"In the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve of Costa Rica, there were so many harlequin frogs that it was hard not to step on them when walking alongside streams. But today, they have vanished.
"About two-thirds of harlequin frogs disappeared in the 1980's and 1990's -- the culprit? Climate change. Research done in Costa Rica shows that global warming makes clouds form higher above the forests where they cannot bring as much moisture to the ecosystems below. Dry spells are getting longer and in turn, many species are disappearing."Rising temperatures also shrink the cloud forests, which forces species to live more densely, causing the spread of disease and a fungus that kills some frogs. The harlequin frog is on its way to extinction."
Unfortunately, little Harley isn't alone.
A January 2006 Washington Post article says that 112 species of amphibians are extinct or endangered by climate change.
What does this have to do with our daily lives? Perhaps nothing but it is a harbinger of change that will soon affect all living creatures if things are not done to halt human emissions.
And not to wax too religious, these creatures are prime examples of God's splendor. No human created the magnificent beauty of these semi-aquatic animals. That was nature itself and I would hate to see something as beautiful as a blue dart frog cease to exist for the sake of our own convenience.
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