I know I had promised "a post about the scripted comedies and dramas about politics" at the end of "13th" vs. "O.J.: Made in America" plus other non-fiction political programs nominated at the Primetime Emmy Awards. That's still going to happen, just not today.* Instead, I am going to fulfill a promise I made in Hurricane Andrew: Student Sustainability Video Festival 75.**
Hurricane Andrew continues to have effects today, including invasive Burmese Pythons. I have a video that I show my students about them that I plan on posting here.Here is the clip, CBS News' Python hunters take on Florida Everglades' snake problem.
An invasion of Burmese python in the Florida Everglades is threatening the area's sprawling ecosystem. South Florida has hired 25 top hunters to capture and kill the snakes. Mark Strassmann gets a firsthand look at how the snake hunters are going high-tech.I've shown this video to two classes this past summer and plan on showing it to another this fall. So far, the students have been suitably impressed.
*Maybe as soon as tomorrow, which is only a few hours away.
**I'm wondering what kind of effects from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey will last this long. If the answer means I'll have to wait another 25 years to find out, I'm not optimistic I'll last that long.
25 hunters for a fast-breeding population of 100,000 hardly seems adequate. They need some kind of intensive extermination program.
ReplyDeleteWe also need to do something about people who keep dangerous animals in non-hurricane-proof facilities, but I suppose that's too much to hope for.
Twenty-five outside hunters is enough to thin out the population in an area of a few square miles. It works for a sustainable yield of python skins, but not for elimination of the threat. The NPS would have to have a group of full time hunters to remove them from the park.
DeleteAs for the second part of your comment, you're right, but it probably won't happen because it's Florida.