Countless?
The Herald has an editorial on the Rena. It is generally fair and balanced. The conclusion:
But quibbles after the fact do not alter the impression that after a slow start, the response has been effective. If the Rena has been our worst maritime environmental disaster, it could have been much worse.
But I quibble over one aspect:
That plan, as far as it goes, was strikingly successful this time. Though countless seabirds perished from the slick, the beaches were cleaned so quickly and efficiently that they were safe for swimming, fishing and other activities before Christmas.
Countless? They have in fact been counted and it is around 2,000.
Incidentally possums and other predators kill around 500,000 birds a week in New Zealand. They just do it without cameras around generally!
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January 11th, 2012 at 9:07 am
Yup, the focus on a handful of seagulls has been totally over the top – out of all proportion to the financial and human consequences.
Its not that I don’t empathise with the unfortunate seagulls. But the reality is there are zillions of them, they are of little use, and they are way down the food chain. If they feel aggrieved by spilt oil – or predators – they should get reincarnated as something a bit higher up.
January 11th, 2012 at 9:30 am
Hyperbole from a dreadful journalist from an abject newspaper.
January 11th, 2012 at 9:36 am
yeah, if the true number is known then saying the number is countless, which seems to imply a very large number, could be called alarmist, or perhaps propaganda (a green agenda?). Perhaps what they meant to say was that the real number is in fact unknown (which it is) ? Anyway, describing the possum as a “predator” could also be considered propagandistic.
January 11th, 2012 at 9:49 am
Do you have a credible source for your half a million figure for birds killed weekly?
26 million birds slain a year seems quite a high number. It might well be true, I have no idea of the total bird population in NZ to put it in context, but I’d love to see the source.
January 11th, 2012 at 9:54 am
So all in all another triumph for John Key and his administration.
January 11th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Countless? They have in fact been counted and it is around 2,000.
Er, the ones found were counted. That’s not the same thing.
Incidentally possums and other predators kill around 500,000 birds a week in New Zealand.
Look, this earlier example of human folly has produced even worse results so crashing ships into reefs off the coast is OK!
January 11th, 2012 at 10:06 am
I agree with the article— many died at sea, and thus were not counted.
Maybe only 10% were rescued. Who knows, it was impossible to count, thus , countless.
January 11th, 2012 at 10:26 am
Countless? They have in fact been counted and it is around 2,000.
Is that just the deceased or does that include the ones we flew round the country to the specially setup care centres?
I wonder what the total cost per bird is going to be?
It doesn’t matter anyway, even if it’s a million per, does it.
January 11th, 2012 at 10:27 am
Getting rid of some screaming sea gulls is a positive aspect of this disaster. I am pleased that nanny state bureaucrats are backing down and allowing the volunteer army to clean up the mess at Waihi. On the whole the response to this has been very good. It is quite an exceptional event and when the full facts emerge I am sure all the costs will be sheeted home to the shipping company, it may even put them out of business which is a good thing.
January 11th, 2012 at 10:42 am
David Farrar says:- “Countless? They have in fact been counted and it is around 2,000.”
Sorry David, you’re completely wrong on this one, even though I take your point that we should keep things in perspective.
“Countless” in the context of the article refers to all the birds *actually* killed as a result of the Rena grounding. It is an unknown number and therefore countless. A more apt description would have been “uncountable”
The 2000 odd you refer to is simply the counted number of birds that may or may not have been killed as a result of the Rena grounding.
Pedantic, yes, but you did say quibble…..
January 11th, 2012 at 10:48 am
Perhaps some journalists are unfamiliar with the scale of sea bird deaths that can occur during storms
http://raglan.gen.nz/2011/half-a-million-seabirds-believed-killed-by-storm/
I think the bigger environmental disaster in the Tauranga region is the inappropriate development along the coast.
January 11th, 2012 at 11:35 am
Call in the Green Party – they know everything, especially the numbers of birds, possums, cows, everything.
January 11th, 2012 at 11:46 am
Paulus says: “…the Green Party – they know everything, especially the numbers of birds, possums, cows, everything”…
And I’m sure that the demented water woman will be able to assist too – her track record on facts and figures (including how not to to read the published POA material and interpret the numbers relating to Director’s remuneration) is on par with her level of support from the Botany by-election / Howick Ward election / Mayoral election / Epsom Electorate!
Somewhere around the margin of error.
January 11th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Poor Herald, what a bastard, such a great pity this disaster and the death of seabirds could not be linked in someway to climate change. Now that would be a story.
January 11th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
What we are seeing here is the creation of an interesting dive wreck and fish habitat, that will benefit the region and marine life for generations to come. The media beat up over this minor matter is appalling.
January 11th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
What about DOC spreading 1080 around Franz Joseph and killing all the Keas. Never heard that on the news did you.
January 11th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
I took it to mean that the Herald’s editorial writer can’t count (ie situation normal) and didn’t give it another thought.