Interior’s ‘State of the Birds’ report highlights climate threats

Dana Milbank used a recent Washington Post column to suggest that climate change activists looking to make headway should "put away the slides of polar bears and pine beetles" and "keep the focus on national security and jobs."

But what about color photos of threatened birds?

The Interior Department, in concert with several conservation groups, on Thursday released "The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change," a study that surveys the effects of global warming on various bird species.

The report looks at issues such as Hawaiian birds facing mosquito-borne diseases, and oceanic birds that face flooding in their island nests from sea level rise.

"For well over a century, migratory birds have faced stresses such as commercial hunting, loss of forests, the use of DDT and other pesticides, a loss of wetlands and other key habitat, the introduction of invasive species, and other impacts of human development," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a prepared statement. "Now they are facing a new threat – climate change – that could dramatically alter their habitat and food supply and push many species towards extinction."