News
Signs of global warming appearing in Northland
Sarah Fleener
Duluth Budgeteer News, MN
Mar 24, 2006
It’s a beautiful sight. A brilliant red cardinal contrasted by the sparkling blues and grays of Lake Superior.
Or is it?
Scientists say cardinals should not be migrating this far north — it’s normally too cold for their taste. But naturalist Andrea Swanson, at Wolf Ridge Environmental Center, has been observing these beautiful birds at her feeder near Silver Bay — and she said it’s an ill-fated sign of global warming.
This, and other signs of climate change can be seen in our area, said Wolf Ridge science projects coordinator Pete Harris.
Wolf Ridge is a learning center in Finland, Minn., that has been teaching students, from elementary to graduate, about environmental issues since 1971.
“We’re not activists,” said Wolf Ridge’s Executive Director Kim Skyelander. “We give the public both sides of the issue and leave it up to them to decide what they want to do with the information.”
The most current information on climate change says that opossums are moving farther north and flowers are blooming sooner. Lilacs in particular are showing the effects of a warmer climate. Birds can be heard chirping earlier, geese, robins and whippoorwills are returning sooner and frogs are beginning their mating season earlier.
Even the trees are showing signs of change. Hardwood trees, like oak, can be seen in higher numbers in Northland forests. “Before, these trees couldn’t survive the cold. But now, the first little pioneers of these species are saying ‘Hey! We’re here and we want to take this over.”
These facts are examined in a recent report by the National Environmental Trust called “Season Creep: How Global Warming is Already Affecting the World Around Us.” The full report is available online at www. cleartheair.org.
“The science is clear. Global warming isn’t off in the distant future or happening somewhere else. It’s happening right here in Minnesota,” said Jim Gilbert, an environmental studies professor at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, in a press release.
Perhaps the most visible sign in this area is the ice-out dates of lakes and rivers. Harris said our water is freezing later and thawing earlier.
To learn more about the changing of our changing seasons, scientists are hoping to create a national phenology network.
Phenology is the study of the timing of nature. Light, precipitation and temperature all play a hand in how the seasons change.
The earth is no stranger to change — and a multitude of landscapes have dominated the Great Lake’s region over the course of thousands of years.
What concerns scientists and naturalist is the rate at which the changes are now occurring. Harris said the speed is human induced — and because of the interconnectedness of nature, he’s not sure our existing species will be able to survive these changes.
An analogy of this interdependency is the bee/flower relationship. A bee pollinates a flower — creating food for the bee and germination of the flower. But if the flower blooms and the bee is not ready to pollinate it, or vice versa, the whole system is thrown off.
Harris said at this point, the full reach of climate change is unknown. “It is an evolving subject matter,” he said.
But, if you would like to see for yourself, Harris recommends keeping a close observation on the first bird of spring, your lilacs or the ice on your lake. Pick one object and record the action year after year.
Harris said there are already many amateur phenologists in Minnesota. Those bird diaries, almanac-type records and cabin journals can be of great value. Like the report, they tell the story of climate change in Minnesota.
For more information visit www.cleartheair.org or www.uwm.edu/Dept/Geography/npn/.