With heat waves broiling vast tracts of the Northern Hemisphere this past summer, most people have little choice but to confront Al Gore’s inconvenient truth: Human activities are on course to make the planet unlivable not only for people but also for most other species. For birders, the truth of climate change comes with an added inconvenience. Rising temperatures and their consequences imperil the animals we most love, and our own birding activities often make the global situation worse.
After realizing that I put more than 6,000 miles on my minivan’s odometer while birding last year, I ran a poll on the Facebook birding page Redpolling to see how many miles other birders drove. I figured my total must be near the top, so imagine my surprise when I found that of the 95 people who voted, more than half — 55 percent — drove more than 10,000 miles last — and we’re not even talking about the airline flights birders take!
