Driven to extinction: cuts threaten Large Blue

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article337399.ece

By Michael McCarthy, Environment Correspondent
Published: 09 January 2006

'Britain's three leading wildlife research centres, all of them with global reputations, are to be closed in a cost-cutting measure which has caused incredulity and outrage across the environmental community...who insist that more, not less, specialised wildlife research is needed to protect UK habitats and species from growing threats, especially global warming...

...In a joint letter copied to the Environment Secretary, Margaret Beckett, and the Trade and Industry Secretary, Alan Johnson (who has responsibility for the Government's science budget), they say: "With climate change firmly on the political agenda, we believe that the current proposals are remarkably untimely, as well as deeply worrying."...

Mr Ainsworth said: "The fate of these centres ultimately rests with ministers. If the Government allows them to close, they will not only provoke anger and disbelief among scientists and environmentalists, but also further undermine the UK's ability to take an international lead on issues increasingly seen as critical to our long-term future."...'



That's one way to get rid of those nasty greenies - close it down!

he was bush's clone.

do away with those pesky research centers that keep telling --''yooo-whoooo, the gulf stream is dying -- and nobody is going to want to live heeeeere.''

... and the changes which are unfolding. They're islands -- the species there (some of them unique) have no place else to go! While some populations may be able to migrate up elevational gradients, and north into Scotland (or down into the cool water at the bottoms of lakes, etc.) -- this won't work if the changes are of the predicted magnitude. Entire ecosystems could simply vanish, in a matter of decades.

The ecologists I work with say this is like pushing a species assemblage off a cliff.

p.s. maybe it's a case of "out of sight, out of mind"? No monitoring means no warning signals, and no concerned citizens.

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