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Meeting ID: 892 1175 1113
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April 22 is Earth Day.
\nIn his meticulous notes on the natural history of Concord\, Massa
chusetts\, Henry David Thoreau records the first open flowers of highbush
blueberry on May 11\, 1853. If he were to look for the first blueberry flo
wers in Concord today\, mid-May would be too late. Warming temperatures ha
ve pushed blueberry flowering three weeks earlier\, and in 2012\, followin
g a period of record-breaking warmth\, blueberries began flowering on Apri
l 1&mdash\;six weeks earlier than in Thoreau&rsquo\;s time.
\;In "Walden Warming\," Richard B. Primack uses Thoreau and Walden\, ico
ns of the conservation movement\, to track the effects of a warming climat
e on Concord&rsquo\;s plants and animals\, with the notes that Thoreau mad
e years ago transformed from charming observations into scientific data se
ts. Primack finds that many wildflower species that Thoreau observed\, inc
luding familiar groups such as irises\, asters\, and lilies\, have decline
d in abundance or disappeared from Concord. Primack also describes how war
ming temperatures have altered other aspects of Thoreau&rsquo\;s Concord\,
from the dates when ice departs from Walden Pond in late winter\, to the
arrival of birds in the spring\, to the populations of fish\, salamanders\
, and butterflies that live in the woodlands\, river meadows\, and ponds.<
br /> \;
Demonstrating the effects of climate change in a unique\
, concrete way using this historical and literary landmark as a touchstone
\, Richard Primack urges us to heed the advice Thoreau offers in \;Wal
den: to live simply and wisely. In the process\, we can minimize our own c
ontributions to our warming climate.
At the conclusion of the prog
ram please feel free to take a brief online survey here:
https://www.projectoutcome.or
g/responses/53082
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