Hi, Tweets

Since I didn't notice anything on Tweeters along this line considering it
is the Fourth of July, I thought I would forward a message I received today
for those who feel like reading on.
Diann MacRae

>X-Originating-IP: [207.214.149.251]
>From: stan moore <hawkman11 at hotmail.com>
>To: rebhawker at home.com, jacoulson at aol.com, rojack at shasta.com,
> wshor at bechtel.com, footet at elwha.evergreen.edu, walton at cats.ucsc.edu,
> cnikitas at earthlink.net, davrobn at aol.com, tvulture at halcyon.com,
> hawkdpg at aol.com, dgib at newnorth.net, noelsnyder at vtc.net,
> pineo at worldnet.att.net, tpf at peregrinefund.org,
> jenderson at cc.colorado.edu, rkander at win.bright.net
>Cc: sweidnsl at pottsville.infi.net, peregringo at aol.com,
> amfalcon at wave.sheridan.com
>Subject: God Bless America the Beautiful
>Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 18:02:35 PDT
>
>Here it is July 4, 1999. Most of us are aware this is Independence Day and
>we observe a day of holiday in honor of our country and our land. I would
>like to use this occasion to ask us to consider patriotism as an excellent
>reason to want to preserve and protect our environment.
>
>When America became independent in 1776, what was the state of the
>continent, the land on which our country was formed? Well, we have
>historical evidence that the land teemed with biodiversity. It was
>literally a paradise of all sorts of magnificent flora and fauna, often
>inhabiting the land in huge numbers. Can you imagine the huge herds of
>American bison and the huge flocks of passenger pigeons? Can you imagine
>the huge rafts of wintering ducks on the bays and estuaries and the
>magnificent kettles of raptors that passed over Cape May Point and Padre
>Island and similar places? How many humans were on the land at that time?
>Counting indigenous peoples, there may have been anywhere from a couple of
>hundred thousand to a couple of million humans.
>
>Turn forward to July 4, 1999. We now have a population of humans
>approaching 300 million individuals! Do we have 300 million deer in this
>country, or buffalo, or even individuals of one bird species? I'm pretty
>sure we have 300 million sugar ants in my yard and about that many mosquitos
>in some of the places I've set foot! But seriously, something seems to be
>seriously out of whack -- out of proportion. And this out-of-balance
>situation is getting worse at an accelerated pace.
>
>But what about the species of flora and fauna we do have? It is literally
>true that in some cases, we can practically watch whole species (or at least
>entire populations) disappear before our very eyes. Some species are
>already extinct, including ones such as the passenger pigeon that once
>numbered in the hundreds of millions of individuals. How many species are
>threatened with extinction that we are unaware of? How many little flowers
>are resident in riparian areas that are trampled to death by cattle that are
>only known to botanists and conservation biologists? I am aware of a large
>population of golden eagles in my area, and each and every year big chunks
>of their habitat are lost to development as the human population in our area
>increases. Those magnificent birds are ultimately doomed to a relic
>population of what existed just 50 years ago.
>
>I say let's link land health with patriotism! We sing God Bless America and
>America the Beautiful, and we extol the purple mountain majesty above the
>fruited plain. God (or nature, if you prefer) gave us a healthy landscape
>with abundant biodiversity. If you believe the Bible, he charged us with
>stewardship of earth's resources, but we have been bad stewards. We have
>put profit ahead of land health. We have treasured the economic value of
>land and its resources much more than we have treasured their intrinsic
>value.
>
>How can we begin this awesome task? One suggestion is to educate people as
>to the havoc we have wrought. Photos of healthy land opposed to overgrazed,
>eroded land can be beneficial. Before and after photos of clearcut old
>growth forests can be very persuasive. We can teach land ethics beginning
>in our elementary schools and teach kids that once a species is lost to
>extinction, there is no bringing it back. Have you ever seen a live
>peregrine falcon, even a captive one? Imagine the loss if that species had
>been allowed to go extinct! It almost happened!
>
>FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE LOVE OF COUNTRY, LET'S PRIORITIZE LAND HEALTH
>AND MAKE IT A PATRIOTIC ISSUE!
>
>
>Happy holiday everyone!
>
>Stan Moore San Geronimo, CA hawkman11 at hotmail.com
>
>
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