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Origanalist
03-14-2014, 08:50 AM
We need a humor forum to dump stories like this in......

Urgent Action Needed to Protect Real-Life Species Behind Iconic College Mascots
03-11-2014 // Miles Grant

With the annual NCAA college basketball tournaments set to begin, a new National Wildlife Federation report details how the climate crisis is hurting the real-life species that are mascots for many of America’s college athletic programs. Climate change is the most serious environmental threat today to many animals and plants and urgent action is needed at all levels, according to Mascot Madness: How Climate Change is Hurting School Spirit.

We have a new version of ‘March Madness’: Extreme weather fueled by climate change, deeper droughts, and intensifying wildfires," said Dr. Doug Inkley, senior scientist with the National Wildlife Federation and lead author of Mascot Madness. “From wolverines to gators, species that have spent countless centuries adapting a home court advantage are now watching the rules of the game changed before their eyes by industrial carbon pollution. If we’re going to turn climate change into a Cinderella story, we need to act now."

Mascot Madness looks at the best available science on how climate change is impacting many of America’s best-known mascots, from familiar species like bears and bison to exotic cats like lions and tigers. Warmer temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and rising sea levels are altering habitat in ways that can affect animals’ diet, range and behavior:

Wolverines (University of Michigan) rely on deep snowpack for building dens to raise their young and may be declared a threatened species as the climate continues to warm.

Terrapins (Universtiy of Maryland) and Alligators (University of Florida) face reproductive threats. When alligators overheat, more eggs hatch as males. In contrast, terrapins produce more females in hotter temperatures. Imbalances in sex ratios like these can be a threat to sustaining healthy populations.

The entire range of the critically-endangered red wolf, a real-life inspiration for the North Carolina State Wolfpack, is found at only three feet elevation or less, making them extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels and hurricanes.

Buckeyes (Ohio State) are threatened by stronger storms, deeper droughts, and more intense heat waves fueled by climate change and are being pushed to migrate north—into rival territory in Michigan.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Mascot Madness report is a creative tool for getting past the noise and engaging people about the real-life impacts of climate change. There is no questioning how serious the numbers are on rising sea levels and global temperatures," said Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD). "But it is also important to take that to the next level by conveying the public health impacts and the tragic loss of biodiversity that is an undeniable result of a changing climate. Climate change is a reality, and instead of fighting over facts, we need to work together to take action."

http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/b924155/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2Fbe%2F2f%2Ff94caa004cc383b16eda1 5676c9c%2F140311-edwardsmascot-editorial.jpg

hxxp://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Global-Warming/2014/03-11-14-Mascot-Madness-How-Climate-Change-Threatens-School-Spirit.aspx

oyarde
03-14-2014, 09:06 AM
Red wolves once ranged from Indiana to Central Texas . They are a cross between grey wolves and coyotes . Extinct in the wild for some time , reintroduced in North Carolina from captive breeding in the 80's , if I recall . Maybe there are not supposed to be red wolves .

oyarde
03-14-2014, 09:10 AM
Buckeye trees grow in the Nashville basin and the Plains basin and as far South as North Texas .

oyarde
03-14-2014, 09:14 AM
The Northern Great Lakes area has always been the Southern range of Wolverines , which are more common in Alaska , Northern Canada .

oyarde
03-14-2014, 09:16 AM
Miles Grant need to go back to skool , LOL

oyarde
03-14-2014, 09:21 AM
I could go for some terrapin soup .

oyarde
03-14-2014, 09:28 AM
What about a St Louis Billiken ? I hope they do not breed those and release them ....

Origanalist
03-14-2014, 10:06 AM
and instead of fighting over facts, we need to work together to take action."

We can't let useless facts get in the way of "doing something".

oyarde
03-14-2014, 10:12 AM
We can't let useless facts get in the way of "doing something".
LOL