Chinese Seabird on Verge of Extinction

In Beijing, China, conservationists are reporting that the Chinese crested tern is in danger of becoming extinct. The birds' eggs are considered a delicacy in the Chinese coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian. Scientists are predicting that within five years, if things don't change, the bird will be extinct. This article also reports that last year the rare Chinese river dolphin was declared extinct due to overfishing and the degradation of their habitat. Conservationists are asking that laws be put in place to protect the eggs of the crested tern, as well as protect their breading grounds.
It would be quite a tragedy if this bird became extinct. Seabirds are very important to shoreline habitats, but I think the real issue is how these animals are becoming extinct. I can't believe that these people can be so irresponsible to hunt these animals to extinction. It seems as though the laws that are made to protect endangered species rarely stop the people who make a living on hunting them. This is why there are organizations such as the Sea Shepherds who take it upon themselves to use force in halting or slowing down the hunting of protected animals. It seems as though the only way to ensure the protection of endangered species is to have authorities patrolling these habitats. The problem here is the money it would cost to do this. The article argues that the increase in the sale of Chinese crested tern eggs is due to the increase in the Chinese economy in the past 30 years. If this is the case, there should be some funding to ensure the protection of this endangered bird.

This past week, I joined my girlfriend and friends in picking up trash at the Rio de Flag. There was an event that involved many volunteers from around Flag who joined together to try to clean-up Flag. It was a lot of fun and it was a great cause!

U.S. to issue report in autumn on Mass. wind project...

Congress has made plans to build a farm of wind turbine generators off the coast of Massachusetts. This plan is raising quite a bit of controversy with environmentalists, fishermen, and boat captains. Taken from an article in the Environmental News Network, Congress has put the Minerals Management Service in charge of producing a draft of the environmental impact statement on the wind power project. I believe that the public will have a negative reaction to the statement. I don't think there could be enough benefit associated with building the wind farm. The ecologic affect of building a structure like this in the middle of the ocean could be detrimental, not only to the wildlife but to the sailors as well. The residents shouldn't be bothered by the site of the turbines, it is inevitable that we are going to use alternative energy sources. I wonder if building the farm on the edge of a cliff over-looking the ocean would be less harmful on the environment.
Yesterday, I went grocery shopping with my canvas bags as I always do in order to cut back on the amount of plastic that is produced. Also, my girlfriend went out and bought energy-saving light bulbs and switched out every light in our apartment. Lastly, I haven't had to put gas in my car since class started because I've been riding my bike so often.
CHEERS.
Jason

Introduction...

Greetings,
I am Jason Huyck, a fourth year student from San Bernardino, CA. I moved to Arizona three years ago and have been going to NAU for two years. I am an environmental science major and this past summer I spent three months in the Sierras of central California interning with the Forrest Service. We were monitoring popullations of Fischers and Martins in various elevations. It was a great experience even though I had an injured ankle and was unable to do any hiking.

I really enjoyed the fieldwork experience and hope to spend a few years after my undergrad traveling and working with researchers in the field.

Cheers!