The New Climate. New(s)letter #12
Chuffed about choughs, and other good environmental news stories
I’m late with this newsletter because I’ve been, like many Europeans in August, on holiday. If you’re expecting an Editor’s “here’s what I read on the beach, and why this has given me renewed impetus” piece, don’t worry — I read very little. I had an almost total digital detox (more due to awful Wi-Fi than willpower). And I walked a lot. Which gave me a few chance encounters with wildlife on the South Pembrokeshire coast of Wales. The most exciting (which I would have mistaken for a crow, were my much-more ornithological wife not there to point it out) being the Chough.
The Chough — I’ve since learned — was once widespread around the coast of Britain, but dwindled to just 300 pairs. Cornwall in the west of England used to be a stronghold, but they were effectively wiped out by the 1950s. In 2001 however, three birds reappeared in Cornwall. Two of them paired up (spare a thought for the third, let’s hope they stayed friends) producing three young in 2002, the first choughs to be hatched in the wild in Cornwall in over 50 years. A major conservation effort to restore habitat then took place, by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and National Trust amongst others, and by 2023 Cornish choughs numbered 200 birds with a record 112 chicks.
Such has been their recovery that they are now moving inland. And even though breeding pairs have always remained in Anglesey in North Wales, with Cornwall relatively closer to South Wales, the locals I spoke to in Pembrokeshire felt that theirs were more than likely coming over from Cornwall. Either way, it’s a chuffing good conservation story.
Later in the holiday I came across more good news. As Hurricane Ernesto unexpectedly made it almost all the way to the British Isles, it made for a stomach-churning seal watching trip to the very-close-to-shore Caldey Island. Whilst we were regretting the big breakfasts we had earlier, we were told that nesting puffins had been spotted by the tourist boats earlier in the year. This was unheard of even a couple of years ago, and is almost entirely thanks to local conservation efforts — the most crucial of which was to eradicate rats from the island, which take the ground-nesting birds’ eggs and young.
Which brings me belatedly to the beaver. The beaver is yet another great news conservation story in the UK and beyond. Dedicated newsletter readers (all 20 of you, I thank you all) may remember my promise in Newsletter #9 to write a beaver article. Well I finally did on my return, and lots of fun it was to. I truly believe these furry friends will play a big part in our salvation.
So, let’s continue to ride the feel-good waves for this newsletter and stick with good news stories— a rarity in the climate space, let’s be honest.
Whilst I was away, Medium’s science superstar and 44x Boosted Sílvia PM, PhD 🍂🥥stood in as guest editor for much of August. And amongst the excellent pieces she edited and curated, Matt Traverso was doing what he does best — tackling an extraordinarily complex subject and, with data and diligence, making it beautifully simple: Want to Cool Off & Save The Environment for Free? Just Open a Window. In short, “all the fancy toys (high R-value windows, efficient AC, cellular shades, and smart thermostats) are far less effective than an appropriately used window latch.”
Sílvia PM, PhD 🍂🥥’s own piece this month (I demanded that she write one!) was also full of green shots for optimism too. In Not All Forest Regeneration Efforts Are Created Equal she reveals the latest science providing “new insights into how tree regeneration patterns could influence future forest carbon stocks, highlighting the importance of effective forest management strategies”.
Kamyar Razavi’s piece at the start of the month even had something to say about the importance of positive storytelling itself. We are all, in the climate space, guilty of focussing on the doom-and-gloom. And there really is a lot to be gloomy about. But here’s the rub — it doesn’t motivate action. In fact, it may do the opposite. As Kamyar writes, “showing how people in your community are doing things that you can relate to and that feel normal, important or desirable, are among the most under-utilized forms of pro-environmental communication.” Love has also been found to be a far greater motivator than fear.
So, I love beavers (now, now, none of that please). I’m chuffed about Choughs. Matt loves windows. And Silvia loves fossils (she is also Editor of the outstanding new Medium publication Fossils et al. Do check it out — there’s so much great science writing on there awaiting your readership).
And a final good news story—one that I’ll stop banging on about soon, but I’m still mind-blown by— The New Climate has reached SEVEN THOUSAND FOLLOWERS! Someone release the fireworks! (Actually, don’t — that reminds me of one from the archives from Peter Borg. Release the laser show instead!).
Stay positive,
Tim Smedley, Editor, The New Climate.
