A sad story

One can argue or disagree about “climate change” and its causes or effects, but there are some changes to nature that are human caused (or at least human affected) that occur right before our eyes. One of the changes I have witnessed is the incredible degradation and shrinking of the Salton Sea. This is the largest body of water found in the state of California, and although it was created through a human mistake, once the lake formed in the Imperial Valley, it quickly became one of the natural wonders of the western USA. Absolutely teeming with fish, it attracted millions of wintering birds that fed on its rich bounty. Over the last 25 years, through mismanagement, drought, agricultural run off and neglect, it has shrunk to about 2/3 of its former size, but more importantly evaporation has increased its salinity to about double that of sea water. The fish are all gone and although there are still many birds that overwinter there, the numbers of individuals and numbers of species have been drastically reduced. This image is one of the remaining species that spend time at the Sea. A Black-necked Stilt, this is a shallow water wading bird. Very “delicate” appearing it treds very carefully while probing with its long beak for morsels.