Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
sediment and pollutants. When it suits our needs, we pump the river uphill or
force it to l ow, piped and underground, out of the sun's nurturing rays.
No wonder many of my colleagues consider cities unmitigated ecological
disasters. Not only do we push around urban rivers, but we also construct
buildings that funnel winds through urban canyons and foster industrial enter-
prises that heat the land. We are so noisy birds can't hear one another. Paving
what was paradise removes and fractures habitat that other species absolutely
require. Traditional ecologists have shown us the power we wield and the
danger it poses to many other organisms on Earth. Hit songs such as “Big Yel-
low Taxi” by Joni Mitchell and “The Last Resort” by the Eagles have popu-
larized the notion.
I see these changes and feel their ef ects every day as I ride a bus from the
exurbs to the city. I shed my coat as I enter the urban heat island, pass through
planted woodlands of trees from around the world, and cross a bridge that
spans a ditch dug to connect the once-inland Lake Washington to the Pacii c
Ocean. But I also encounter a rich diversity of birds. Majestic bald eagles hunt
from streetlamps. Once-endangered peregrine falcons nest under steel bridges
or atop skyscrapers. Cormorants decorate the cottonwood trees as they strike
a silent pose to dry outspread wings in infrequent sun breaks. Crows, gulls,
and pigeons dine on our leftovers. Parties of bushtits, l ocks of robins, and
mixed groups of nuthatches, chickadees, and kinglets enliven the shrubs and
lawns on which I walk. A paradox eats at my subconscious. Everything I have
learned as a conservation biologist tells me cities are bad for biodiversity—the
sum total of life in an area—yet the feathered collective I encounter seems
wholly unconvinced.
Maybe my problem is that I live in Seattle. After all, this “Emerald City”
nestled in wild country is young. European settlement did not begin until
1851, and even today buildings are interspersed among trees, rivers, lakes,
and the Puget Sound of the Pacii c Ocean. Forests of towering native Douglas-
i r, western hemlock, western red cedar, red alder, big-leaf maple, and black
