North Atlantic Right Whale
As of last spring, 2022, there were 336 North Atlantic Right whales in the world. When the Gulf of Maine EcoArts collaborative began, in 2018, there were over 400 N.A. Right whales in the world. Each one bears individually distinguishing traits, marks, and predilections. All have been catalogued. Many have been named. They are monitored closely by men and women who do not want to see them disappear. Climate change has affected their food supply and feeding patterns. Vessel strikes and entanglement with fishing gear have increased their mortality. These warm-blooded, air-breathing animals who’ve made their home in the ocean are undeniably extraordinary creatures.
North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, https://www.narwc.org
New England Aquarium, https://www.neaq.org/right-whales/
Greenhalgh, Emily, “Right Whale Population Declines for 10th Straight Year,” (Anderson Cabot Center, 3/15/22)
https://www.andersoncabotcenterforoceanlife.org/blog/meet-the-newly-named-right-whales-of-2022/
Hanging Shard Symbols
- 12 minus 5
In 2018, the IPCC said that nations must implement “unprecedented changes,” cutting carbon emissions 45% by 2030, or the world would disastrously shoot past the goals of the Paris Climate Accord. That was nearly five years ago. Global emissions have continued to increase. We are now at “12 minus 5.” Seven Years.
Watts, Jonathan “We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns U.N.” (The Guardian, Oct 8, 2018)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report
Tollefson, Jeff “Carbon emissions hit new high: warning from COP 27 (Nature, Nov. 11, 2022)
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03657-w
- 600,000
Since the Industrial Revolution, we’ve been creating an ever more massive blanket of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Now that blanket traps as much extra heat as 600,000 atomic bombs exploding every day.
“Costly Disasters,” Report on Al Gore’s Presentation at COP 27 (U.N. News, Nov. 9, 2022)
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130372
- – 2/3
The growth rate of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine over the last twenty years has declined by 2/3. Phytoplankton constitute the base of the ocean’s food web and generate a substantial portion of the oxygen we breathe.
“Data Reveal 20-year Transformation in Gulf of Maine,” Report on Long-Term Study led by Bigelow Laboratory Scientist Barney Balch (Newsletter-Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, June 7, 2022)
https://www.bigelow.org/news/articles/2022-06-07.html
- 69%
69% is the average decline since 1970 of 32,000 monitored populations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. The earth is a notably quieter place now than when today’s seniors were children.
“69 % average decline in wildlife populations since 1970, says new WWF report,” (World Wildlife Fund press release concerning its 2022 Living Planet Report, Oct. 13, 2022)
https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/69-average-decline-in-wildlife-populations-since-1970-says-new-wwf-report
- 1 out of 3
Approximately 1 out of 3 species of reef-forming corals, sharks, and marine mammals are threatened with extinction. At the same time, the sea has been absorbing nearly 1 out of every 3 tons of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, making it more acidic, poorer in oxygen, and generally less habitable.
IPBES, 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
https://lp.panda.org/ipbes
IPCC, 2019: Summary for Policymakers
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/12/02_Summary-for-Policymakers_SPM.pdf
- $ Trillions
Six banks – Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs – have provided $1.4 trillion in financing to the fossil fuel industry since adoption of the Paris Climate Accord. Global climate disasters are costing 2 ½ trillion dollars annually.
“Banking on Climate Chaos” (Fossil Fuel Finance Report, 2022)
https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org
“Costly Disasters,” Report on Al Gore’s Presentation at COP 27 (U.N. News, Nov. 9, 2022)
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130372
- 96%
The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 96% of the rest of the world’s ocean bodies.
“Gulf of Maine Warming Update: Summer 2021” (Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Oct. 26, 2021
https://www.gmri.org/stories/gulf-of-maine-warming-update-summer-2021/
- Everywhere
Plastics don’t break down. They just break up. “Microplastics” are being found in the highest mountain snows, the deepest ocean trenches, the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe,…even in our bloodstream. Plastics are “everywhere.”
Houston, Gillie “You Probably Eat a Credit Card’s Worth of Plastic Every Week,” (Tasting Table, 10/19/22 update)
https://www.tastingtable.com/1062298/you-probably-eat-a-credit-cards-worth-of-plastic-every-week/
Aridi, Rasha “Even Mount Everest, the World’s Tallest Peak, Can’t Escape Microplastics,” (Smithsonian Magazine, Nov. 24, 2020)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/even-mount-everest-facing-microplastic-pollution-new-study-finds-180976389/