Free Republic

The mass die-off of thousands of songbirds in south-western US was caused by long-term starvation, made worse by unseasonably cold weather probably linked to the climate crisis, scientists have said. Flycatchers, swallows and warblers were among the migratory birds “falling out of the sky” in September, with carcasses found in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Nebraska. A USGS National Wildlife Health Center necropsy has found 80% of specimens showed typical signs of starvation. Muscles controlling the birds’ wings were severely shrunken, blood was found in their intestinal tract and they had kidney failure as well as an overall loss...

Carrot peels. Spud skins. And a sludge of turkey drippings. Such holiday leavings each year end up in the kitchen sink from Thanksgiving through Christmas, clogging the nation's largest sewer, Los Angeles sewer officials say. "It's wild," said Kent Carlson, a wastewater collection supervisor for the Bureau of Sanitation. "Beginning with Thanksgiving, everyone gets their cholesterol levels up in the season of family and big eating, with comfort food, gravy and taters. "It's like our arteries -- we start having problems." The Bureau of Sanitation works two shifts daily, seven days a week, to keep 6,500 miles of sewer lines...