WWF want us to count walruses from space

I also had a laugh at that, MrsPickle!

Phahahaha

It was explained that it is less disruptive for the walruses than actually going out to the Arctic in a boat and counting them from the ground. Made sense. Surely you get a better picture.

Also more environmentally friendly.

Now, as to why we actually need to count them.....

Could have asked Captain Kirk to do it on his trip into space a few days ago.

Having had Wally the Walrus visiting our area - amongst other coastal sites in the UK far from his home - I now feel more protective of walruses.

Brilliant environmentally friendly idea to count him and all his relatives etc from space. I shall get my GC on to it pronto.

But is it really more evironmentally friendly to count anything from space? Surely not, satellites use a heck of a lot of energy.

Less disturbing for the walruses, obviously.

As to why or if we need to count them, the answer must surely be, that if we don't count them regularly, we won't know whether they or any other species is dying out until it is extinct.

To late then to save them!

How is blasting into space environmentally friendly?

Do they mean ‘space’ space, or do they mean using drones?

They mean space.

I'll start ranting again about space and the environment and people who think "space" is a bad thing.

Probably after lunch.

HannahLoisLuke

How is blasting into space environmentally friendly?

I’m sure they’re not launching a satellite just to count the walruses. They will be using images already taken, or taken for other porpoises, sorry, purposes.

Surely once satellites have been launched they are actually quite eco friendly as they don't need to keep travelling to different places to get their information. Of course, when they are finished with they are problematic but we need to be thinking about how to get them back rather than just abandoning them.

i never saw the news item about counting from space but i suppose the idea of counting is to see if there numbers are going up or down as in breeding, they have done this all over the world and that is how they know that in years to come we will not have certain animals left.

Observations from satellites orbiting the earth have an important role to play in assessing the extent of global warming. The disappearance of sea ice in the Arctic could have a serious effect on the survival of the walrus. They use ice floes as diving platforms to forage for the shellfish and other crustaceans which are their main diet. That's why the walrus count 'from space' is important not only to their species but to the rest of the world likely to be affected by the break-up of sea ice and the consequent raising of sea levels.