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Post by Komori on Apr 4, 2011 14:51:55 GMT -5
But at the same time, I would also protest that any effect the cats have on the local ecosystem is a pretty tiny one compared to the effect the people who own the cats are making everyday and are probably almost entirely unaware of. Even well-intentioned bird-feeding can be a pretty damaging thing to an ecosystem, because birds who are too used to eating seed from people's feeders can forget how to gather food by themselves at the same time as losing their fear of humans, making them more susceptible to the various nasty things humans and their creations can do to birds, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Bird feeding isn't harming birds, according to this article by the Massachusetts Audubon Society: www.massaudubon.org/printwildlife.php?id=10||height=,width=,location=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar And saying something is a tiny effect on the ecosystem compared to other things is just trying to ignore the point. Sure, factories dumping waste into rivers probably kills more fish than cats kill birds, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned about the death of birds until we deal with the factories. Especially when the fix is such a simple one as not letting your cat outside. Starlings for example. They were brought over to America, started flourishing, and started causing problems. With such numbers, it's likely that cats are helping to keep them from becoming even more out-of-control. If anything, I'd say keeping them inside is more likely to be damaging to the ecosystem. You can't just control one invasive species with another invasive species. "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly..." It's not like cats only kill starlings and no native birds.
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Post by Lord Hayati on Apr 4, 2011 15:54:25 GMT -5
I've learned that my school can't schedule ANYTHING right.
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Post by Tam on Apr 4, 2011 16:04:29 GMT -5
Bird feeding isn't harming birds, according to this article by the Massachusetts Audubon Society: www.massaudubon.org/printwildlife.php?id=10||height=,width=,location=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar And saying something is a tiny effect on the ecosystem compared to other things is just trying to ignore the point. Sure, factories dumping waste into rivers probably kills more fish than cats kill birds, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned about the death of birds until we deal with the factories. Especially when the fix is such a simple one as not letting your cat outside. That's an interesting article. I admit it brought up some things I wasn't aware of. But at the same time, there are many articles in scientific journals that argue the opposite. One I'm looking at right now (I apologize that I can't give you the direct link since I'm only accessing it through my university, but if you look for "Birdfeeding: Another Viewpoint" by Jason Rogers in Alberta Naturalist, Volumes 31-32, you can find it.) cites all kinds of additional issues, among them increased competition around feeders, the attraction of more troublesome wildlife like raccoons and skunks to the area, and hindering the birds' nesting habits due to their perceived need to defend the feeder. In the discussion, he states, "By offering birds a source of food that is both concentrated and reliable however, we permit the survival of those inept at securing it under other circumstances. Essentially, we encourage feeder-dependency in a percentage of the population." I wasn't trying to avoid the point; the only point I really wanted to make was that there are a lot of negative things that people do to the environment on an everyday, individual basis (not just the things that factories do), and I don't really think it's fair to pick on the people who let their cats catch birds. It's a touchy subject with me, because I've heard similar things from people who are often arguing from the Death Isn't Pretty perspective, oblivious to the fact that the laundry detergent they're using is destroying local wetlands and the old electronics they just threw out will be releasing toxins into the environment long after they're dead. Anyway, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into a debate. Anything else we or anyone else has to say on the subject should probably go to D&D. (All my grumblings are irrelevant anyway, since I am completely against letting cats, particularly unspayed/unneutered cats, wander around in an urban environment. xP I imagine that my cat, neutered and living on a farm with no one else around for miles, is probably not the kind of cat you're talking about.)
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Lady In Grey
Occasional Commenter
And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free!
Posts: 26
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Post by Lady In Grey on Apr 4, 2011 16:34:21 GMT -5
I learned that the science teacher with "Doctor" in her name is the one to trust with advice on the zombie apocalypse.
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Post by Sq on Apr 7, 2011 10:50:58 GMT -5
The entire world population could fit into the state of Rhode Island.
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Post by Omni on Apr 24, 2011 0:01:24 GMT -5
'Chickpea' is not a location.
Also, pretzels taste good in fondue, but not so much in Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. The syrup isn't almost runny and just doesn't stay on thick enough to work right.
EDIT: Also, banana spots glow under black light. The very chlorophyll that makes plants green glows red under black light.
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Post by Celestial on Apr 30, 2011 8:19:25 GMT -5
In as recently as the 1920s you could have a boy soprano (or treble as my mother corrected me) whose voice still had no broken at 16.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2011 9:16:12 GMT -5
How to upload images from the camera to the computer.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2011 9:35:54 GMT -5
The entire world population could fit into the state of Rhode Island. We should try this out for size. x3
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venoria
Occasional Commenter
Posts: 15
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Post by venoria on May 8, 2011 16:02:54 GMT -5
That my friends are idiots.
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Post by icon on May 9, 2011 18:35:13 GMT -5
In French, the words for "paperclip" is the same as the one for "trombone". :B
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Post by Usikustars on May 9, 2011 20:08:35 GMT -5
I learned that the Nazi symbol is based off the swasitka (Well-being), a character widely used in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. It's kinda sad that we think of the symbol as a bad thing, when it's not. (Dang you Nazis...) It's amazing what vocaloid songs can teach you. Yay for Karakuri Burst!
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Post by Komori on May 10, 2011 0:17:33 GMT -5
Besides humans, armadillos are one of only a few species of animals capable of contracting leprosy. Mice can get leprosy if they're genetically engineered to, and even then, only on their footpads. ._.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2011 11:16:11 GMT -5
There's a town in Quebec called "Asbestos".
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Abigail
Full-Timeser
owo
Under construction!
Posts: 707
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Post by Abigail on May 19, 2011 16:13:53 GMT -5
I learned that Hadrian died on my birthday: July 10th
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