Evidence of the climate crisis isn’t hard to find. We concentrate on temperature, but scientists first saw sharp declines in amphibian populations in the 1980s. That decline is now a mass extinction event worldwide. Other studies have reported declining insect populations as far back as 1840, but recent research has been deeply troubling. When I was a kid, every summer day came with clouds of gnats. Not now. I remember thinking that, sure, everything had its place in the world, but would anyone really miss gnats? Turns out, yes.
And now, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Bird Conservancy reports that bird populations have dropped 29 percent since 1970. It’s not, they emphasize, an extinction event where specific vulnerable species die off while the rest do all right. “This major loss was pervasive across all the bird groups.” (Washington Post “North America has lost 3 billion birds in 50 years.”) They implied that, somehow, this was reassuring.
Anyone want to talk about declines in aquatic species? Coral bleaching?
Unless I’m missing something, the climate crisis is clawing its way up the food chain in our direction. Closer and closer. We can hear the scratching at the door, but most people barely notice. The evening news gave it one five-second story. It’s almost as if we don’t want to see what’s coming.
Am I the only one scared by this?
