Earlier this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added the Dolphin and Union Caribou to the endangered species list. These ground barren caribou are more commonly known as reindeer. In an all too familiar story, these majestic creatures are now struggling for survival because of climate change. These migratory caribou go from the Arctic regions of Canada's Northwest Territories province to their calving grounds on Victoria Island. They must cross over sea ice each year. Sadly, sea ice formation is inadequate due to warming global temperatures, and many reindeer have fallen through the ice. To make matters worse, the weakening ice has allowed more shipping further north—another disruption to the Dolphin and Union caribou's migratory path. In recent years, the reindeer population has declined sharply, the last four being the most deadly, with a staggering decline of 75% since 2018. While these numbers are disheartening, this story has a glimmer of hope. Thanks to public comment, this species was moved from the original recommendation of threatened to endangered. Activists like you and I helped protect this species further and hopefully kept them from extinction. Never doubt that the part you play is too small to make an impact. I find myself reflecting on Judith Schwartz's work The Reindeer Chronicles. She describes landscape-scale restoration, the bigger picture of working with nature to heal some of our most damaged ecosystems. She describes a work we can all play a part in. She calls it "the inverse of apathy and an antidote to despair." While it may be tempting to slide into apathy about the many damaged ecosystems and endangered species, we must not. Because there is still hope. That's what Global Warming Solutions is all about. Pressuring lawmakers to see the forest and the trees (and all the other species that reside there), and to fight to protect not only our species and our ecosystems but our entire planet, one step at a time.
ANOTHER THREATENED SPECIES: I want to bring your attention to the plight of the rare Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly. This beautiful and unique creature is in danger of disappearing forever. These delicate butterflies, found only in Puerto Rico, are declining in number due to a variety of factors, including habitat destruction, pesticides and herbicides, wildfires, and climate change. The harlequin caterpillar feeds exclusively on the prickly bush (Oplonia spinosa), once a prolific plant in the area. However, the forests where they grow have been widely cleared for urban development and agricultural use. Rugged coastal forests were less accessible. There, the harlequins were holding their own. These butterflies are known to be slow fliers with an observed range of about a half mile, less than one kilometer. Climate change brought havoc to the harlequin butterfly populations by supercharging Hurricane Maria. Passing over ocean water, the hurricane picked up energy to go from Category 4 to Category 5 in about twenty-four hours. Category 5 hurricanes are four times as powerful as Category 4. Maria was the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2017. In Puerto Rico, Maria caused the worst electrical blackout in US history and blew away much prickly bush along with other vegetation. This is not just a tragedy for the butterflies themselves, but it is also an example of the continuing threat to our ecosystems on a global scale. The forest and coastal shrub habitats of these delicate butterflies are home to many other threatened and endangered species. Thankfully, conservation efforts have started, as the US Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the harlequin butterfly as threatened. Officials are securing lands and volunteers are planting prickly bush to conserve butterflies and many other species. |
This work is not possible without people like you. Rob
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.