Winter has passed, and it’s time for me to crawl out of my cave to see what I might have to say. One of our beehives, the Russians, survived, but the Italians did not. So I have installed a new colony of Italian-Carniolan hybrids that are supposed to be hardier in winter. We’ll see. The spring warblers are moving north, and the summer residents - wrens, robins, cardinals, catbirds, cedar waxwings, blackbirds, hawks, hummingbirds, and orioles, to name a few, have settled in - nesting and filling our birdhouses. We are letting our vegetable garden rest this summer and growing a cover crop of Daikon radishes after correcting the soil according to extension service advice. Pretty idyllic time of year…if it weren’t for the ticks.
But what has really awakened me since my entry last November was a newspaper article that came my way today that led with the fact that the Great Salt Lake has shrunk by two-thirds due to climate change and population growth. The 1000 square mile Lesser Salt Lake is now surrounded by a 2000 square mile salt lick - except it isn’t just table salt. There are other minerals lying in the exposed dust many of which are toxic, like arsenic in large quantities, and blowing into the growing metropolis that includes Salt Lake City.
Pair of sandhill cranes in western Minnesota - they are among the many species that rely on the Great Salt Lake during their migration
The Great Salt Lake has become the coal mine for 10 million canaries - the migrating birds that stop over to feed on brine shrimp in the salty waters. However, as the salt content of the water increases, the algae that are the shrimp’s primary food will die out. As soon as this summer! There will be 10 million hungry, angry birds. We can only hope they find another place to fuel up.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that the climate-change skeptics among the ranchers and entrepreneurs in the region have come to realize that they are facing down an economic catastrophe - for crops, tourism, population growth, and economic development - brought to them by climate change that they can no longer deny. They will start by raising the price of water to deter overuse, but that is not going to solve the problem of a lake that is drying up.
While climate change is not yet “in the face” of my neighbors here in New Hampshire (if they ignore the ticks or stay inside), it is very much present in many parts of the country and the world - and not any longer a threat for some far off, future time.
I wasn’t really sleeping in a cave all winter. I have devoted time and energy to a new organization aimed at educating and activating my fellow health care workers toward talking about the existing health care threats of climate change and incorporating these conversations into the care of their patients and their communities. Have a look at what we are up to here. New Hampshire Healthcare Workers for Climate Action. And join us or some other grassroots organization like us. It’s too late to save the Great Salt Lake, but maybe you share my concerns about the birds…and my grandchild and yours.