It’s getting warmer. And despite Canadians’ delight at enjoying higher temperatures than normal this week, some of us can’t help but wonder about the dark cloud that’s presently revealing this silver lining. Regardless of what’s causing climate change, its progress seems a lot faster than anticipated only a few years ago.
Surely it’s the smaller creatures that will be affected the most by climate change. We’ve had less precipitation than normal this winter. If a long, dry summer is to follow, amphibians like the red-backed salamanders shown above will not find the moisture they need to stay healthy. If spring vernal pools dry up too quickly, they and their kin will have difficulty finding a good moist place to lay their eggs.
This past winter likely didn’t kill off as many insects as a colder winter would have. Yesterday I saw numerous ants active in the flower beds, as well as this fly on the siding. If there are so many more insects than usual in March, what will their numbers be like in mid-summer? Will we be overrun by ants? At least the baby birds will have lots to eat once they are born.
These bright and perky robins were singing cheerfully in the woods this morning. Were they checking out nesting options in the neighborhood or just passing through on their way farther north? I wonder if they sense a change in the weather. Like them, we should be out enjoying the blue skies while we have them. It may feel like summer this week, but we’re bound to see snow again before long.
O yes, the ramifications of climate change are on the way everywhere. Being as observant of the patterns and cycles of the birds and insects as you are you probably know just how unsettling this ‘change’ can be for everyone–including those who only reside in climate controlled abodes.
A friend in Montana observes that the black bears are NOT hibernating as they should be due to the temperature changes there. So the scale is both small and large.
Enjoyable break from winter’s cold yes–BUT what will be the price we all pay?
Thanks for your post.
47whitebuffalo, black bears not hibernating is remarkable. Thank you for adding that information. I wonder how the milder winter affected their birth rate. Females usually wake up just long enough in January to give birth to a couple of cubs but a fetus will not develop in an impregnated female if her body senses that there might be a shortage of food or other natural threat.
The whole interconnected web is so much more complicated than we think it is. “Life finds a way” is true, but not necessarily the life of an individual or even of a whole species. It is also true that our time scale is not Mama Nature’s. If we could step back far enough to see the whole sweep of our time on earth, would this present era look like fundamental change? But if Mama Nature stepped close enough to see that salamander, would she be so casual about destroying its habitat? (And maybe she does and maybe she would be and maybe I’ll never understand either way.)
We cannot do any more than we understand how to do. We understand how to be mindful, frugal, nurturing. Shame on us if we are not all of those things.
Gerry, regardless of what tangled webs are woven, I’ve always chosen to believe that nature is a cosmos not a chaos. There’s order there, even if we don’t see it.
It is important for us to do our best and it starts with simply respecting nature.
I fear life will not find a way since the changes are happening quickly, much quicker then anticipated, and humans tend to create an environment that is comfortable for them — leaving the natural world further behind. Here in Connecticut, we have not had a true winter at all this year. One freak snowstorm in October that dumped a lot of heavy snow on unsuspecting trees. Many did not survive either due to the damage of the heavy snow breaking them or just the shock of being covered in snow too early. The rest of the winter was not just mild but spring like with temps often 20 to 30 degrees higher then normal. Now, in March, we’ve already had a week of temps in the upper 70s (20s Celsius). Even worse, many politicians and citizens in the US don’t even believe climate change is real so they make no efforts to change — again, exacerbating and speeding the problem.
As Gerry said, shame on us indeed for creating the problem in the first place, then ignoring it for far too long.
Indigo Spider, it’s such a shame that a love for one’s comfort zone can make one so oblivious to the truth. The same people who may find it hard to complain about global warming while enjoying a warm winter or spring might think differently while suffering through a long hot summmer. Our food supply is bound to be affected and the overwhelming costs of damage done by extreme weather conditions like tornados and hurricanes can only be ignored for so long.
I am in full agreement with your thoughts Indigo Spider. And ironically we here in the usa are responsible for the lion’s share of creating this climate problem–yet we take no responsibility on the global stage. But I suspect we will bear the brunt of the consequences due to ‘our’ conintued denial as a whole.
It’s interesting hearing from people in diverse places. I’m near Amy-Lynn in Nova Scotia, experiencing this ridiculous weather. The average high at this time of year is 5 or 6 C. Tomorrow, like today will be in the mid-20’s, while Friday it’ll drop down to 5.
I worry for this poor old planet.
Could the other commentors, say where they’re from, so we can get a clearer picture of what it’s like in your area.
Sybil, 26 Celsius is predicted for today! Can you believe it?
FYI, 47whitebuffalo is from South Dakota, Gerry is from Michigan and Indigo Spider is from Connecticut.
Actually while I post much information regarding South Dakota I am currently residing in Missouri.
Sorry about that 47whitebuffalo. Thanks for clarifying.
This is, as always, an interesting conversation. I think you and I are somewhere on the same page, Amy-Lynn, although I am probably plodding along behind you and reading it in dimmer light.
Gerry, I think you’re walking right beside me in the sunshine. At least until next week when we’re supposed to get cloudier skies and… gack!… snow! then it might be easier for one of us to walk in the other’s tracks 🙂
I’m in Boston. This year we had 9″ of snow. Last year was the 5th snowiest on record.
Mother Nature is chaotic. People don’t want to believe that because people don’t want to assume anything is out of their control – hence religion and prayer.
Stay calm, enjoy these few days, and carry on. The media thrives on doom and gloom.
Margaret, people in Nova Scotia certainly made the most of yesterday’s record-breaking temperatures. I haven’t seen an overflow of cars parked on the road outside Rainbow Haven beach since the last hot weekend of last summer. The only gloom was likely present in enclosed workspaces where people indoors were wanting to be outside.