Sponsoring Company: Brandwein Institute

Henry David Thoreau was a climate change scientist! For the past 19 years, Professor Richard Primack and his team have been using Thoreau’s records from the 1850s and other Massachusetts data sources to document the earlier flowering and leafing out times of plants, the earlier flight times of butterflies, and the more variable response of migratory birds. Most noteworthy, plants in Concord are also changing in abundance due to a warming climate. This work has received extensive media coverage as an example of the biological effects of climate change, and is now being extended to the neglected autumn season. What would Thoreau tell us to do about global warming if he were alive today?

NSTA wishes to thank Brandwein Institute for sponsoring Richard Primack’s talk.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Primack (Boston University: Boston, MA)