| | | | | Welcome. This week, a "remarkable" year for Chesapeake oysters and driving an EV to the South Pole. But first, do you eBird? | | Populations of waterfowl such as duck, geese and swan are growing. Blue jays, aggressive generalists that hog your bird feeder, are thriving. Even once-endangered peregrine falcons have seen their numbers rise 10 percent as they've found new roosts in America's cities. But the bigger picture is grimmer: The bird population in North America has endured a staggering loss of 3 billion breeding adults, or nearly 30 percent of the population, over the last half-century. We know this, writes The Post's Climate Lab columnist, Harry Stevens, because of eBird. The crowdsourced database of bird observations managed by the Cornell Lab is more popular than binoculars for birders. |  | | eBird uses the internet to aggregate observations of the entire birding world, a Wikipedia of avian species. That has allowed scientists to track the trajectory of bird populations in unprecedented detail. "It's kind of uncommon to find a birder in 2024 who doesn't do eBird," said Ted Floyd, editor of Birding, the magazine of the American Birding Association. He has submitted an eBird observation every day since Jan. 1, 2007, a world record. | | Bird populations are declining. Some are in your neighborhood. | | Harry has pulled together these observations into incredibly rich maps and searchable tables of the bird species rising or falling in your neck of the woods. | | Data are from spring and summer breeding seasons. Illustrations courtesy Birds of the World | The Cornell Lab. Lark Bunting and Lark Sparrow by David Quinn. Bobolink by Tim Worfolk. | | He also tells us how we might reverse the trend. Birds' top threats — habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, glass windows and domestic cats — are the result of human decisions, writes Harry. In many cases, we can decide differently. Waterfowl, for example, have seen long-term population growth. That's in large part thanks to widespread habitat conservation and the sale of 1.5 million federal bird hunting licenses annually, called Duck Stamps, helping fund the protection of millions of acres of wetlands. Congress has also been considering the bipartisan Recovering America's Wildlife Act, reintroduced last year by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), offering $1.4 billion annually for states and tribes to protect threatened species. "I am still hopeful, even in this divided Congress, that this issue is something that Republicans and Democrats can find agreement on," Heinrich said in an emailed statement. You can help in your backyard. Ornithologists recommend planting native plants, eliminating or reducing pesticides, keeping your cats indoors and installing bird-friendly glass or films within 100 feet of the ground — and turning off lights during migration — if you're prone to bird strikes. If you're a birder, BirdCast forecasts when birds will be flying over. And, of course, you can always contribute to eBird. Check out Harry's excellent column here. Have you taken any great wild bird photos 🦆? Send them to climatecoach@washpost.com. I read all your emails. |  | Field Sample The world's biggest iceberg, known as A23a, is entering its final span of existence. The iceberg is being carved into huge caves and arches as the seas and meltwater erode its ice walls. Here's what it looked like earlier this week, as photographed from a ship run by the EYOS expeditions, a private tourism company. | | The world's largest iceberg, named A23a, in Antarctica on Sunday. (Rob Suisted/naturespic.com via Reuters) | | Expedition leader Ian Strachan told the BBC that it appeared waves as high as 4 meters (13 feet) were smashing into the iceberg. "These were creating cascades of ice — a constant state of erosion," Strachan said. | Snapshot The sun is about to enter its most active period in two decades, writes The Post's Kasha Patel. Expect more beautiful dancing auroras — as well as radio blackouts and satellite disruptions. The sun's magnetic activity naturally ebbs and flows in 11-year periods, known as the solar cycle, and we're about halfway through the current one. | | NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captures an X-class solar flare (the bright flash on the left) on Jan. 9. (NASA/SDO) | | The sun is expected to reach its peak activity between January and October, but activity will probably still be high into 2025, according to Space Weather Prediction Center models. |  | The Second Degree Gas stoves, as I wrote this week, produce indoor air pollution. But Ronda asks: What about stoves, furnaces, and other appliances that burn propane? There's limited research about this popular fuel, but at least one study found benzene was produced (and spread) inside homes similarly to methane from stoves. Bottom line: Neither seems great for your health, but ventilation does help. And several of you asked if the environmental messaging by Potential Energy was enough. Last week I wrote about the marketing firm's findings that "protecting the planet for future generations" was more effective than any other framing to convince people to support action on climate change. "I wonder how agreement with the 'future generations' argument necessarily translates into action," says Sherry. This is just one survey, but I'll be doing more columns on this topic in the future. And a correction for one fact in that essay: The framing garnered a plurality in almost every country, not a majority in all of them. |  |  |  | | I hope you're enjoying your new year as much as Miska, who finds room to stretch everywhere. Have you photographed your winter around your home? Send me your photos and stories at climatecoach@washpost.com Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get The Climate Coach in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday. See you next Tuesday, Michael Coren, Climate Coach | | | | | | | | |
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