This week, Richard Primack was featured on NPR's WGBH News!
In the program, Richard discusses finding Thoreau's field notes from the 1850's, replicating Thoreau's observations of leaf out and flowering in Concord today, and lessons learned about climate change. Rising spring temperatures are causing plants to leaf out and flower earlier today than in the 1850's, for some species by several weeks!
Richard Primack recording leaf out at Walden Pond
photo credit: Craig Lemoult / WGBH News
The feature also draws connections between changing spring phenology and species loss. Concord has lost a quarter of its plant species since Thoreau's time, and another third are in decline. Richard notes "there are a lot of reasons why species have been lost from Concord, but at least part of the reason is climate change."
Richard Primack looking for spring leaves at Walden Pond
photo credit: Craig Lemoult / WGBH News
WGBH journalist Craig Lemoult ends the segment with this reflection: "Like Thoreau, and like the rest of us, [Primack] feels joy in discovering a new bloom or leaves on a tree that was bare just days before. But for Primack, there’s also something troubling in the arrival of spring."
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