In a recent article in the Gazette about wildlife responses to drought, Dr. Pete Pekins is said to be “keeping it all in perspective” as he notes that “there are winners and losers.”
This is true, though the winners include species like ragweed and deer ticks, for which we’ll be trading native brook trout and wood thrushes. He also expresses his “great faith in wildlife to adapt.”
On that point he is at odds with the 16 or so authors from five continents that penned an article in Nature predicting that between 15-37 percent of species are “committed to extinction” due to climate change.
Whether that figure is closer to the upper or lower end of this range depends on our decisions regarding our use of fossil fuels and our support for elected officials who are committed to reducing carbon emissions.
In any case, we shouldn’t be sanguine about what the effect of our continuing record-breaking temperatures hold for the future of our environment.
David King
Amherst