Renewable energy and its flipside
Green energy is always
praised as being environmentally friendly and the future source to cover our
need of energy. It is, however, just very few published that sustainable energy
has also its flipside and often pose a serious threat to ecosystems.
Hydroelectric plants are a profitable opportunity to produce an enormous amount
of green energy which on the one hand has a positive impact on a country's CO2
emission balance, on the other side they destroy whole ecosystems which are the
natural habitats of countless species. So far, hundreds of species have already
drastically eradicated, have disappeared from their natural habitat and can
just be seen in zoological gardens or are even extinct because of damming
rivers throughout the globe. The Brazilian Merganser sets a perfect example of
how highly adapted animals have no chance to colonize new lands. This waterfowl
of the category anatids lives in low densities in remote and mountainous regions
where it inhabits clean swift-flowing rivers and streams with river rapids and
riparian vegetation. Brazilian Mergansers are very territorial birds defending
large stretches of river and the land surrounding the fast-flowing water. They
are recognized as a resident species that do not abandon the watercourses where
it established its territory, which some think is a reason why the birds are
endangered. They don't move or want to move once their habitats have
disappeared. The birds need large territories and their habitat is fast
dwindling. The total world population for Brazilian Mergansers is believed to
be less than 200 birds. Originally, the duck's geographical distribution
comprised central-south Brazil and adjacent regions in Paraguay and Argentina.
Information on most populations is very scarce, so it is still more worryingly
that the only population left in Brazil is threatened by the intention of
building a dam, impounding the water and consequently destroying their last
habitat. The issue, however, is more complex. Many waterfowls are endangered in
their natural habitats and face extinction in the wild but can be breeded in
captivity and ensure with their offspring that the species survive. Brazilian
Mergansers, along with some other waterfowl species like the kelp goose of
Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia are that much adapted to specific environmental
conditions that it is almost impossible to reconstruct such conditions in
captivity. As a result, Brazilian Mergansers belong to the least kept
waterfowls in zoological gardens and zoos worldwide. This is aggravated by the
fact that the genetic pool of these ducks is very little and all individuals
kept in human hand can be attributed to some few ducks. The chances that this
unique and highly-adopted animal will survive the 21 century are vanishingly
tiny and it is a pity that all this can be done under the pretext of saving our
earth by promoting green energy.
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