The Dingo Really Did Take the Baby

In the case of a missing child in the Australian outback that achieved international notoriety, a coroner ruled thirty-two years after the apparent death of ten week old Azaria Chamberlain in August, 1980 that the cause of death was "taken by a dingo", a phrase which became a sarcastic watch word for suspect parental skills. Azaria was in the family's tent near Uluru when a child's cry was heard. Lindy Chamberlain went to check on her child only to find blood on the tent and dingo tracks nearby. Upon discovering the scene, Chamberlain spontaneously exclaimed, "A dingo's got my baby." The child's body was never found. The event was made into a movie and even an opera.

Lindy Chamberlain served three years of a life sentence for murder, but she was pardoned in 1986 after Azaria's jacket was found near a dingo's den. The first inquest held in 1980-81 was televised, and the case gripped the nation. The court found the cause of death to be likely due to a dingo attack. Up to that point dingos, wild dogs of the bush [photo: National Geographic], were generally considered incapable of initiating an attack on a human. The Northern Territories government, under pressure of public controversy, vacated the verdict and ordered a new inquest. A trial for murder followed. The prosecutor alleged that Azaria's throat had been cut in the front seat of the family's car and that father Michael Chamberlain was an accessory to murder. Controversial forensic evidence, since discredited, was used to obtain the murder conviction*. Yet a third inquest found the cause of death to be unknown.

The couple, now divorced, fought for a complete exoneration. It was a grueling,bitter slog for justice midst hostility and derision for Michael and Lindy Chamberlain. Subsequent documented dingo attacks in other parts of Australia proved to be a critical piece of circumstantial evidence needed to end the dispute. In 2001 a nine year old was fatally mauled by dingos in Queensland. The fourth and final verdict was handed down this week in Darwin magistrates' court. Chamberlain-Creighton said outside the court that, "no longer can Australia say that dingoes are not dangerous and only attack when provoked." She displayed her child's new death certificate, with the words, "attacked and taken by a dingo"

*until recently there were no reliable statistics in the United States for the number of persons wrongly convicted in the criminal justice system. Studies like the official review conducted in Virginia at the request of the state's governor, and a newly complied comprehensive database, give reasons to believe that the number of criminal prosecutions ending in wrongful convictions are in the range of 4-6% of the total.

National Mammal: The Bison, A Good Idea

credit: Walter Jesse Barbee

We have a national bird, so why not a national mammal? There is no other mammal, except perhaps the grizzly bear--already taken--that represents America in the global popular imagination than the American bison (Bison bison)*. Associated with characteristics of strength, independence, and fortitude the buffalo as national mammal is a good idea which could help recover the species from its historic near-extermination, and serve as a public relations tool to further conservation of remaining wild places and wild species. In short, the buffalo is no turkey. Two senators from Wyoming and South Dakota introduced S. 3248, the Bison Legacy Act last month.

The bill has bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate, but few fans among the extremist elements of the ranching culture in Montana and Idaho who are already on record as hating the wolf too. Both Montana senators who are conservative Democrats are not talking about the initiative. Senator John Tester is up for re-lelection against a card-carrying rich Repugnant who portrays himself as a Montana rancher, so he is not returning any calls about a national mammal. Both Indians and conservationists are supporting the bill, albeit the Indians may see the bison as a traditional food source and potential money-maker. The outgoing Montana governor is supportive.

Recently, as noted in this space, 63 genetically pure, wild buffalo were released to Fort Peck Reservation, {21.03.12} but almost immediately a district court judge blocked any additional relocation efforts in Montana. The bill would not directly affect the way bison are managed by the federal government. Nevertheless, making the bison an official symbol of the United States does elevate the animal's status in the minds of the public. If you would like to see America make a gesture of reconciliation for its mistreatment of a noble animal that once roamed its Great Plains in the millions, vote bison.

*the bison is relatively a new immigrant to the North American continent having crossed the Bering Strait when it was dry. There are drawings of the its European cousin on the walls of Neolithic caves. But how much more appropriate could an animal be to represent the vast majority of European Americans who are also newly arrived, geologically speaking, to this land. Of course, Native Americans living on the Great Plains when the white man arrived revered the buffalo as central to their culture and survival. One reason the buffalo faced extermination in the 19th Century. If the bison became the national mammal then it would be appropriate to establish a permanent home for it on theproposed Buffalo Commons--the former shortgrass prairie where agriculture is biologically unsustainable. There are 6,000 ghost towns in Kansas alone, so are stampedes really a problem?.

White Nose Syndrome Infects Another Species

female gray bat: USF&WS

The killer fungus known as "White Nose Syndrome" has spread to another endangered species, gray bats (Myotis grisecens). The documented cases are located in Hawkins and Montgomery counties of Tennessee. These are the first known cases in the gray bat. Six other hibernating bat species including the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis)are already infected. The development is alarming because the gray bat is numerous having increased in numbers since it was listed in 1976. Gray bats live in large colonies in a few selected caves year round, making the spread of the disease throughout the species more likely. They live in limited limestone karst areas of the southeastern United States where caves are common. The discovery was made by biologists making two separate winter surveillance trips. Telltale white fungus on the muzzle and tail membranes of hibernating gray bats at both sites was collected and confirmed as Geomyces destructans by two separate laboratories. No mortality was observed, so the ultimate impact of the syndrome on gray bats is not known. Bats, as US Person has pointed out before, are massively valuable as pollinators and insectivores, yet because man has shirked his duty as planetary steward, no means of controlling the fungus or treating infected bats has been found.

Chart of the Week: Death of a Sea

[credit: Holly M. Bik, PLoS ONE]

Recent articles in the press say some scientists think the planet is headed for a tipping point collapse if humanity does not curtail its abuse of Earth's ecosystems. The effect of a millenium of agricultural and industrial development on the planet's natural systems is so profound that scientists are now ready to debate if a new geological epoch,  the "Anthropocene", should be named to signify the human driven effects that are likely to leave an indelible mark on Earth.

The Gulf of Mexico is a case on point. A report in the science journal PLoS ONE by researchers Holly Bik et al found that the diversity of microbes living in the sand of five beaches around Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay, Alabama and Grand Isle, Louisiana beach to be rich prior to the Deepwater Horizon disaster [chart, left side]. After the spill took place, the diversity disappeared leaving only a few "predators and opportunists" such as nematode worms and fungi. [chart, right side] The implications of the study for the Gulf's long term health are tremendously bad. The beaches may look relatively clean after treatment with chemicals and mechanical scrubbing, but the microbes that support all larger life is dying. The communities of these very small organisms form the foundation of a sea's food web. The Gulf may be "open for business" now, but if sea life collapses due to lack of food, it will be in the form of a closing sale.

Great Barrier Reef in Danger

The world's largest barrier reef--yes, it can be seen from space--is in danger from development of Australia's Queensland coast. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee issued advice that the reef could be listed as endangered if the development continues at the same pace. Natural gas facilities and other types of industrial and residential development at a high rate pose serious concern for the Reef's long term conservation according to the Committee. The report was issued at the Committee's annual meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Australian Environment Minister reportedly "welcomed" the report which he said contained "no surprises". The Australian Green Party which is part of the governing coalition said the UNESCO report was a "slap in the face for the federal and Queensland governments which must now stop their dredging, dumping and shipping to avoid international embarrassment". The coral reefs and islands were put on the World Heritage List in 1981, and they are home to 400 types of coral, 1500 species of fish, and 4,000 types of mollusk. The Great Barrier Reef extends from southern Queensland to Papua New Guinea covering over 7,000 square miles. Some of the 600 islands are large enough to have forests and freshwater streams.

Concern over coastal development centers on the mines of the Galilee basin in central Queensland. Additional shipping facilities are proposed to meet the production of nine new coal mines in the area. The first mine was approved by the Queensland government on May 29th, and Gladstone Harbor is being dredged to accommodate two liquified natural gas plants on Curtis Island. The Premier made no bones about his priorities: the coal business comes before environmental protection. Tourism associated with the Reef generates only about $5.1 billion annually. Greenpeace calculates that up to 10,150 coal ships could cross the Barrier Reef by the end of the decade. On April 4, 2010 the coal ship Shen Neng 1 ran aground on the Reef and spilled about 2.5 tons of oil but no coal. [photo courtesy Maritime Safety Queensland] An average of two accidents has occurred each year since 1985 according to the environmental group. Some progress has been made in improving water quality entering the Reef. Nitrogen runoff from regulated farms has declined by 14% since 2010 according to the Queensland government, but funding for improving water quality runs out in 2013. UNESCO said the Reef could be listed "in danger" if Australia does not give it evidence of substantial progress in protecting the Reef from development by 2013.

'Toontime: The Hat No Longer Fits

[credit: Chris Weyant, The Hill]

Unionism is at a historic low point in the United States. Just 45% of Americans viewed unions favorably in a 2011 Pew public opinion poll, and national union membership has dwindled to just 11.8% of the workforce. Nevertheless, unionism among public workers has been growing in recent years. Public unions have never been popular with the Americans who paradoxically view public service as something a person does only for altruistic reasons. The failed PATCO strike is a testament to that curiously quaint view. Reagan's firing of striking air traffic controllers made a national hero out of the former movie actor turned corporate hawker. Union defeat in the Wisconsin recall will have a similar impact on the upcoming national election even if the proletariat reaction is misguided. The source of their pain is sitting in corporate boardrooms and Wall Street corner offices.

A recent poll on teacher unions showed only 21% of Americans have a positive view of those. Since Scott Walker limited collective bargaining and ended payroll dues deduction, AFSCME membership has dropped in half in Wisconsin. In the midst of the Second Great Depression, voters are loath to give public union members more pay and benefits they already consider generous by private sector standards. The Obamanator may think the "LGBT" brand is large and well-heeled enough to give him the edge in the November election, but US Person doubts that seriously. He needs union members to vote, and more importantly, campaign for him. Unions spent $400 million in the 2008 election to make 'Chuck Barry' the current occupant of the White House. Tweets to the "chardonnay set" do not get the job done.

Spain Will Ask for Help

Spain's banks are under tremendous pressure as financial markets move against them and depositors withdraw money (Financial Times: draw down reaches €100 billion). The bond rating agency, Finch, cut Spain's credit rating by three notches to BBB today, contributing to the rising cost of borrowing. The spread, or premium, between Spanish and German 10yr bonds reached a historic high. Fitch says that Spanish banks need between €50 to €60 billion to cover losses on domestic loans.  The amount of Spain's non-performing loans alone exceed Greece's GDP at $273 billion. The Spanish finance minister said his government will wait to make an aid request until after an IMF report and an independent audit of Spanish banks, both due this month. His country objects to the imposition of austerity measures by the EU or IMF as conditions to financial aid since its deficit spending was not as extravagant as Greece's or Italy's. Meanwhile, Germany is making contingency plans to rescue Spain's bad-debt ridden banking sector. Financial analysts generally think that Spain is "too big to fail" if the single currency zone is too survive. There was some optimism today that the country could avoid the fate of Greece as Spain's auction of $2.5 billion in government bonds was deemed successful.