Mark Blazis: Year's end prompts concern about upcoming extremes
Winter hit us early in 2018 with a nor’easter depositing snow and ice on Nov. 15. The show of seabirds driven close to shore was immense as dovekies, razorbills, gannets and sea ducks appeared by the thousands. On Nov. 16, a hushed-up oil tanker spill from the SeaRose dumped a quarter million tons of oil into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland. Horrific conditions dispersed the oil quickly. On-scene cleanup was impossible. Seabirds out of sight and out of mind likely paid a heavy price.
We saw clear evidence of Gov. Charlie Baker’s environmental respect and wisdom in opposing energy drilling off the Massachusetts coast. The greatest oil spill in Newfoundland history would prove uncontainable and result in the deaths of countless oiled, hypothermic seabirds including puffins, loons, gannets, sea ducks, razorbills and dovekies. President Donald Trump's administration has wanted to open two drilling leases in the North Atlantic, one of which could include fish-and-wildlife-rich Georges Bank.
Meanwhile, numerous big bucks were killed just prior to the Nov. 15 storm as they instinctively moved to feed, and record to near-record low temperatures plunging to single digits hit the region on Thanksgiving Day, forcing the rescheduling of numerous outdoor festivities, including many traditional football games. The Tuesday before, Ashburnham, Gardner and Winchendon closed their schools, with some saying “it’s way too early for this!”
It may have been the worst Thanksgiving for migrating sea turtles in the state. Hundreds — including the endangered Kemp’s Ridley turtle — were found dead, frozen in Cape Cod Bay the victims of cold-stunning. It was a perfect storm of gale force winds, brutal cold and high tide. As global warming heats our waters, the sea turtles go farther north. Normally they’d return south here in October, but the added heat is motivating to come south in November — a precarious time when Arctic blasts can prove fatal for large numbers of them. The global warming also has impacted many of them in the southern part of their range, where significant numbers of their eggs get literally cooked.
Released on Black Friday, a time that would most obscure its dire warnings, our government’s massive, long-written, climate report, fortunately mandated by law every few years and compiled from over a thousand scientific studies from 13 federal agencies, stated emphatically that warming-charged extremes have become more frequent, intense, widespread and of longer duration. But this report was different. Deniers have long thwarted attempts to address climate change because it would cost us money. Not addressing it was being shown to cost us far more than just money in our future.
Since 2015, extreme climate events have cost America $400 billion. Warmer, drier climate has greatly increased the number of burning areas over the last 20 years. Both our economy and our health are being increasingly jeopardized. Worsening heat and air pollution are taking their toll in more lung, heart and insect-caused diseases, and higher incidences of severe allergies and greater mortality during heatwaves.
Rising seas and storm surges will progressively devastate our coasts. Since 1900, America has warmed 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and 1.2 of those degrees have come within the last 30 years. Without abatement, the end of the century will see a horrific rise of from 3 to 12 degrees in America. Unschooled in the science of climate change, Trump tweeted, “Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS! Whatever happened to Global Warming?”
The scientists behind the federal report emphasized that 90 percent of current warming is caused by humans. And that without greenhouse gases, natural forces, including energy from the sun, would actually be slightly cooling the Earth. “There are no reasonable alternative human or natural explanations supported by the observational evidence,” it read.
Millbury’s Hawk Hill Orchards opened the Eagle’s Perch Gallery to preserve the great, artistic and historical work of that town’s nationally renowned wildlife photographer and eagle restoration pioneer, Jack Swedberg. The idea came from Jack’s daughter, Lisa, who also will display other wildlife artists’ works, including her own creations.
Dick Harris of Grafton died. So many conservationists will miss him for helping found the Grafton Land Trust, which has saved nearly a thousand acres from development.
Just on time, as ponds were freezing over inland, late November ushered in vast flocks of water birds to winter along our coast, as usual, eiders and scoters. The latter were mostly white-winged, followed by lesser numbers of surf, and lastly small numbers of black scoters.
The state's New England shrimp fishery again was closed. The moratorium will last till at least 2021 — and maybe far beyond. Gulf of Maine shrimp populations already are very low, devastated since 2013 and in further jeopardy by our warming ocean and so is the livelihood of numerous local trappers and trawlers and supporting infrastructure.
By Dec. 14, the ban on plastic bags took effect in Boston. The effort to clean our environment of these non-decomposable materials is a laudable one worth the extra money. In the ocean, such materials hav sickened and killed countless animals, especially sea birds and marine mammals, that have ingested them, confusing them with squid or jellyfish.
On Dec. 15, temperatures went as high as 54 degrees, incredibly bringing some hibernating painted turtles to come to pond surfaces, bask, and even walk about a bit on ice. Migrating down from the Arctic, a record 4,682 dovekies, the Northern Hemisphere’s version of flying pygmy penguins, were counted flying off Cape Ann on Dec. 16.
On Dec. 21, appropriately the day of the longest darkness of the year, we lost George Darey, who had given 38 years of his life to land protection and wildlife conservation working on Massachusetts’ Fisheries and Wildlife Board.
On the shortest day of the year — 9 hours, 4 minutes, 36 seconds — winter officially began with torrential rain and record high temperatures in the 60s. There wouldn’t be a white Christmas in Massachusetts. Reflecting the shocking shakeup in the Trump administration, there would be a 2.2 magnitude earthquake in the Gardner-Templeton area, followed by a second earthquake on Dec. 22.
Temperatures in the 40s just before Christmas brought out large numbers of mating winter moths after sunset, when they looked like snowflakes in our headlights.
Poor rodent populations up north sent higher numbers of barred owls into our area, adding to an already substantial resident population that benefited from the large number of rodents that exponentially increased after a big 2017 acorn season. That resulted in dramatically increased numbers of injuries to them as they foraged for rodents around our highways.
Coyote populations seemed to have greatly increased, perhaps benefiting from increased squirrel and mouse populations that benefited from eating both acorns last year and gypsy moth caterpillars this year. Coincidentally, several deer hunters have complained about coyotes in both Connecticut and Massachusetts, on numerous occasions tracking their deer, only to find carcasses devoured by coyotes.
Just as a gorgeously colorful painted bunting was being seen in Newtonville, fishermen ended the year notably pulling large numbers of trout from open ponds on Cape Cod, and — when they could launch — cod, sea bass, ling and mackerel off Block Island. The nearly snowless December spoke much about how our climate has changed, just as record rains were heavily flooding the South. Here, New Year’s Eve brought .92 inches of rain, making 2018’s total rainfall about 20 inches above normal.
The year 2018 outdoors proved extraordinary, warranting much concern about the extremes that we would face in coming years. May you all immerse yourself in our great outdoors in 2019, enjoy all its splendor fairly, safely — and fight to preserve it for our next generation.
Calendar
Saturday — Narragansett Surfcasters surf day equipment sale. Narragansett Community Center, Narragansett, Rhode Island. New and used fishing tackle for sale. info: http://narragansettsurfcasters.com/events/
Saturday — Clinton Super Saturday ice fishing tournament and raffle, South Meadow Pond, Mossy Pond, and Coachlace Pond. Weigh-in: South Meadow Road across from Sprague Road entrance. Registration: 6-9 a.m. Prizes for top three bass, pickerel and miscellaneous fish. Info: Toby Crowley (978) 368-8372, (508) 330-551, crowleytj@comcast.net.
Saturday — New England Boat Show. Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Info: www.newenglandboatshow.com
Winter hunting season closures — Snowshoe hare, today; rabbit and fox, Feb. 28; bobcat and coyote, March 8; crow, April 10.
Winter waterfowl hunting closures — Ducks and coots with falcons, Feb. 8; late Canada goose, Feb. 15.