Just when we thought that nothing could go wrong with the green effort, here is a report about alternative fuel destroying the habitat of endangered species. Ethanol is a biofuel that is made from corn. When the U.S. Congress approved the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel source, corn prices went sky high. This also resulted in a huge runoff for fertilizer and the Gulf of Mexico becoming more polluted. All these were being dealt with accordingly since they were expected to happen. No one expected Grassland birds to start dropping in numbers. According to experts, the cause is the corn demand.
With the promise of high returns for planting corn, many are starting to turn American Heartland into corn fields. Their goal is to cash in on the “corn oil” and start experiencing their own personal economic recovery.Even with the grasslands as protected environments for the birds, there is a project to turn 2.5 million acres into corn fields. This has been going on for several years wherein parts of the preserved lands were taken off the preserved area. Thus, from 1982 up to 2002, approximately 24 million grassland acres have been converted.This brings to the spotlight the plight of the “Unlucky 13” which refers to 13 different species of grassland birds that are being threatened by the loss of their natural habitat. These birds are the lark Bunting, the Baird’s Sparrow, the Lesser Prairie Chicken, the Sprague’s Pipit, the Ferruginous Hawk, the McCown’s Longspur, the Scaled Quail, the Long-Billed Curlew, the Cassin’s Sparrow, the Burrowing Owl, the Greater Prairie Chicken, the Mountain Plover, and the Chestnut-collared Longspur.
If the conversion continues all 13 birds are facing extinction before the end of the century. This makes progress and human needs without planning the top reason why many animals are becoming extinct. It is something that can be worked out if everyone would be willing to listen and compromise. These birds can be saved. According to Jack Dumbacher who is the curator of mammals and birds in the California Academy of Science, we need birds to control mice and rat infestation, and to prevent insects from eating our food. They are also helpful in distributing pollen and seeds so that we can continue to enjoy trees. He says, that when “birds go extinct, trees also go extinct.”
Reference: Illustrated Encyclopedia of endangered animals.
