The Cost of Climate Change in New Brunswick
In New Brunswick, we love to boast about our beautiful and awe-inspiring natural wonders. Yet, climate change has the capacity to completely alter the natural world as we know it, leading to mass extinction events, extirpation of local flora and fauna, and ecosystem destruction. Most people are aware of the risks of climate change and have heard the scientific community's message - “Act before it is too late!”. The difficulty is conceptualizing what that means and how New Brunswick will be affected. This “The Cost of Climate Change in New Brunswick” series highlights different well-loved New Brunswick species that will be lost from our area forever if we do not win the fight against climate change. My wish as the artist is to remind you how beautiful nature is and to remind our community of what is at risk of being lost.
Nature’s Lady in White
White Birch (Betula poriferae), referred to in European folklore as the “Lady of the Forest”, is an iconic species in New Brunswick. Over time agriculture and forestry have caused New Brunswick to be dominated by large-scale disturbance adapted species, which are generally more affiliated with northern colder climates, such as balsam fir, white spruce, tamarack, and white birch. Consequently, the forests will be highly stressed by direct and indirect climatic effects, including pest outbreaks and increase temperatures, decreased habitat suitability, leading to the extirpation of cold-tolerant species like the White Birch.
Nature’s Crown Jewels
Could you imagine a world where children could not experience firsthand the beauty of the monarch butterfly? The monarch butterfly is one of the most recognizable and well-studied butterflies on earth. Famous for their exceptionally long seasonal migration, millions of monarchs migrate from Canada south to California and Mexico for the winter. The impacts of climate change and habitat loss are now threatening monarch butterflies with extinction. Increasing carbon dioxide levels may be making milkweed—the only food monarch caterpillars will eat—too toxic for the monarchs to tolerate.
Nature’s Crown Jewels
Nature’s Organic Farmers
Do you want a world where you do not get to see and hear a plump bumblebee buzzing from one flower to the next? One 2011 study found that wild bumblebee species had declined by up to 96% and their ranges had contracted by at least one-quarter. Bumblebees and other pollinators are already suffering from habitat loss, nutritional deficiencies, and lack of varied diets which have been tied directly to climate change. On top of that scientists are finding a strong correlation between bee population declines and the increase in days where temperatures are above their tolerance.