http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/06/oiled_birds_to_kill_or_not_to.php
I am sickened by the fact that many people are against wildlife conservation efforts after crises such as this one. There is no ethical reason to why we should just let the birds die because they are “too expensive” to keep washing or it’s “not worth the effort”. I believe that because it is BP’s fault that there are so many animals harmed, so they should be funding organizations that make efforts to save these birds. Why would we be giving up on these animals if it is our fault they were oiled in the first place? Many people are willing to volunteer their time to help wash off oil from the animals, so we should make BP donate money to the cause to make purchases of soap and other materials possible.
The main part of this article is a woman by the name of Silvia Gaus going on and on about the fact that the birds may not live the longest lives even after they are cleaned because of them ingesting oil or just the stress of the whole event giving the birds health issues. She believes that because of this insecurity, we should just stop all efforts towards assisting the birds in living. Even though it would be all of BP's money going into the funding, she still believes it is money wasted. I really don't like her negative approach to all of this because she is crashing all hopes of people who want to make a difference in this issue. I think that we should still rinse the birds because it is just wildlife wasted if we decide to just let them die. This could lead to a population boom in their prey, throwing off the entire ocean food chain, just because of us giving up on the birds.
I completely agree with your argument and think something should always be done to preserve wild life. Though it may not seem important to perserve and clean these birds, you bring up a good point in that it can mess up a food chain. This then directly impacts us. I think that not only birds need our help, so do many other animals. For example, fish are hugely impacted bringing in a new issue of jobs. People who fish in the Gulf can't sell the fish they catch because of this catastrophe and is ruining an entire market worth millions. BP is responsible for it and i believe they have taken on the responsibility of clean up and I actually believe they are doing well for what has been placed on their shoulders and what they have to deal with. It is a big job that can't just be about blame.
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