r/Anticonsumption • u/Zxasuk31 • Jan 01 '24

Is tourism becoming toxic? Environment

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '24

Is there a lore reason why Hawaii bird extinction peaked back then? Hawaii didn't become a state until 1959, so shouldn't it peak in the 60s?

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u/ToothsomeBirostrate Jan 01 '24

Is there a lore reason why Hawaii bird extinction peaked back then?

He made that number up because it fits an /r/AmericaBad narrative. The 1950s aren't very notable on this list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hawaiian_animals_extinct_in_the_Holocene

People don't like hearing this, but outdoor cats are the largest source of human-caused bird deaths. They kill Billions of birds every year in the US, especially ground-nesting birds.

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380

At the end of the day, Hawaii is responsible for managing it's own ecosystem. Tourists don't vote.

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u/ok_ill_shut_up Jan 01 '24

Are you saying that cats killed all these birds? If not, that's beside the point.

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u/Sammot123 Jan 01 '24

Literally an invasive species but ok

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u/DoorHingesKill Jan 01 '24

And still a nonfactor compared to modern-day agriculture.

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u/Sammot123 Jan 01 '24

I'm not claiming industrialization isn't the biggest cause, but our consumer-driven export of pets globally removing native prey from residential areas is nothing to be minimized