By Lawrence J. Winship
Weather disasters, dire predictions from climate modelers and polarizing language from politicians continue to fuel concerns about our global carbon footprint, as well they should. The linkage between increased levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and increased global temperature and weather instability is obvious and well accepted by science. Burning of fossil fuels in the 1960s contributed 3.1 billion tonnes (metric tons; a tonne is equal to 2,200 pounds) of carbon annually; we now add more than three times that much each year. Although U.S. carbon emissions may have recently leveled off — mainly due to a switch from coal to natural gas — emissions from China and India are growing exponentially.
By David Spector
In New England’s late summer and fall, whole hillsides of leaves famously change color; meanwhile, another plant color change occurs on a tiny scale. Among the wildflowers now twinkling along New England roads are many species of asters. As with other plants in the daisy family, each aster “flower” is a composite of dozens of tiny flowers, called florets, of two types.
By Monya Relles
Over a long weekend in August, my parents and I met in Vermont to hike Mount Mansfield, the highest mountain in the state. The section we walked, struggled and scrambled up is a steep path, part of Vermont’s Long Trail, and the summit offers breathtaking views of the sloping Green Mountains.
The ridge is a delicate alpine zone and “Leave No Trace” principles — which focus on minimum impact while enjoying the outdoors — are posted all along the hike, beginning to end. A Green Mountain land steward at the top told me that in 2004 the mountaintop was practically bare rock. In contrast, the weekend I climbed it, it was awash with life: from petite mountain sandwort flowers to an abundance of low-bush blueberries to a pretty house finch perched near the summit. But I just couldn’t help thinking: Can’t we do even better than this?
By Tom Litwin
It was one of those thoughts you put aside to think about later, it was so fantastic I’d lose sight of the task at hand. I was researching why magnetic north is moving away from Canada and drifting toward Siberia, increasing its speed from 6 to 31 mph during the past two decades.
By Christine Hatch
Building roads in New England poses an engineering design challenge pitting human infrastructure against rivers and beavers, now with the added factor of climate change. We have lots of roads in Massachusetts, and lots of rivers. Everywhere they cross is an interaction between the natural world, with all of its unpredictability, and our transportation networks. These interactions aren’t always easy. A recent damaging flood in Belchertown is a case in point. Some folks quickly blamed beavers, but their dams weren’t the problem. The problem is how we design our roads and manage the water that they cross.
By John Sinton
Meskouamegou, the Atlantic salmon, hatched high in the Kwinitekw (Connecticut) River watershed in 1600, had come from a genetic strain that had evolved for more than 10,000 years, specifically adapted to the ecosystem of the Kwinitekw and its tributaries. Connecticut River salmon had to have extraordinary endurance to migrate 3,000 and more miles, and had to time their spring migration early to avoid warm water and predators.
By John Sinton
In the year 1600, high in the watershed of the Kwinitekw (Connecticut) River near what is now the village of Beecher Falls, Vermont, Meskouamegou (Abenaki for salmon) emerged from one of 7,000 salmon eggs laid by her mother in the gravel of a swift-running Kwinitekw tributary now named Hall’s Stream. She would become one of a handful of Atlantic salmon to survive five years of life to return and lay eggs for the next generation.
By Cory Elowe
One of the ways we can all help folks to experience the natural world around them is to share knowledge widely and without agenda.
The stereotypical — and sometimes accurate — picture of the American nature lover is white, wealthy and wielding the most suitable gear. Although some are working to diversify this image, many are irked by or even downright unfriendly to users who do not necessarily fit their own demographic.
By Joshua Rose
Humanity’s attitude toward bats has vastly improved. For most of our history, various cultures associated bats with evil, mischief, witchcraft, disease, death or (of course) vampires. More recently, our attention has shifted toward bats’ beneficial aspects. We also have become aware of factors endangering some bat species, and and have become motivated to conserve their populations.
By Kari Blood
The song “America the Beautiful” is often considered an unofficial national anthem. This tribute to the land, its people and its aspirations was originally published as a poem on July 4, 1895 by Massachusetts-born feminist and poet Katherine Lee Bates. She spoke reverently of the beauty of our landscapes, “for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties” and called on us to seek “brotherhood from sea to shining sea.”
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax