Clean Technica. ( Feb 25 2020) As California Forests Heat Up, Birds Are Flocking To Higher Ground. Retrieved March 9, 2020, https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/25/as-california-forests-heat-up-birds-are-flocking-to-higher-ground/
Over the course of the last decade, the territory occupied by birds in california has slowly been shrinking. The steady rise in average temperatures has been met with an equal reaction from the birds, who are progressively receding more and more into higher altitudes. It was found that birds are choosing to spend more time in higher altitude areas simply because it’s colder. Now that the birds occupy less space, the places that most of them have left are starting to feel the impact that a lack of these important animals brings to the ecosystem. It will take a few years for the effect of the lower number of birds on the ecosystem to really be seen. For one, it’s already having an impact on the birding industry. The birding industry is a big part of California’s ecotourism industry, and now people are having to go further and higher up in the mountains in order to easily find species which once were common in lower altitudes.
I like this article, because it shows the impact that a change in the environment itself can have on the industry dedicated to it. It combines together climate change with clear data to illustrate an issue for not only the birding industry, but the ecosystem itself and it explains the positive feedback cycle that will inevitably arise from this issue. The article was well written and it’s author really seemed to try to incorporate all the different aspects and impacts of this issue. In addition, the article makes a projection for the future of this issue.
In general, I think talking about ecotourism is a really good way to bridge a gap between environmentalism and society. Moreover, I think this is a great example of a scenario where people would be taking the economic view into account since the fires were already so huge, it’s drawn peoples attention.
I also agree that ecotourism is a way to bridge a gap between environmentalism and society.
I think this is really interesting because I feel like I never think about how the birds are affected in all of this. It’s easy to forget about other living creatures sometimes and I like that this article can bring it back into a sphere that related people and maybe make us care more.