Wild solution for climate change at the Cary Institute

MILLBROOK — Thomas E. Lovejoy, a graduate of Millbrook School and the founder of public television’s “Nature� series, spoke at the Cary Institute on Thursday evening, April 29, on the impact of climate change on the natural world.

He also spoke of his “wild  solution for climate change.â€�  

Lovejoy gave the inaugural Ned Ames Honorary Lecture that will now be presented  every spring. Lovejoy described Ames, who was in the audience, as “the consummate institution builderâ€� who never stops.

Lovejoy’s lecture began in 1896 when Swedish chemist,  Svaante Arrhenius, asked why the earth is a habitable temperature. Over the last 10,000 years the earth’s climate has been stable, but now CO2 is being added to our atmosphere at a catastrophic rate. The evidence of global warming is everywhere, he said. Lakes freeze later and melt earlier.  

The earth’s tropical zone glaciers are receding and are projected to all disappear by 2030. The rise of sea levels has been documented with satellite photos. Tropical cyclones and wildfires are increasing. Birds are migrating earlier and flying further north.

The National Wildlife Federation recently adjusted the hardiness zones to reflect warmer weather as plants flower earlier in the season. Coral reefs are deteriorating from warmer seawater, negatively impacting the food chain at its basic levels

In January 2004, Lovejoy wrote “Feeling the Heat,� an article in “Nature� magazine that explained that warming temperatures and changing moisture and PH levels that affect the environment. What is called “decoupling� is occurring, with an example being the white rabbit now remaining brown because of less snow.

Climate models predict the disappearance of sugar maples, known for their syrup and fall color, in the United States in the near future. Trout will disappear from their southern ranges.

Human domination has altered land use, creating fragmented habitats. The system change is effected by moisture, most of which is generated over oceans and tropical forests.

The tipping point for Amazon moisture was reached in 2005.    Alaska tundra is now a source, not a sink, for CO2. According to Lovejoy, above 350 ppm (parts per million) of CO2 is dangerous and we are now at 390 ppm and headed to 450 ppm.

What can be done? Well, scientists say we can start with limiting CO2 greenhouse gas concentrations and restoring ecosystems. Currently 20 percent of annual CO2 emissions results from tropical deforestation and burning, especially in the Amazon basin where about 18 percent of the forest has been cut.

These greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere for 100 to 1,000 years.  Twice in the history of the earth high greenhouse gases have existed but came back to current levels because of the spread of land plants and angiosperms. Lovejoy explained that we need planetary engineering using an ecosystem approach to bring CO2 from 390 ppm to 350 ppm over the next 50 years.

The role of forests is key, he said.  Australians feel their country may be able to contribute a 40 ppm reduction by restoring their degraded grazing lands. In essence, Lovejoy’s  self-proclaimed radical approach is that we can use plants to restore the planet.

After the talk Jessica and Mark Andersen from Kingston said they wished more people could be exposed to this.

“We plant fruits and vegetables, have  a compost pile and use native species,â€� Jessica Anderson said.

Barry Haydazy observed, “Maybe there’s hope for the planet’s survival. The planet will survive, but will we? That’s the question.�

Lovejoy is a preeminent ecologist and tropical biologist who introduced the terms conservation biology and biological diversity to the scientific community. He holds the Biodiversity chair at the Heinz Center and is the biodiversity adviser to the president of the World Bank.

Lovejoy, who has worked in the Amazon since 1965, directed the conservation program at the World Wildlife Fund from 1987 to 1998 and served as assistant secretary for Environmental and External Affairs for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in biology from Yale University.

Before the lecture began,  William Schlesinger, director of the Cary Institute, presented the Best Dutchess County Science Fair award to 12-year-old Jack Boman, a sixth-grade student at Dutchess Day School in Millbrook, for his science project, “What Is the Best Biofuel?â€�

Boman’s research on sugar as biofuel to produce ethanol was deemed an original and important project by the scientists at the Cary Institute. Boman determined that sugar cane is the best source for ethanol, though very expensive and not really viable for the United States.