Touching Climate Change

Do you question climate change?

In my lifetime I have watched glaciers in Alaska retreat by miles. Check out the video we shot of Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.

I've seen dramatic changes in the breeding of Allen's hummingbirds in my California yard and changes in the migration patterns of native birds that visit. Many of the animals are responding to impacts on native vegetation.

Rainfall in California has declined creating our current drought, but the truth is we haven't had a wet season since 2005. Flood years mixed with low rainfall years are normal for us, but the flood years are disappearing.

Small changes can sneak up on you as you ease into them. But if you are documenting daily events in the natural world, either in data, journal, or photos, the dramatic accumulation of change is undeniable. 

I remember when the Mendenhall Glacier covered most of the rocky outcroppings that are now completely exposed. I remember a 300 foot thickness of ice that nearly hid the top of the waterfall that is now completely free to tumble down a barren rock slope. Watch the video and see the beach beside the churning waterfall. I sat on that beach and cried, because when I was a child that beach was completely covered by a wall of glacial ice.   

Celebrating Rachel Carson's Birthday

Today is Rachel Carson's birthday - a time to reinvigorate the challenge she posed to all Americans. 

We are part of the environment in which we live. The health of our air, soil and water is just as important to humans as it is to bald eagles, island foxes (video), humpback whales and monarch butterflies.

Rachel Carson's early books celebrated the sea, coastal habitats and the variety of interdependent life  in the ocean: Under the Sea Wind; The Sea Around Us; Edge of the Sea. Through her study of coastal habitats and in her work as a writer for the Bureau of Fisheries and eventually the Editor-in-Chief of publications for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Carson saw what most Americans did not have access to: scientific reports on the toxic impacts of overused pesticides.

Carson was not a political person, she believed that science fact crossed political lines. In the years following the publication of Silent Spring, the Clean Air Act (1963), Clean Water Act (1972) and the Endangered Species Act (1973) were enacted by Democratic and Republican administrations.

New science facts have been laid before us all: our use of fossil fuels in altering the global climate. Will we come together and act for the benefit of all humanity or let the well-financed voice of a few subjugate us into self-destructive inaction?   

Your life is already too busy to take on a topic that seems insurmountable? Like all of us, Rachel Carson had personal responsibilities that consumed her everyday life. From the time she was a graduate student during the Great Depression, until the day she died, she was the sole financial support for her parents, her sister, her nieces and her grandnephew. She worked a full-time job and was the head of a household, while writing her first two books. She suffered from a variety of illnesses, including breast cancer that would take her life only two years after the publication of Silent Spring. She was determined not to let the world she loved be destroyed for future generations, are you?

In Silent Spring, Carson took scientific information to the American people and challenged us to be engaged as advocates for our local environments, to question short-term commercial gain that disregards long-term damage to life forms and habitats, and to demand accountability of our government officials, from local representatives to the President.

If we all did these three things, we could change the future in a positive way.

More on Rachel Carson.


 

What Did You Hear In President Obama's Speech?

Perception resides in the individual.

We see or hear, smell, taste or feel, what we expect, what we hope, what we fear.

In President Barrack Obama's speech this morning I heard something important to me: The mention of climate change and acknowledgement that this is a real challenge we must face.

When I travel to other places in the world, I am always struck by the knowledge and desire in other countries to actively work toward reducing carbon levels. They seem to see the potential impact on humanity if we do not. For too long, Americans have looked away from this reality. It is time to look again without fearing change.

                                  Green Spirit

                                  She stood
                                  Verdant and golden
                                  Light clinging
                                  As she jumped
                                  Forward into dark.

                                  Her fiddle head,
                                  Green with idealism,
                                  Boldly understanding
                                  Each day unfurls.
                                  Tender in innocence,
                                  Her resilient stem
                                  Was fibered by
                                  Challenges of eons.

                                  The slightest breeze
                                  Raced through
                                  Her leafy wings.
                                  She met the Sun’s
                                  Invitation to dance
                                  With
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                                   s
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Fungus Among Us - Amphibians and the Global Chytrid Fungus Crisis

Why are frog, toad and salamander populations declining worldwide? What is the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus and why is it a threat to local amphibian populations?

7:30 PM Thursday, February 2

I'll be presenting:

Fungus Among Us:

Amphibians and the Global Chytrid Fungus Crisis

Around the amphibians are facing unprecedented rates of extinction and one of the reasons is a fungus. Southern Californians move through a variety of wildlife habitats and areas. You can play an important role in protecting endangered amphibians by being aware of the chytrid fungus. I'll debunk the myths and misconceptions about chytrid fungus and provide specific suggestions on how we can all help save the frogs, toads and salamanders that are facing threats from this fungus throughout Southern California.


I'll be speaking at the monthly meeting of the Del Air Rockhounds at:
Northridge United Methodist Church 
9650 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324 
Guests Are Always Welcome At Their Meetings & Events

Arctic Ice Cap Melting

photo from Polar Bears International, polarbearsinternational.org

Why is global climate change a controversial issue? Why are Americans unwilling to accept their share of the responsibility for increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and admit that burning carbon based-fuels contributes to the problem?


Are we petulant children who refuse to be held accountable for our actions? Is it easier to believe the voices of power/money that depend on our addiction to fossil fuels? The corporations that sell these resources pay huge sums to create siren songs telling us that we aren't responsible, that oil creates jobs, that other energy sources aren't worth investing in. 


This summer southern California was fairly mild and beautiful. It would be easy to believe that climate change was a fairy tale. But global climate change is global, it is a big picture change.


NASA is a science-based branch of the American government/military. Just watch the video of satellite images of the Arctic sea ice from March to September 2011. The images are fact. The northern sea ice is melting at a greater rate than before and a major change has come with the disappearance of old ice.


http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2011-ice-min.html


What can you do to change your carbon use? It has taken us 7 years to completely change over our vehicles, but now both of our cars are hybrids. For more ideas on how to reduce your impact on climate change visit Polar Bears International.

Climate Change in California

I know most people think of Southern California as having year-round warm weather. And while it is true that we don't have snow in the lower elevations, we do actually experience cooler winter temperatures with a winter rainy season.

Over the past few years I have been noting the signs of autumn: leafing out of the wild currants, ripening of the toyon berries. The winter hibernation of the western fence lizards and desert tortoises mark the seasonal change as well. While the tortoises are fast asleep, this morning I saw a young fence lizard out warming itself in the sun.


I've also been recording signs of spring: hummingbird nesting, blooming of the manroot and more.


Last year the Allen's hummingbirds in our yard started to seriously nest in January. The earliest date we have recorded. A lone chick survived from these early nests because winter storms did arrive in early February. Winds tossed youngsters out of nests and sudden cold temperatures overwhelmed young chicks. The one Allen's hummingbird chick was the earliest recorded wild bird hatchling in North America in 2010. 

This year we had some early autumn rains, cold weather and then December has had some record warm days. Last year we recorded the manroot blooming the first week in January. On Sunday, December 12th I took these photos of the manroot not only emerging from the ground, but getting ready to bloom. Will this plant survive to fruit in summer if it emerges so early from the ground?


The male hummingbirds are performing breeding displays. Will we see nesting even earlier this year? If so, will the chicks survive when winter temperatures return?

Early Signs of Spring

This year I was hoping to really do some coverage of the signs of spring here in California. The problem is spring is arriving much earlier than I expected. Though it is only the second week in January, there are already early signs of spring all around the yard. (Past Springs 2008)


The manroot is not only sprouting up out of the ground, it has begun to bloom. Also known as the wild cucumber, the root lies dormant most of the year, but early in spring after a rain and warm days the vine emerges from the ground.

The vine twines away from its source, helping to keep the location of its large root a secret. Typically, seeing the vine emerging mid-February is a surprise. This year the blooms are already opening on January 11.

The manroot isn’t the only early sign of spring. The native coffeeberry is blooming and the French pussy willows are budding. The birds are also responding to the warm days. Yesterday a pair of Bewick’s wrens were checking out one of the bird houses in the yard. Two years ago they successfully raised 4 chicks in this house, but it was April - June.

The Allen’s hummingbirds are also showing signs of early nesting. Females are collecting spider web for building and they are chasing the male. This concerns me greatly. Last year we saw hummingbirds start to build nests on January 12, two weeks earlier than in 2008. Nesting attempts that started prior to mid-February ended in failure. Late January or early February storms destroyed nests and offspring. One of the females that got caught up in this cycle of early nesting and failure did not survive the year herself.



When I looked at my recorded temperatures for January 10 over the last six years, I found that while the temperature highs have gone up, the low temperature has increased as well. Rather than nights that dropped to the 30s and 40s, the nights have been warmer than 50 degrees F. Perhaps this is why the birds are fooled into thinking that the worst of winter is past and spring breeding should commence.

Unfortunately, despite these warm days and evenings it remains highly likely that we will experience a storm or frost before spring actually arrives. All of the plants and animals that have jumped forward will be faced with threatening cold or rain. And if the rain doesn’t come, the drought will worsen. Since the “rainy season” began in October, we have had less than six inches of rain. Connection between rain and migratory birds.

Are you seeing early signs of spring?

Helping Others Understand Global Climate Change

Holiday Green Action #8

This week the world is focusing on the climate meeting in Copenhagen. What can you do? Talk calmly with facts to friends, family and neighbors about global climate change.

Polls released earlier this week, stated that HALF of Americans do not believe that climate change is a real threat. I don't know why this is, it could be because the economy has become the main focus of concern for most of us. It could be because powerful voices have an economic stake in America's continued over consumption of carbon-based fuels and earthly resources. Because we have allowed the ability to pay for speech to be equated with the right to speak, those who can pay more to express their point of view will be heard the most. Unfortunately, fear mongering makes people defensive.

Give a gift to the Earth: Help people understand the scientific facts of climate change and point them toward actions they can take to be part of the solution.

1. The term "global warming" can seem unbelievable to people when temperatures dip to freezing. This morning there was a half inch of ice on my bird bath in sunny California. "Global climate change" more accurately depicts what is happening. Ask people to think about climate change. How are things different where you live? flooding, storm strength, drought. The drought cycle in California is lengthening.
   
2. Fact : An “unequivocal” warming trend of about 1.0 to 1.7°F occurred from 1906-2005. Warming occurred in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and over the oceans. U. S. EPA Link
3. Fact: The last time carbon dioxide levels were apparently as high as they are today — and were sustained at those levels — global temperatures were 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today, the sea level was approximately 75 to 120 feet higher than today, there was no permanent sea ice cap in the Arctic and very little ice on Antarctica and Greenland, Aradhna Tripati, UCLA assistant professor, Department of Earth and Space Sciences & Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, as quoted in Science Daily. Findings from ice core samplings Link
4. Fact: Deforestation is releasing large amounts of carbon stored in trees and reducing plant growth that should be absorbing carbon dioxide.

The way we have been living for the last 100 years is unsustainable. If you look around at your local environment, you already know that. Let's all take action to work together toward cleaning up our destructive habits and working toward a sustainable future.