Overshoot day.

This year August 20th marks the "approximate calendar date on which humanity’s resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth’s capacity to regenerate those resources that year." (source) This date keeps moving in the wrong direction...this date shouldn't exist but since it does it should be much closer to the end of the year...like December 31st or something. For instance, in 1993 it was October 21st...now it is in August.

In other words there are either too many human animals on the planet or the human animals here are using up too much of the Earth to support their lives. In fact, there are too many of us and we "consume" way too much.

For instance, the current estimate is that it would take 1.5 Earths to support us...on a renewable basis if we averaged using the Earth the way we do now. That's for all of us, it gets really stinky if you look at in on a country by country basis. For instance, if everyone lived the way we do here in the United States, we would need 5 Earths to support us. You can explore the ecological footprint for most countries here.

Here's my thought. Advocate for our fellow Earthlings but don't forget that advocating for them also means that there needs to be fewer of us human animals. Consider incorporating the handing out of endangered species condoms in your advocacy efforts. Two things to remember, the fewer there are of us...the fewer there are to harm our fellow Earthlings...and the fewer there are of us the more of what Earth has to offer is potentially available for the other Earthlings.

Overshoot day. Scarey stuff, do your part to push back by living vegan and by avoiding adding to the number of humanoids. 

Hit and run survivors...

The post about the slaying (accidental?) of a mother of nine can be read here. I went out to Wildcare recently to check on how the surviving baby opposums are doing. You'll remember that there were originally nine babies, one was dead on the street and one was dead on arrival at Wildcare. Well now there are only four survivors. One died soon after arrival and then two more expired. They were very small and very vulnerable.

However, according to the staff there the four remaining seem to be doing well. I have only a few photos...and they aren't good. I took the babies there on July 12th, so they've been there around 3 weeks.

This baby was curious about the camera.

 You can see the towel hanging down behind the baby. It serves as a surrogate for the pouch they would have if their mom was alive. The other 3 were sleeping and this one was taking a stroll. They are self feeding now so the rather difficult process of hand feeding is finished. They are still very small and will not be able to be released for several more weeks. I hope to visit them again before they leave.

Moving away...always a good idea.

You can get some idea of their tininess in this photo of the baby moving away from me. I hope, for their sake, that once they are released they never see a human or anything made by a human again in their whole lives. It is almost axiomatic that nothing good for the opossum would come from that.

I gave a donation to Wildcare to help with their expenses. There's no amount of money though that can pay for the having of a place like Wildcare where our wild neighbors have a refuge from human destructiveness. Wildcare, Heartland, Mindy's Memory, Serenity Springs...these are all places where the free (wild) animals or the not-free (domestic) animals have a chance to be safe and protected and respected and cared for. These places are orphanages and hospitals and rehab-facilities and nursing homes and day-cares and families all rolled into one.

Give them every cent you can, give them as much time as you can...they truly are the best we can be...for Earthlings who aren't human.

These places, and places like them, represent one of the few positives about humans insofar as humans being desirable neighbors that I know of. Mostly, if you are an Earthling who happens to not be a human, the human Earthlings are bearers of suffering and misery and death. It is a sad commentary on ourselves that for all our fellow Earthlings we are, mostly, monsters. And not fun monsters...we're monsters of the genre of monsters like the one in the original Alien movie. Scary as hell and even more destructive.

If you want to resign from the ranks of the monsters...go vegan...that's the only way to do it. Otherwise you're the enemy...an ugly and vicious enemy...to our fellow Earthlings. Look at that baby in the picture. She (or he) has just as much right to enjoy this beautiful Earth as you or I do. We have no right to interfere in that enjoyment.

Going vegan and supporting your local sanctuaries and rescues...it's a start.

Bea and her babies.

Bea the bunny (named in honor of the incomparable Bea Elliott) came to us via the OKC animal shelter. While she was at the shelter she gave birth to 4 babies but only 3 survived. Her children's names are Sparkle, Sparky and Finn.

Bea's children.

 Sparkle, the little girl and Bea the mom got along very well and when time came to separate the kids (because conflict erupts otherwise...those with teenage human children are familiar with this...separating bunny babies from mom is similar to human children leaving home), Sparkle and Bea remained together.

Bea

Sadly though, Sparkle recently died. We're not sure of the cause. One of the horrendous things that have been inflicted on the bunnies is lots and lots of inbreeding and many of the buns, especially the white ones have physiologies that contain ticking genetic time-bombs just waiting for the right moment or circumstance to wreak havoc on their health. This may be what caused Sparkle's death...she was a very young and healthy appearing girl.

Finn is the smallest of the two remaining boys. Sparky is a bit bigger and a tad less sociable than Finn. Finn loves to get free run of the south warren and he zips all over the place, visiting the other bunnies. He recently had a bout of head tilt but luckily has seemed to manage to recover fairly well...thanks to Jeannie's efforts and with assistance and help from Christina. He's a lucky boy.

Finn playing outside.

Bea and her children are each a little shy but warm up very well once they get past their initial timidity.

Finn has one other characteristic that sets him apart from his siblings, he has fur that is very silky feeling...it is one of the first things your hands notice when you touch him. If it feels as good inside as it does on the outside...then he must feel terrific all the time.

Sparky resting after being outside.

Giving birth to children while in a homeless shelter is not a great situation. Luckily for Bea Heartland Rabbit Rescue was available as a resource for her and the kids and now they have a place to live for as long as need be. They also were lucky in that there are humans who support animal rescues and shelters by donating items for the animals and funds to help care for them. Bea the bunny, and Finn and Sparky have a special human who helps Heartland care for them by donating to the Heartland cause. That's where Bea got her name.

Bea Elliott is special also in that she supports all animals by writing blogs and engaging in activism supporting the vegan cause. You can read her work here and here. She also shares her home with a number of her fellow (formerly homeless) Earthlings in addition to being a supporting member of the Heartland Family. Thank you Bea!

Thanks also to each of you that support the work of the folks who provide shelter and care for our fellow Earthlings.

Please support your local animal rescues and sanctuaries...especially those that advocate for a vegan world. The only way we're going to begin to move to a planet where the need for animal rescues and sanctuaries is minimized is if humans adhere to a vegan approach to living. Bea the bunny does this everyday, as do all the bunnies at Heartland. Bea Elliott does this every day too....the least we all can do is to follow their examples.