A Sad Day for Nature Photography

Photo: Contrails in Sunset Sky While Ducks Swim up to Urban Runoff Storm Drain that Empties into Upper Newport Bay, Newport Beach, California

The Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve is one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in the Southern California. Critical bird habitat such as the Back Bay has been eroding at a rapid pace over the past century and becoming increasingly polluted, particularly so in the past thirty years due to rampant urban development. The bay is a mixture of fresh and saltwater but the "fresh" water mainly consists of urban runoff from the local community. The foreground water flowing into the bay with the ducks is a reminder that we must be careful not to pour toxic chemicals down our drains and pesticides. There is life out there that depends on our used water.

Birds outlived their dinosaur predecessors and have been around for millions of years. They developed the ability to fly in order to avoid ground-based predators. Their ability to adapt to their surroundings has allowed them to thrive in almost every habitat on the planet. However, the interference of man can have a much quicker and dramatic impact on wildlife than their ability to adapt. The airplane-induced contrails in the sky is a double-reminder of the increasing competition that birds must endure in order to survive in today's world. Even in the air, birds are not alone anymore.

I took this image on Saturday evening. To me it symbolizes the importance of strong environmental protection laws and how urgent it is to have cooperation in our society when it comes to respect for the environment. This is perhaps the saddest picture that I have ever taken. Only one can wonder how beautiful this planet was before the Industrial Revolution.

This photo will soon be added to the Environmental Issues gallery on my website.