Neville

i've seen a documentary on BBC yesterday, it says that the river dolphins in our country at Sundarbans r in danger because of global warming; as the sea level is rising it is hurting the echosystem of the Sundarbans the largest mangrove forest of the world which holds several species of rare animals.

sgould

Global warming is a myth, haven't you heard? All the scientists that have actually spent their lives studying the mechanics and evidence involved have been overruled by the armchair spectators who haven't had a science class since high school, but still "know" better.

COBettaCouple

lol, we've gone over "global warming" at least 2x. i think it would be more credible scientifically if it weren't so heavily tied into politics.

sgould

That's great except that it wasn't a political issue that someone tried to then turn into science. It was/is a scientific issue that stirred up enough attention that the politicians started paying attention to it. Which is what they are supposed to do, for all those that gripe about how none of them ever do anything. Seriously, is it any wonder that we seldom get decent political candidates anymore? Everyone has become so jaded to the process that even if someone tries to do the right thing they get jeers and criticism. Why should anyone good go into politics? What's the incentive?

Anyhow, you're right...this one has been around the block at least twice. Probably no point in a third!

sirdarksol

Alright, whether or not man is causing it, global warming is happening. The majority of us on Fishlore, as well as nearly all credible scientists, agree with this. Because it's been tied into politics, there are always going to be people who buy into the party line of "humanity has nothing to do with it" or something of the sort, so we'll never get over that part of the argument.
However, the fact that it is happening, no matter what the reason, will still affect the world that we live in, and we should be aware of its effects, whether or not we think we have anything to do with it.
I can see very easily how the river dolphins would suffer. American Mangrove forests, and other wetlands near the ocean, are suffering greatly, too. In at least one of those cases, its a combination of warming and human intervention (the levees and canals in Louisiana) that are stripping the wetlands. The worst thing is that these wetlands are the greatest protection against hurricanes that the Southern states have.
I'm guessing that the mangrove forests provide a similar protection against tropical storms (and, I suppose, possibly tsunamis).

One thing that a lot of people forget about is that if something is negatively affecting wildlife, it's often negatively affecting us as well.

tkfury

Pretty much summed up my opinions. And saddly, what we think makes our lives easiers usually comes back and kicks us in the butt in some way or another in the form of the Red Data List. (I'm not good with my words but I mean along the lines that its easier for us as a race to sit back and do nothing instead of trying to improve living conditions that not only benefit humanity but all life that inhabits Earth.)

Tom

It is sad that the dolphins are in danger, but IMO, I think it is just the saying 'survival of the fittest'. The ones that die out will probably be missed, but another animal that is similar(eating habits mostly) will replace it or evolve enough over time to replace the died out one's place. And that is my
Tom

Neville

i am not going to start another debate on Global Warming, the only reason our dolphins r in danger is the rising sea level and the sea level is rising because Antarctica is melting everyday, and off course Antarctica is melting because of warm weather................ .......where would this river dolphins go.........we can't just sit and watch them die! at least we can aware others about the dangerous concequences that we r going to face if we do not stop Global warming.

sirdarksol

This is a tricky subject. With other animals, we can often bring them into the zoo system, begin a breeding program, and once we find an ecosystem that will support them, reintroduce them into the wild. However, with such a small area that these guys can survive in, that might be very difficult.
I agree, however, that it would be a tragedy for creatures like these dolphins to go extinct. Every species that dies is a loss, but when a species is as intelligent as dolphins are, it's really sad.

Sabi

I't sad about the dolphins, but what can we do?

sirdarksol

At the very least, we can be aware of the changes that are happening to our world. In the end, because of the limited places these dolphins can live, there's likely little we can do about them.
But, there are things we can do about other animals. Many extinctions are, without a doubt, at the hands of man. Just be aware of as much as you can, and make decisions that have the smallest negative imprint on the world, and the largest positive imprint on the world. There is nothing more that we can do.

Neville

Dolphins, whales r mammals like us; they r not fish that's why i think they must be saved! and not only the dolphins but also the entire Sundarbans is in danger, as the sea level is rising it is destroying the delicate roots of mangrove trees, along with the forest its animals r also in danger, like The Bengal Tiger, the Spotted Deer, crocodiles etc.

sirdarksol

I don't care if an animal is mammal, reptile, fish, or whatever. Sharks and octopi are not mammals, but they are both very intelligent. I think that, if we could understand more about how they thought, we would discover that they are self-aware. (Dolphins and whales have, I believe, already passed that particular test, as have elephants)

Of course, I just generally don't like seeing animals die, so take anything I say in the matter with a grain of salt.

Neville

Good point, Dinosairs were reptiles and if it wasn't for that asteroid they would still be here ruling the earth instead of mammals. each and every animal is important, we think if one species goes extinct other species will take its place but each species is irreplaceable and it takes generations to fill the gap and extinction of one species can have great impacts on the ecosystem of that particular area.
can u imagine Sundarbans without the Bengal Tigers and Amazon without Jaguars?