It's leap year... again. Seems like only yesterday that our national nightmare with Trump was "finally" over. Biden was in; life was going to get normal again. While history may not repeat itself, it certainly is rhyming this year.
Today SCOTUS decided to do what it declined to do months ago, take up Trump's presidential immunity case. By slow-walking the case, they have pushed the trial until late in summer. If it gets delayed until after the election, the U.S. will be voting blind, without having seen the evidence of Trump's malfeasance.
Stepping back from what could be a blistering post on SCOTUS political shenanigans, I'll instead try to stay on target about what this means for biodiversity, the environment, and climate.
Today VOX rolled out an article about how freakishly warm the North Atlantic is right now. 2023 was a record breaker and 2024 looks to go beyond that. With an expected La Niña this summer, we're in for a hot summer, a significant hurricane season, and more extreme weather.
Here in NM we've had a winter without winter. Yes, we had a couple snowfalls, but nothing stayed long. Surprisingly, the mountain snowpacks are close to or even somewhat above normal for the date. Temperatures dipped below 20° a couple of times. Nature's Notebook observations rarely required long underware for the occasional cold morning. The pollen season has begun and counts are hitting incredible highs. Just ask my itching eyes. A look at Siberian elms reveals that they have shed most of their pollen already.
And with spring temperatures comes the wind. We had two days of strong gusty wind this week. That's fueling wildfires in Texas as I type. Between the lingering effects of last week's cold virus and the wind, my bicycling on the acequias has been cut short. The MRGCD will be opening the ditches tomorrow, so soon irrigated fields will be turning green.
Things are popping in the backyard, too. Crocus are blooming, the hardy bonsai are back outside. Soon the spring cleanup and planting will begin.
Nature had an article in their Conversation section about the dearth of taxonomists and what it means for conservation of biodiversity. More field workers are needed to accurately assess what is out there, what might be lost if things go too far. While the IUCN works on identifying individual species at risk, entire ecosystems are falling apart. Citizen science is carrying us part of the way. iNaturalist has some amazing datasets, but most of their observations are taken within a mile of a road. Huge swaths of territory remain under-explored.
Looping back to politics, a Republican administration and Senate would seriously undercut Biden's efforts to reign things back. Haaland in the Interior Dept. continues to do good things, but with SCOTUS undermining federal agencies' ability to regulate using best available science and information, we may be seriously handicapped just when we need the agility to adapt.
I'll just close with this link from today's NY Times... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/project-2025-trump-administration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZE0.YzGH.FPmO8A8ygZqV&smid=url-share
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