The New Abnormal

Change is Here. Let’s Participate.

An American Robin puffed up in the snow. Birds on average are nesting a month earlier than 100 years ago.

I recently moved from the mountains of upstate NY to Buffalo to be closer to family. My parents are a few hours away in Ohio and my sister, brother-in-law and a cousin live here. My family’s connection to Buffalo came decades ago when my father took a position with a college. I am still in transition, working on a house for my brother-in-law’s mother that needs to go on the market. At that point I will be looking for a new living situation and a paying gig. It’s a big adjustment. I miss the mountains and the beautiful biking and hiking they offered me.

This was my first winter in Buffalo in over thirty years, a city nationally famous for better or worse, its crazy snow storms. We moved here the year after (fortunately) the famous blizzard of 1977 which brought 100 inches of snow in some places and 30 to 40 foot drifts. Trapped in their homes, people literally attempted to exit through second floor windows. A couple of years later was no picnic either, one storm trapped us in the our new home for three days. We did what you do here and turned it into a cozy party. The snowbanks on Elmwood Avenue towered over our heads. Walking to school was like walking through a tunnel with the snow so high on both sides. Love it or hate it, this was normal for Buffalo. How different it is now.

I have been aware of changes in the weather for a long time. Thirty-inch snowstorms were not uncommon in the Albany area while I lived there, but over time that changed. I remember a storm in Galway located a fifty miles north in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. It came on Christmas Eve and buried our cars up to the door handles in less than 24 hours. I was in the habit of shoveling my sixty-foot long driveway by hand in those days. Thankfully, on this occasion, one of our village neighbors came over with his snowblower and took care of us. I would have been shoveling for days.

This winter in Buffalo was apparently abnormal. The city and got hammered by numerous large storms, not 100 inches mind you, but big enough. The young woman who lives downstairs said that she hadn’t seen this much snow since she’s lived here. It seemed normal to me of course, it’s Buffalo after all. How lucky. The snow returned when I returned, so that I could use my now old body to shovel for hours with nowhere to throw the stuff on this tight city property.

I write about this today because I recently read an article about birds building their nests an average of nearly a month earlier than a century ago, due to climate change. In spite of the snow this winter, temperatures here in recent weeks have swung back and forth wildly, already touching 70 degrees a couple of times. Pleasant, yes, but deeply disturbing to me. It shouldn’t be this warm, this early, in Buffalo, NY. Ever. As a person long attuned to the natural world, I can only think of the havoc it’s creating for the birds and other creatures that make us feel good. Timing in nature is critical, for the right things to bloom and the right insects to be attracted to provide food for the birds. Additionally, temperature swings from seventy degrees to freezing in the span of a day threatens their eggs and hatchlings. Bird populations have declined precipitously over the last few decades. Global warming is possibly their greatest threat yet.

As a child I remember watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom which brought the wonders of amazing animals to me. At that age my favorite movie was Born Free, the remarkable story of Elsa the lion cub who was raised by two field scientists in Africa and eventually returned to the wild. It brought me to tears every time and I’m sure drove my parents crazy having to hear the sappy song, Born Free.

Born free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born free to follow your heart

My love for such movies and documentaries persisted into adulthood. I’m a huge fan of David Attenborough documentaries. He has produced them for decades and the cinematography is stunning. The majesty and dignity of the animals is perfectly portrayed. Although I will never go on safari, or dive with Orca whales, just knowing they are in the world makes my world better.

I am certain animals have intelligence, souls and unique personalities. I have seen it in my own pets. It is a privilege and wonder to connect with an animal. Their simplicity and way of living in the moment are a lesson for us all. If you feel the same, I highly recommend watching My Octopus Teacher (Netflix), the true story of a man who dives on just a lungful of air for minutes at a time and patiently befriends and chronicles the life of an octopus, who in time comes to trust and let him hold her. That a creature as otherworldly as an octopus can feel equal curiosity and learn to trust a human truly demonstrates the connectedness of everything. If you trace back four and a half billion years on this planet, it only makes sense. Every living thing now came from the same source those eons ago. We share DNA with trees. The code plants use to convert sunlight to energy is the same code we use to convert food to energy.

It’s all an astonishing wonder and as the most powerful species on the planet it is our job and duty to be benevolent caretakers, not exploiters. We are meant to live in harmony with nature, not wall it off and attempt to mold it to our will. Science is documenting the mass extinction of plants and animals everywhere on our planet. I recommend reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s book The Sixth Extinction. Corral is dying and rain forests are burning. Species are going extinct that we haven’t even yet discovered. Apart from the beauty and wonder I have described, we are dependent on this intricate, hidden world for our very survival right down to hidden microbes in the soil. The waves of pandemics we have are experiencing from HIV/AIDS to COVID-19 are not a coincidence. We have mowed down too much of the natural world and live in too close proximity to wild creatures, where viruses can jump back and forth. We have created an unsafe food supply with chemicals and industrialized agriculture where viruses jump as well. We have been brainwashed into believing material possession is the path to happiness. We have been lied to and cheated by just a few with no souls, for whom no amount of power and wealth is enough. It is time for us to say enough.

Buy as little as you can. Buy locally. Global trade agreements have stolen good jobs and made the world more dangerous. Don’t buy anything that is going to the landfill in short order. Everything now is cynically designed with planned obsolescence. In the old days everything was designed to be fixed. That created jobs for those skilled with their hands. Items were used for decades or lifetimes. Buy from antique shops, thrifts and consignment stores. It saves money, recycles and the goods are likely of higher quality. Walk more, bike, drive less, car pool, use mass transit. Recycle everything you can. Demand your grocery store stop selling food in plastic containers. Support farmer’s markets. Shop only for fresh food, not prepackaged meals or highly processed foods, which have an enormous carbon footprint and negative health consequences. Stop shopping on Amazon. Think of that carbon footprint and mass of cheap goods made in China by slave labor going to the landfill. Turn the lights off when you leave the room. Write a letter to Joe Manchin who sleeps with the coal industry. There are dozens and dozens of things all of us can do to make a difference.

Summer is approaching. There will be more record wildfire events. Rising global temperatures will create ever more powerful tornados, hurricanes and record flooding. There will be more human tragedy, it could be you, or me. Change is coming. Change is here. We must do all we can to participate in controlling that change. We already have climate refugees in this country from Alaska to New Orleans. Each of us individually needs to change our habits right now because our leaders aren’t getting it done. It’s not political. It’s a bigger reality that contains our fate. Our survival depends on each of us. You are important. I am important. Do everything you can to educate your friends and family. Share this article and any other useful information you find. Live life for meaning, not for stuff. It’s late, but we can still improve the outcome and leave something for our children. Peace.