san francisco garters

[charles parenteau]

Yes thoses snake are from my friend collection ....thoses snakes are legal by the way.....

[Stefan-A]

I wish San Fran garters weren't endangered.

Don't worry, they'll be classed as "CR" soon enough. And a few years later, "EW".

[charles parenteau]

more pictures

[IMG][/IMG]

[Jeff B]

If people would stop having so many babies the developers wouldn't NEED to keep developing new ground, think about it, is it really all the developers fault or rather a human population issue in general? or is the answer simply build taller high rise apartments and ban suburban sprawl?

[charles parenteau]

DEveloppers !!!THey build streets ,destroy land,built condos,houses and try to sell it to people once they are built....lot of steets full of brand new condos all empty!!!

[Tyrel26]

If you build it, they will come!

I think I can assume that we all live in a house or an apartment of some sort; therefore, we too are sharing in the blame when it comes to habitat destruction. Maybe the habitat that once existed where your house now stands wasn't/isn't the habitat of an endangered species but sometime in the future it may very well be.

The main thing is that people don't realize is we too are subject to cycles just like every other animal on earth. Our population will continue to grow higher and higher until enough disease, disasters, starvation, war , etc... take place to help control our numbers; then our numbers will slowly stabilize. Its all about the carrying capacity.

Sadly, in order for once species to thrive others are always put at risk of total destruction.

[Jeff B]

Exactly, a petri dish is a petri dish no matter how big it is

[Stefan-A]

Our population will continue to grow higher and higher until enough disease, disasters, starvation, war , etc... take place to help control our numbers; then our numbers will slowly stabilize.

We're a bit different than most species. Our numbers stabilize and our birth rates drop as life expectancy increases. Our population is expected to max out at around 9 billion (that's just 2.2 billion away), if current trends continue. The sad thing is, that as our life expectancy increases, so does our use of resources, at an exponential rate.

Disease, disasters, starvation and war does have a drastic impact on our numbers, but instead of bringing them down to a more tolerable level, they seem to first cause a small, almost insignificant drop and then an enormous, albeit temporary increase. Case in point, the post-WWII baby boom. The war itself, with 70 million+ dead, doesn't even register. Even when we did our best to kill each other, we didn't even manage to make a dent in the population curve.

[bsol]

There is always going to be development. There's always going to be deforestation whether its here or on another continent. Babies will still be born and there will always be war. It will be more prevelant in the decades to come.
Our planet is shrinking and it has been since we started to stand upright. I'm not a believer in the 9 billion human population plateau. That would mean the death rate will equal the birth rate. It wont happen. Not with technology growing at the rate it is.
Take advantage of what we have now. Get dirty and take in as much of nature as you can. I try and get out as much as possible. I bring home poison ivy and tics all the time. Get off your computer and go hiking in the rain.

[Jeff B]

"Get dirty and take in as much of nature as you can. I try and get out as much as possible. I bring home poison ivy and tics all the time. Get off your computer and go hiking in the rain. "

Amen to that brother, although I prefer gardening, hunting, fishing, and I certainly appreciate hiking too......but in the rain? Seems the older I get the more of a fair weather outdoorsman I've become, lol.
However, I used to slowly drive the country roads when it would rain in the spring especially if it would rain near dusk, all the frogs, toads, and reptiles would be out crossing the roads and easy to see and get out and have a look at them...maybe you were eluding to similar experiences when hiking in the rain? If so, that sounds like a great idea, might have to try it?