This picture is of a common pond frog from Wisconsin, according to Yahoo!, which has been infected by parasitic worms as a tadpole and now has two extra deformed hind legs. Why, might you ask, is this frog saddled with two useless legs, which will certainly make it more vulnerable to predators? The answer is an increase in nitrogen and other chemicals found in fertilizer that leach their way into ponds and waterways from farmland, and in a fairly complex chain reaction, cause deformed frogs.
I have been asked before what the difference between organically produced and conventionally produced food is before. The area I live in is quite conservative, mostly due to the high numbers of military personnel stationed here at various bases, and for some reason, a lot of conservatives in this area think that the label 'organic' is a liberal Seattle trick to get them to pay more for produce. The difference is that organic produce uses no pesticides or fertilizers. Conventionally grown produce does. I can't tell you how sick it makes me to think that because of our irresponsibility in finding ways to feed ourselves, we're destroying the natural environment in which we live. And honestly - that poor frog ... that's just wrong.
2 comments:
It is really sad.
I had read somewhere a while back that amphibians are more sensitive to environmental and chemical changes than any other animal because they directly absorb toxins into their skin throughout their entire life cycle. And they're also the current #1 type of animal on the Endangered Species List (within the past 20 years there's been an astonishing number of frog species that have become extinct from this very problem).
I can't recall for sure, but I thought they were predicting the complete extinction of ALL frog species to be within the next 35-50 years, which is incredibly scary.
oh, great. I hadn't realized it was that bad. It's like that REM song, you know? :) Except I think they were probably high, that's why they felt fine. :-/
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