PHOTO BY BILL FAVER
MILLIONS OF SONGBIRDS are killed each year by our actions , whether intentional or not .
Man And The Birds
BY BILL FAVER
A recent newspaper article gave the results of sur
veys of songbirds in the Eastern United States and
how a number of our familiar birds
are becoming more scarce each
year.
We all know about the effects of
loss of habitat, brought about by
continued development of what
had been rural land. There were
y some other reasons, though, and
f 1 i some of them were surprising in
' i their significance.
One author estimates man is di
rectly responsible for about 270
million bird deaths each year, with about an equal
number dying because of the indirect activity of hu
mans. The majority of these deaths occur out of our
sight and hearing.
About 5 million hunters each year visit the marsh
es and fields to hunt ducks, geese, pheasant, quail,
doves, and other game birds. It is estimated mortality
rates of canvasback ducks can be 50 percent or more
in years with open hunting seasons on that species.
With stricter regulation and increased public aware
ness, hunting poses less of an overall threat than in pri
FAVER
or years.
Sometimes birds can be accidental victims rather
than the targets. Redhead Ducks become trapped in
fishing lines on the Texas coast where 10,000 or more
birds die each year from drowning or of injuries while
trapped.
Cars driven at high speeds on our roads kill millions
of birds each year. In the small country of Denmark,
estimates are that drivers kill 3 million birds annually
on the highways.
Birds collide with plate glass windows and doors,
killing themselves when they can't tell the glass from a
natural flyway. Even those birds which appear only
stunned and fly away may die later from hidden in
juries.
Television and radio towers, microwave relays and
satellite dishes, skyscrapers, and aircraft all add to the
number of birds killed each year.
Maybe we can't do much to solve these problems.
Awareness of them may make us more careful, but
most of these kills happen outside of our normal expe
riences and we don't think about them. Maybe this
will help us understand when we read articles about
how birds are disappearing. And, maybe it will make
us more enthusiastic about trying to save what habitat
there is for our songbirds.
Walking Really Is Worth The Effort
Don and I are trying to get back
on track with an exercise program.
For two or three years we walked
regularly three or four times a week,
with longer treks on Sunday.
Why we were able to find time
then, and have so much trouble do
ing so now is beyond me, since both
of say it's something that is impor
tant to us. Between rain, night meet
ings, early morning meetings and all
the "stuff" that has to be done for
home and work, we routinely find
excuses not to walk.
Yet, on those occasions when we
do make the extra effort, we're so
glad we did.
Walking helps us feel better and
gives us time for creative thinking.
We could walk alone, but Don and I
don't see enough of each other as it
is, so we like walking together.
Somewhere along the way we'll
start talking, good deep conversa
tions about things that really matter.
That may not be good for our car
diovascular conditioning, but it is
good for our marriage.
We're getting ready for a getaway
to the mountains. That week away ?
with most of our excuses for not
walking left behind ? gives us a lit
tle time to try to re-establish the
walking habit across some beautiful
terrain.
As extra encouragement, along
with the sweats and the walking
shoes, I'm packing a list of nine
good reasons to walk, courtesy of
the American Heart Association.
Maybe this list will be all the ex
tra encouragement you need to get
out and walk. Here goes:
1. Walking can be enjoyed by
Susan
Usher
people of all ages and it can be done
almost anywhere.
2. No other exercise produces so
many physical and mental benefits
without pain, discomfort or injury.
3. Walking strengthens the mus
cle-skeletal system and helps to free
up tight joints.
4. It's aerobic, which means it in
creases the use of oxygen for im
proving your overall health and car
diovascular (heart and blood ves
sels) fitness.
5. ? Walking improves circulation
and reduces risk of high blood pres
sure.
6. In conjunction with a healthy
diet, walking can help you reduce or
maintain weight.
7. Walking relieves tension and
stress.
8. It inspires creative thinking.
9. Walking is the one exercise that
can get you where you need to go
(in more ways than one).
.vQfACM/ ? DR. EDWARD F. ECKERT, JR. 5
l
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GUEST COLUMN
Putting People Out Of Homes , Jobs
BY THOM GOOUSBY
If bureaucrats at the U.S. De
partment of Housing and Urban De
velopment have their way, many
North Carolinians stand to lose their
jobs and many more will be unable
to afford to purchase a new "home."
The latest assault on our state
comes by way of pending federal
construction standards for "mobile
homes," also known as "manufac
tured housing" and, jokingly, as
"tornado magnets."
Whether you like or disdain these
modern-day "castles of the common
man," the Tarheel state ranks num
ber one in the nation in mobile home
sales and number two in their manu
facture.
The pending federal rules will re
quire that newly built mobile homes
withstand winds up to 100 mph.
This new "safety" standard comes
with a high cost. The average mo
bile home runs almost $20, (XX). The
new rules will raise the price any
where from 25 to 50 percent.
Such a tremendous price increase
for low-end housing promises to es
calate costs out of the "affordable"
range for most potential buyers. This
means a loss of thousands of North
Carolina jobs in the manufacturing
of mobile homes and related indus
tries. It also means that the hope of
buying one's piece of the American
dream will be dashed for many.
The government's reasoning be
hind the new construction standards
is a popular one: safety. The ques
tion that we should all be asking
ourselves is, "Do we need Big Bro
ther to step in and save us, yet again,
from ourselves?" Mobile homes, de
pending on location, must currently
be able to withstand 60 to 90 mph
winds. The people who purchase
these types of residences know, un
less they haven't watched the news
in the past 20 years, that mobile
homes are not safe places in torna
does and that they should clear out
in high winds.
How much should we "baby-sit"
society? Are we all so used to Uncle
Sam telling us what we can watch
on TV, when we can retire from our
jobs and how much of our income
we can keep that we will even ac
cept rules preventing thousands of
people from being able to afford
their own "castles," albeit manufac
tured housing?
If insurance companies will con
tinue to insure mobile homes and
people wish to buy them, why must
the government second-guess the
marketplace? The reason is a simple
one. The government must show us
that it's doing something with our
tax dollars so we will keep sending
them in. Is it attempting to alleviate
poverty by doing more than giving
out the equivalent of "bribe money"
and "Band-Aids?" Is it attempting to
reduce crime by doing anything oth
er than passing additional laws
which simply make more things ille
gal? The answers are a resounding
"NO."
It's the difference between "rhe
toric" and "reality." The rhetoric
sounds great ? let's protect people.
In the case of the pending mobile
home regulations, the realities are
lost jobs, the inability of the "little
guy" to afford his own home, and
another blow to our ability to make
of our lives what we wish, without
the all-powerful state stepping in at
every juncture by telling us what we
can and can't do.
In the end, maybe we will go
back to caves ? that is if they meet
federal "radon" gas levels.
Thomas C. "Thom"Goolsby lives
in Wilmington and is managing
partner of the Currin Law Firm. He
is on the adjunct faculty at
Campbell Law School, where he is
professor of entertainment and
sports law.
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