Winter Hummingbirds

I continue to be amazed at the resiliance of the Anna's Hummingbird. One or more always seem to hang around my feeder throughout the winter. When the weather turns really cold (around here that means anything below freezing) I always expect they will disappear and not return. I don't understand why these birds don't freeze solid in such weather. Those tiny little bodies, they have so little mass to them. Wouldn't they lose heat so quickly as to become hypothermic during the long cold night?

Thinking of this reminds me once again of the complexity and fragility of our world, and the impact we have on it. Humans have made more negative impacts on the natural systems and cycles of Earth than any other living thing. In fact the only thing I can think of that possibly can eclipse human despoliation of the planet is an asteroid impact or our Sun reaching supernova status.

There is one thing which makes an impact greater than any. Our global population is now beyond six billion individual lives, yet their are so many among those masses who believe they must procreate beyond all practical guidelines. Often they believe so for religious reasons, sometimes they are driven by perceived economic benefits. In wealthy nations they can afford to say, "I want to have lots of kids!" just because it sounds fun or is thought to be rewarding in some non-economic way. And our government rewards such thinking through yearly tax credits.

Then there is the philosophy that we must have a continuously growing population to keep our economy healthy, which I have long believed sounds like the biggest pyramid scheme in the history of the world. Or maybe it's the purveyors of actual pyramid schemes who advance this plan as a way to ensure there continued economic security. But it's always the ones at the bottom of the pyramid who wind up suffering, and in the global pyramid those will be the impoverished and powerless.