Condolences to the Goddess of Yangtze River

www.baiji.org

On Dec 13 2006, Baji, a rare freshwater dolphin species which thrived in the Yangtze River as early as 20 million years ago, was declared functionally extinct.

There are only 6 species of freshwater dolphins and porpoise in the world - 3 in Asia, 2 of which are found exclusive in the Yangtze River in China. Baiji has since disappeared, leaving another one on the brink of extinction.

It was a painful awakening to witness the demise of yet another species from the face of the earth. I had naively thought no news probably meant good news, until today. (fact is the media is just more interested in digging up for news on little bear cubs like Knut.) Really, scrolling down the list of recently extinct animals online just now was like reading through "Planet Earth's Obituaries" column...

Since the classic case of the Dodo bird, we hadn't been able to stop the onset of animals from slipping through our fingers day after day (in fact, according to 365 Ways by Philippe Bourseiller, more than 2 species are disappearing every hour) despite numerous laudable efforts.

Argument that evolution is part of a natural process is redundant here, cos to have large mammals near the end of the food chain disappearing when climate conditions havent yet changed drastically enough is anything BUT normal. It could only be due to human activity.

I shudder to even think about what the combined powers of climate change n man can do.

"Man would die of great loneliness if all the beasts are gone. For what happens to beasts will also happen to man." - anonymous

A 16 yr old's Tribute to the Days...

A Tribute to the Days

Please remember,
When land was rich and trees stood tall.
The plot of arid desert was very small,
Until farmers came and set the place burning;
Then left the forest creatures yearning.

Please remember,
When we could enjoy a clean, fresh breeze
Not mingling with soot or soaked with grease.
In those days there was no need to go high places,
Just to find somewhere devoid of hazes.

Please remember,
When the color of water reflected the sky,
Never too murky or loaded with dye.
We needn’t worry about the fury of fish
Stained with mercury on our dish.

Please remember,
When we hadn’t possessed any greed,
And never took what we didn’t need.
We hadn’t yet created the hunting gun,
Just so we could have a little fun.

Please remember,
What we have sold
To Hell’s creator:
The Days of old.

"...I underestimated the damage a coward with power can do..."

Words to incumbent US President from a fired newspaper columnist, Dan Guthrie - unminced, unsalted - words of fire. Highly fueling.

Click on it!