Loon Magic/Loon Magic - Wayzata Technology (8011) (1993).iso/mac/text/15recov.c

Text File | 1993-07-26 | 4KB | 71 lines

** RECOVERY EFFORTS **

   The Big Picture

   The major issues which threaten the loon's survival unfortunately
cannot be solved with rafts, loon alert signs or loon bumper stickers.
Even thousands of loon fanatics can not, by themselves, stop acid
rain, toxic contamination or oil spills. Solutions in these areas await
major legislative efforts which, in turn, await basic changes in
societal values and priorities. But society continues to move in the
direction of responsible environmental stewardship.

   While political winds frequently change direction, creating
setbacks, the progress in environmental protection over the past
twenty years has been nothing short of remarkable.

   Due in large part to the post-Earth Day surge of environmental
legislation (especially The National Environmental Policy Act, The
Clean Water Act, The Clean Air Act and The Endangered Species Act),
environmental concerns in the United States have been
institutionalized at nearly all levels of government. While the din of
1970s "rah-rah" environmentalism has faded, commitment to clean
air and water, at personal and most governmental levels, has never
been stronger. Aided by new pollution-control technologies and
strong public support, emissions of acid-creating pollutants should
decline by the turn of the twentieth century, in time to save the
northern loon breeding lakes from acidchification. That's a prediction
based partly on knowledge and partly on faith. Its accuracy will
depend, in part, on how effectively the conservation community
addresses the economic questions related to acid rain control
measures.

   The challenges of cleaning up toxic contaminants and heavy metals
such as lead, mercury and aluminum will probably be more
demanding. The sources of these contaminants are usually diffuse: an
insecticide sprayed on southern agricultural lands can be carried in
the atmosphere to loon lakes in Wisconsin or Maine. While DDT or
PCBs do not appear to be a present threat to loons, other potentially
harmful chemicals could be patiently waiting in the food chain. At a
1984 conference, sponsored by the Sigurd Olson Environmental
Institute of Northland College, Valdas Adamkus underscored this
point. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator for
the Great Lakes region, Adamkus told conference participants that
over 200 man-made compounds have been found in Great Lakes
predator fish which feed at the top of the food chain. Even more
disturbing for the audience was the statement by Adamkus that "Our
knowledge of nearly all of these compounds is limited ...for most of
them, health-effects information simply does not exist."

   Information specific to the effects of various contaminants on loons
is slim, although it appears loons cope fairly well with some
contaminants. One does not have to be a scientist to see some of the
effects of chemical contamination in waterbirds. High levels of
toxicants in Lake Michigan's Green Bay, for example, have affected
cormorants and four other bird species by causing gross bill
deformities. Unable to feed efficiently, such birds are doomed, the
victims most likely of dioxin.

   At a public hearing in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Senator Robert
Kasten's "Save the Lakes" bill, a pair of these cormorants were on
display. Looking at these birds elicited simultaneous feelings of
revulsion and fascination. Were they just a cruel joke of nature, or an
apocalyptic symbol of an unwanted future? The toxic contamination
issue represents a serious challenge for the research community,
government agencies, environmental groups and concerned citizens.
Those cormorants do not have to represent the future of wildlife.
With the proper blend of research, new technology, persuasion and
patience, the toxic issue can be satisfactorily resolved.

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