Re:reports of dying, starving sea lions and other marine mammals all along the eastern Pacific coastlines: just search for "Dead Sea lions" to see
what's going on. It's horrifying. And those who say it's a "normal" cyclical fluctuation, well.... read on.
Clearly we are in an ENSO, but without the cold, windy rains of past cycles. The storms and rains of this year have (so far) been out of the south:
tropical and unseasonably warm. Lovely change for those who like rainbows, but also troubling.
That's why Alaska has had so little snow, and so much rain, while the east coast is buried in snowdrifts.
I was married to an oceanographer at CICESE who does long-scale work on the impacts of changing climate on fisheries, particularly sardines and
anchovies. We often travelled to meet with other researchers at conferences around the world, and I also went to sea with his team, and helped collect
sediment samples from Baja (off Guaymas) and California (near Channel Islands). He travelled to Peru and Canada to collect specimens, and compare them
from both northern and southern coastlines.
His work was groundbreaking and important to sardine fisheries management and policies in the US/CA/MX.
Those samples were of fish scales in sediments deep in the ocean. Those fish are the base of the food chain for so many other marine species- fish and
mammals. His studies showed: when waters get warmer, and stay warmer, those fish poppulations decline. Next: The species that rely on them for food
begin to decline as well.
This research- coordinated with others around the globe- is based on collecting a variety of data that extends back nearly 3000 years. It is
correlated with other indicators (coral reefs, glaciers, tree rings from Bristlecone pines, burn scars from CA sequoias).
They all show that, yes, climate and temperatures have fluctuated over time, long before this century.
But the rapid rate of change (increased temperatures, flooding, wildfires, droughts, diseases related to mosquitoes & other animal vectors, etc.)
coupled with more humans than ever on the planet in the last several decades is unprecedented in the historical record. In large part this because we
have more humans around to be impacted by storms, floods, droughts, wildfires, illnesses etc.
So people can discuss this all they want. I'm just not willing to deny it's happening- the evidence is there. It's not only obvious for scientists and
researchers, but for those of us who travel to wild places, and now see the devastating toll this warming trend is taking on so many of the animals we
enjoy observing.
It's also harming and changing communities many of us enjoy visiting, or living in, and the people who rely on rainwater for crops, and healthy
fisheries for a living.monoloco - 3-13-2015 at 10:38 AM
Someone will be around shortly to "splain" to you how man is not more powerful than nature.woody with a view - 3-13-2015 at 10:49 AM
at least in my neck of the hood, when a select few round up all of the sardines to feed to their captive tuna, well, it seems obvious that the rest of
the food chain suffers. Whale-ista - 3-13-2015 at 11:35 AM
Someone will be around shortly to "splain" to you how man is not more powerful than nature.
I realize that., and expect to be reminded:
"humans are part of nature."
"extinctions happen all the time"
"climate changes all the time, and did so before we had cars, industrial revolution etc."
And all this is true. We are part of the cycle, and have also accelerated it.
We have built highways, airports, cities, homes, offices etc. that rely on certain temperature ranges/weather conditions to conduct business and our
personal lives: flying/landing airplanes; maintaining and driving on highways and towns on the coastlines. Heating/cooling buildings to be safe and
comfortable.
And as more people experience or observe extreme hi/low temps at work, school & home, icy runways that crash planes, multiple hurricanes and
rising waters destroying tourism resorts as well as historic communities, etc.- maybe they will decide this "climate change" is different this time
around than previous cycles...
or maybe we will just keep arguing if it's "real'... sancho - 3-13-2015 at 01:34 PM
While not exactly dead, there was s bit on the LA news
last nite, this yr 1600 Ca Sea Lions on Ca beaches,
undernourished for the most part, 800 is a typical number.
Warm water, food source not plentiful?Winter water here never
got below 61, never have seen that in 50 yrs, I'm sure
historically this isn't a first. A natural occurance I would
believe. On a different note, Caltech in LA came out with man
made climatic change stats, any of you mensa's want to dispute
them?SFandH - 3-13-2015 at 01:42 PM
Today on San Diego TV local news I heard that marine mammals in the area are dying because the warmer El Nino water is causing the fish they feed upon
to stay in deeper water.
