other animals in N. America.
Animals already stressed by loss of habitat, pesticides, herbicides, radionuclides and other environmental assaults were hit this year with radioisotopes from Fukushima.
Uranium and, perhaps, plutonium traveled far from that disaster because the use of sea water on the damaged fuel produced durable buckyballs. Cesium was detected in the US by the US Geological Survey.
A very nuanced study on butterflies in Japan has found significant mutations already and Tim Mousseau recently published a paper on animal anomalies in Japan.
Of course, it simply could be that the Monarchs' collapse is N. America is near completion and that Fukushima played no role.
The tragedy is that each new environmental disaster will hasten the great extinction now occurring.
Here are some of my observations about other animals potentially influenced by Fukushima fallout.
Reports
from California: “Something is going badly wrong offshore” — Stranding centers
inundated with animals (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/reports-from-california-something-is-going-badly-wrong-offshore-stranding-centers-inundated-with-animals-video/comment-page-1#comment-337789
Thursday,
February 14, 2013 Stranded Sea
Lions in Southern California and Fukushima Fallout http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/stranded-sea-lions-in-southern.html
King Salmon Missing
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/wsj-alaska-missing-its-king-salmon.html
Speculation on Hermit Crabs in San Diego
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/speculation.html
Cockroaches MIA
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-on-missing-cockroaches.html
More on
Missing Cockroaches
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