DiscoverMagazine.com
By: Isabelle Groc
Posted online April 19th, 2010
http://discovermagazine.com/2010/apr/19-beavers-sign-up-fight-effects-climate-change
Washington officials have been concerned because the changing climate leaves streams incredibly short on water during the summer. After researching the issue, though, the Lands Council in Washington State predicts that reintroducing beavers to 10,000 miles of habitat in the state could save more than 650 trillion gallons of water each year. The solution is very promising because it costs less than 1 million dollars, while the other artificial dam projects could cost billions. This year officials aim to use a small-scale reintroduction project to compare groundwater levels before and after the beavers are introduced to their new environment.
There is a minimal amount of bias displayed throughout this article. The writer seems to be pro- beaver project, though, because she often writes of the positive aspects of the solution.
I. Earth Systems and Resources
C. Global Water Resources and Use
II. The Living World
A. Ecosystem Structure
IV. Land and Water Use
D. Other Land Use
3. Public and federal lands
I think this is a great idea! Hopefully the beavers will solve the problem of excess runoff. Also, they are being reintroduced in Washington state. It is not like they are a non-native species that might hurt the environment and its ecosystem. If anything, I believe they will help balance it.
ReplyDeleteThis idea is both ecological and economical, which is great. I think it is awesome that the government is using animals to help with the water rather than damns. Although this seems like a great idea, I feel like there are multiple things that could go wrong. Many times when a species is introduced or reintroduced to an ecosystem, things change dramatically. Hopefully all the changes are positive!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea. It kind of reminds me about the video we watched about predators in the wild. Reintroducing the wolf to Yellowstone helped the trees come back. I bet reintroducing the beavers will help slow the river and help the ecosystem in general. Humans forget that sometimes mother nature puts animals in certain places for a reason. Hopefully the reintroduction of beavers will remind us of that.
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