Entry #16: Baby Penguins Washing Up On Distant Shores

I read this story a few days ago, and found it extremely sad. Hundreds of dead baby penguins have started washing up on distant shores.

It is difficult to imagine what must have been going through the heads of Rio de Janeiro beachgoers in recent months as they have seen hundreds of baby penguins wash up onshore dead. At last count, more than 400 penguins, swept from the shores of Patagonia and Antarctica, have been found dead on Rio de Janeiro’s beaches, reports the AP’s Michael Astor.

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Erli Costa, a biologist at Federal University, has a different theory: He thinks rapidly fluctuating weather patterns, influenced by climate change, may be altering ocean currents and making the seas more treacherous. Since most of the penguins washing up are young, he postulates that they are babies that had just left their nests in search of food — and succumbed to the fast-moving currents. If true, this is especially worrisome as it indicates that Rio de Janeiro and other regions can expect to see an increase in such events over the coming years.

While it’s not 100% certain that the dead penguins are a direct result of global warming, it’s just another piece of the huge global puzzle that’s unfolding before us. Taken one by one, they seem mysterious and somewhat unrelated. But when viewed together on the same table, a sad picture begins to emerge about the current state of our planet.

I often wonder what future generations will think of our actions, or rather our inactions, with regards to the decimation of our planet. We have become a society of consumers, with little or no regard for the sustainability of our planet. And while mindsets are slowly changing, I often wonder if the tide can be turned in time, or if that wave will come crashing down someday soon and finish us all off. Obviously I’m hopeful for the future, but it really depends on all of us pulling together in time.