Scientists are Seeing More Dead Birds, Fewer Fish

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Scientists are Seeing More Dead Birds, Fewer Fish on

the Pacific Coast, AP 8-2-0

 

Scientists are Seeing More Dead Birds, Fewer Fish on

the Pacific Coast

 

August 02, 2005 — By Associated Press

 

SAN FRANCISCO — Marine biologists are seeing

mysterious and

disturbing things along the Pacific Coast this year:

higher water temperatures,

plummeting catches of fish, lots of dead birds on the

beaches, and

perhaps most worrisome, very little plankton -- the

tiny organisms that are

a vital link in the ocean food chain.

 

Is this just one freak year? Or is this global

warming?

 

Few scientists are willing to blame global warming,

the theory that

carbon dioxide and other manmade emissions are

trapping heat in the

Earth's atmosphere and causing a worldwide rise in

temperatures. Yet few are

willing to rule it out.

 

" There are strange things happening, but we don't

really understand how

all the pieces fit together, " said Jane Lubchenco, a

zoologist and

climate change expert at Oregon State University.

" It's hard to say whether

any single event is just an anomaly or a real

indication of something

serious happening. "

 

Scientists say things could very well swing back to

normal next year.

But if the phenomenon proves to be long-lasting, the

consequences could

be serious for birds, fish and other wildlife.

 

Source: Associated Press