Indholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2019 i Audubon Magazine

In summer and winter, birders fan out to count species in the name of climate science. The data they compile on bluebirds, nuthatches, goldfinches, towhees, and Painted Buntings help scientists compare real-life behavior against predictions made by Audubon’s models. So far, the models are largely holding true, says Audubon’s Brooke Bateman. In winter, species are shifting into areas projected to become more suitable. But in an unexpected twist, some are staying put in summer, perhaps reluctant to leave established breeding sites. Other discoveries no doubt await. The field observations gathered through the Climate Watch program will feed into the models, making Audubon’s analyses even more precise. “The more people we have counting across the country, the more information we’ll have to understand climate change,” Bateman says—yielding insights for how to…

Like North America’s boreal forests, the Amazon—the world’s largest rainforest—has long soaked up greenhouse gases emitted by human activity and stored it as biomass. This year, however, that CO2 sponge has been burning in fires that have threatened both Indigenous lands and protected forest areas. Satellite data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research indicated that by early September nearly 50,000 fires had been detected this year, an 83 percent increase from the same period in 2018. About 11,500 square miles burned in August alone, sparking an international outcry. Although fires are not uncommon in the Amazon, they’re also not a natural part of its cycle. They are sparked by humans, either through recklessness or intentionally, and sometimes illegally, as a means of clearing land. Environmentalists in the region believe…

WHEN ONE GRASPS THE FULL IMPLICATIONS of climate change, there comes a measure of grief. I first recognized this in May 2014, when scientists studying the massive Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica reported that it had begun a process of “unstoppable” collapse. Something collapsed in me as well. Looking back, I can see it was the loss of the idea that our environmental mistakes could be undone before it was too late. And with that, society’s actual goal became clear: to do all we can to avert the most damaging outcomes. How much can we do? The answer, I’m convinced, is quite a lot. And I have plenty of company in this conviction. Ask just about any climate scientist and you’re likely to get a straightforward answer: The faster we act,…

How to Lobby Your Legislators Remember: Your state representatives work for you. LOBBYING ISN’T JUST FOR MAJOR CORPORATIONS. Anyone can meet with state legislators to discuss issues, and advocacy groups like Audubon often organize events called lobby days for constituents to do just that. These gatherings usually happen at the state capitol and can even require hanging out in the hall hoping for a meeting (it is called “lobbying”). But if you don’t want to wait for a formal lobby day, you can also schedule your own sit-down, either as an individual or as part of a group. Whatever your approach, the key is making your voice heard. “So few people meaningfully engage in the democratic process,” says Claire Douglass, national campaigns senior director for the National Audubon Society. “This…

When we were putting the finishing touches on this issue, Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas as a deadly category 5 storm—one of the strongest and longest-lasting hurricanes on record in the Atlantic. It then raked the U.S. shoreline from Florida to North Carolina, sending coastal populations scrambling to prepare for yet another devastating storm. Five years ago, when Audubon published its first report on birds and climate change, scientists might have observed that Dorian—which moved slowly, gathering strength from warm sea and air temperatures—is precisely the kind of extreme-weather event one would expect to see more frequently with climate change. Now, thanks to a rapidly advancing area of research called attribution science, they can calculate the extent to which climate change contributes to such an event. This is the…

A CALL TO ACTION Birds face unprecedented challenges from climate change. Audubon’s report Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink tells us that. It also tells us how to help them: If we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, 290 bird species would be better off. Of course, climate change harms people, too. To protect birds, and ourselves, we must stop venting greenhouse gases into our atmosphere before 2050, the study says, while transitioning to carbon-free energy sources. This requires attacking the problem from many angles, starting with urging our elected officials to: • Back economy-wide federal legislation to drive large-scale emission reductions, such as pricing or capping carbon emissions.• Support policies, such as energy-efficiency standards, that reduce electricity demand.• Expand…

With a new program led by vice president of boreal conservation Jeff Wells, Audubon is working alongside Indigenous leaders, scientists, and conservation groups to advance an ambitious, long-term goal of protecting a minimum of 50 percent of North America’s boreal lands, the nursery to over 300 avian species. “We’re filling a gap in our own work for birds through all parts of their lives,” says international alliances program director Matt Jeffery. Audubon is also ramping up ongoing programs and partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean—work that includes building community-based ecotourism projects, and climate resilience and mitigation strategies in 12 countries—to connect conservation efforts across migratory flyways. Birds like the Canada Warbler, which breeds in the southern boreal and eastern U.S., migrates along the Gulf of Mexico, and winters in…

WHEN ROBBIE FEARN MOVED from the mountains of Alabama to the North Carolina coast in 2013, he didn’t realize that climate change would consume his career. The former wildlife-hospital director had been tapped to oversee the Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Sanctuary and Audubon Center at Pine Island, situated at the north end of the 120-mile-long string of barrier islands called the Outer Banks. A wild haven tucked among timeshares, the 2,600-acre property sits at the heart of one of the largest waterfowl wintering sites on the Eastern Seaboard. But as Fearn quickly learned, the realities of climate change are unavoidable at Pine Island. Founded in 1910 as a duck-hunting club and managed by Audubon North Carolina since 2010, the property is pressed between the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Sound,…

States and cities wield real power over the emissions released within their borders, including from cars, power plants, factories, and buildings. And many aren’t waiting for a top-down approach—they’re taking the lead. Fifteen states now have binding plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past two years, since the Trump administration pulled the nation out of the Paris climate accord, many have set emissions-reduction goals or strengthened plans they already had on the books. A bill passed in Maine this year, for example, calls for emissions at 80 percent below 1990 levels by midcentury, with a halfway goal by 2030. And Hawaii’s 2018 legislation sets a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. Connecticut and California, meanwhile, have been working to curb emissions for more than a decade. “We are…

Start the Conversation We are facing a climate crisis of epic proportion—one that threatens life on Earth as we know it. For people and birds to have any chance of adapting, the response needs to be no less massive. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start at home. Personal actions reduce our own contributions to climate change, sometimes significantly. Just as important, they have a ripple effect: When people see others in their community taking action, they are much more likely to do so themselves. The technical term for this is “social norm,” but let’s just call it doing your part to help save the world. Find Your Climate Story We all have one, and identifying yours is the first step in becoming an advocate for climate action. ONE OF…

Join a National Cause Make no mistake: The most important climate action you can take at any level, but especially the national one, is to vote for political candidates who are ready to take meaningful steps toward curbing carbon emissions and tackling climate change. The second-most important action involves deeper, harder work: supporting a movement that is inclusive of all and representative of those without power. Our path to a greener future must be one in which everyone has a say—most of all those who are already suffering from a warming planet. Climate change is a crisis, but it can also be an opportunity to create a more just world. Build a Broader Movement When it comes to creating nationwide change, there is strength in both diversity and numbers. FROM…

Reliable. Just as you can count on seeing birds like the Yellow Warbler in the natural world around you, Audubon counts on monthly donors to help us protect vulnerable birds in a warming world. As the threats to birds and the places they need continue to intensify, Audubon keeps responding thanks to consistent, reliable support from our monthly donors. For as little as $15 a month (just 50 cents a day!) you can make sure that Audubon has the resources to help birds facing the catastrophic dangers of a changing climate. Become a monthly donor today! Go to audubon.org/monthly.…

Five years ago, we published our first report on how North America’s birds would do during the climate crisis (spoiler: nearly half of them will not do well at all). Since then, an onslaught of severe-weather events, years of record heat, and daily flooding from sea-level rise have reinforced our findings and convinced a majority of Americans that it’s time to take action. Research by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication shows that more than 60 percent of Americans say the federal government should do more to address the problem. At this point, denying the need to act on climate change is a suicide wish for the planet, for people, and for birds. Late last year, a prominent senator wrote: “The climate is changing and we, collectively, have a…

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Executive Director Panama Audubon Society TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO I WAS JUST a birdwatcher. I went to a Panama Audubon meeting and became a member, eventually volunteering to conserve wetlands, mangroves, and mudflats in the Bay of Panama. I learned that it was the most important area in Central America for migratory species, some of which are declining. The wide mudflats are ideal foraging and stopover ground year-round, and mangroves’ leaves help nourish tiny animals in the mudflats that are food for shorebirds. Our recent surveys have found that this area is even more important than we’d thought. So, with the National Audubon Society, we’re in the process of putting together a climate action plan to conserve the mangroves in the Bay of Panama and Parita Bay and…

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON President, American Conservation Coalition I’VE BEEN A CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST since I was 10 years old, doing things like knocking on doors and making phone calls. At first, I was a climate denier. But once I started taking classes about the environment in school and doing my own research, I pulled a 180. Now I’m fighting for this issue. In 2017 I launched the American Conservation Coalition, recruiting other college activists. It educates and mobilizes people to focus on free-market environmental solutions, so we can actually get things done. We want to show conservative legislators that this is a priority issue for Republicans. Young people want action now. Most conservatives do believe in climate change, from what I’ve seen. It’s just that skeptics are the ones who are vocal.…

MADISON, WISCONSIN Plaintiff in Juliana, et al. v. United States IN MY HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN year, I wanted to learn about human rights and social justice. Being black and Latinx in a predominantly white place, I didn’t have much opportunity. The human-rights nonprofit Global Kids came to my class and was working on a climate campaign. I was initially confused: What does climate change have to do with human rights? From them I learned more about environmental racism and how climate change decimates communities of color in particular. In Honduras, where my family is from, people most affected by climate change tend to be low-income and have more melanin in their skin. I think my queerness and being Afro-Latinx and Afro-Indigenous causes me to have empathy for people with marginalized…

LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA Director, Google Earth I LOST MY FATHER AND BROTHER almost 20 years ago. They both created social and environmental impacts through their work and were my heroes; it was a wake-up call. I’m a reluctant activist—it’s not natural for me—but I love nature and my community. In 2005 I got a public notice of intent to harvest timber near my home. Buried in it were details that would allow cutting more than 60 percent of the largest stand of old-growth redwoods in the county. I thought, “How can I, a computer scientist, help people understand what’s at stake?” A community group and I digitally mapped the forest and established that the plan didn’t qualify for the permit. Seeing the power of satellite imagery was eye-opening. Often environmental…

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA Former Executive Secretary U.N. Climate Convention WHILE I WAS DIRECTING negotiations for what became the 2015 Paris Agreement, I was facing a very painful personal situation. That’s how I discovered Buddhism, which has been an incredible help. I understand that no matter how desperate a situation, whether a personal or global catastrophe, we have a possibility of turning it around. One of my favorite sayings comes from monk and activist Thich Nhat Hanh: “No mud, no lotus.” If you don’t have a difficult situation you have to grapple with, it’s hard to get something to bloom. It’s a choice in how we focus our thinking, our being, our acting. We can turn any mud pile into a flower. Climate change is upon us. By 2030, we…

Lead Your Community With your own carbon footprint under control, it’s time to level up your impact by encouraging those around you to take climate actions. But where to start? Consider the local communities and spaces where you already have connections and influence—your child’s school, say, or a social hub like a coffee shop. By merely showing up and making your case, you can lead others toward climate-friendly policies and practices. It’s not always easy, but it’s often productive—and rewarding. Along the way, you’ll develop new relationships and skills that will help you become an ace climate advocate. Hit the Neighborhood Climate-action tips for greening your town. WORK There are plenty of things you can do to improve the office’s sustainability without inserting green line items in the budget—and some…

“BIRDS DON’T VOTE OR DRIVE ELECtric cars; we have to represent their interests,” says Chicago artist Jenny Kendler. Each eye gazing from this page stands for one of 200 bird species vulnerable to extinction from climate change, producing a mesmerizing portrait of what stands to be lost should humans do nothing to reduce carbon emissions—and how the natural world will bear witness. It’s an evolution of Kendler’s Birds Watching sculpture, a 40-foot-long grouping of 100 reflective eyes mounted on a frame. For this digital collage of the same name, Kendler cut each eye, shown here to scale, from John James Audubon’s illustrations and arranged them to suggest an ecosystem that’s been knocked out of order by human carelessness. “If we take clear, decisive, and speedy action on climate change now,…