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Bye-Bye Birdie
230 Avian Species on the National Watch List
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18
East Michigan edition
Scientists from 23 organizations, including the federal government, universities and conservation groups, have spent years on the State of the Birds Study, looking at 230 species of birds from different habitats compiling its watch list. Peter Marra, a migratory bird specialist at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo, in Washington, D.C., attributes the population drops of the birds in the most trouble to disappearing habitat or reduced range. Some coastal birds are doing better, and previously endangered wetland birds are recovering due to laws that are protecting them. Marra says, “These populations come back when we create the habitat. The report emphasizes that it’s better to focus on birds that aren’t yet in decline and keep them that way.” Ken Rosenberg, a bird biologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in Ithaca, New York, and an author of the report, says that hunters, as well as conservationists, deserve credit for preserving ducks. He acknowledges, “We’ve put a tremendous amount of resources and money into wetland and waterfowl conservation because of the hunters that contribute financially.” But lots of songbirds are in trouble, and Florida, where bird habitat is disappearing fast, is a crucial stopover for migrating birds. It’s the kind of place that birds both common and endangered urgently need to survive. Source: National Public Radio
Cultural Roots
Status of Religious Diversity in the U.S. The United States is often described as a religiously free and diverse country, but a new Pew Research Center study reveals that 95 percent of the populace identifies itself as either Christian or unaffiliated (atheist, agnostic or having no particular religion). This ranks the U.S. 68 out of 232 countries and territories in the Pew Religious Diversity Index. Singapore is the world’s most religiously diverse country, followed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The study treats Christian denominations as members of the same religion, which if counted separately, would increase the ranking. But Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism all have internal diversity, as well, and are considered as single religions in the study. There’s an important distinction between religious diversity and religious freedom, which the report does not measure. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to free exercise of religion, which is not always the case in other countries. Source: PewResearch.org www.NAeastMichigan.com