© Marieke KuijpersMuch like rapper Nelly’s single “Hot in Herre” repeatedly reminds us that it’s getting “so hot,” over the past week, everyone around the world has been talking about how hot it is (or is not) getting, who (or what) is to blame, and what (if anything) people, nations, and the world should do about it. And yet, despite the enormous amount of coverage on climate change, very little has been focused on the effects that climate change has on animals.[teaserbreak]
Born Free USA works tirelessly for wildlife protection, so as I continue to read and listen to coverage regarding the impact of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, my thoughts immediately turn to the animals. Climate change and wildlife are inextricably linked. We need to bring wildlife interests into the conversation about climate change—and keep them there.
In 2014, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in a report that climate change is producing “widespread and consequential” damage to plants and animals. Higher global temperatures mean that wildlife have to change their behaviors in order to survive: moving farther north to colder regions, plunging into deeper waters, searching for new food sources, or migrating to different habitats as their current homes disappear.
The species at highest risk for survival? Those that can’t adapt to a rapid climate shift because of their highly specific needs for nutrition or habitat.
Sea turtles, for instance, are impacted by sand temperature. Laying eggs in warmer sand results in more females being born, which throws future breeding out of sync.
Adélie penguins, who live in the frozen Antarctic, eat crustaceans found beneath ice sheets. But, as the ice vanishes, so do these crustacean populations. This requires the penguins to travel farther and expend additional energy to find something to eat, which impairs their ability to breed and raise their young.
Polar bears are also being devastated by climate change, with populations projected to decline by 50% in the coming decades. As Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears struggle to hunt, travel, and merely survive: skeletal shells of their former selves forced to roam on land for alternative sources of food.
We can debate, and likely will for years, whether the Administration made the right decision in withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. But, while humans continue to make decisions on how to traverse this potentially perilous road, wildlife are—tragically, helplessly, and inevitably—along for the ride. In other words, if Nelly is right that it’s “gettin’ so hot” for humans, we must remember that it’s equally, if not more, impactful for animals.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
