~ Mother Earthbeats ~

I believe that global warming is a natural state of affair. The earth is always changing, and evolving, and throughout history we can see how many ancient species did not evolve and adapt as well as others. While it is certain man is causing this evolution of change in global proportions by depleting the planets defenses against such a rapid occurance, this change is ultimately innevitable, and a part of the natural balance. I found an article which relates directly to the results of natures evolution.

Nature and the Atlantic coast: ‘We are losing land to water’ 

The effects of global warming are devouring the coastline of New Brunswick and threatening its delicate ecosystems, natural beauty and native heritage.

Rising sea levels are already swamping plants natives use to make medicine and in religious ceremonies on the Elsipogtog First Nation. And at the Irving Eco-Centre in nearby Bouctouche, there is fear that the 12-kilometre stretch of sand dunes that date to the Ice Age and attract thousands of visitors each summer will eventually be washed away. Already, the tourism attraction’s boardwalk has been moved inland.

“You can delay things a little bit, but you can’t completely stop them from happening,” Kelly Honeyman, a naturalist at the Irving Eco-centre and the Irving Nature Park in Saint John, said. “I hate to be a pessimist, but even if you put in large rocks and pilings to preserve the dunes, like they are doing in the Carolinas, you are usually only safe for five to seven years.

“Water is almost lapping up against our dunes right now.”

Environment Canada predicts that the sea level along the Northumberland Strait will rise by nearly four feet by the year 2050. If that happens, the extraordinarily beautiful dunes would be destroyed and rare plants that are native to the area, such as the Gulf of St. Lawrence aster and seaside pinweed, would be wiped out.

Scientists and researchers from J.D. Irving, Limited, have been working with other groups and agencies to help preserve the aster, a threatened species, since 2004. In addition, the company has helped preserve a population of endangered piping plovers, shorebirds which use the dunes for nesting.

Dr. Liette Vasseur, a professor at Laurentian University, told researchers and academics at a conference in Ottawa last week that many of the things New Brunswickers hold dear and rely on will be lost unless people change their behaviour to curtail and adapt to climate change.

A former instructor at the Université de Moncton, Vasseur conducted studies on the effects of global warming and climate change on coastal communities in Atlantic Canada, including Bouctouche and Elsipogtog. She said her recent assessment of the First Nation shows that traditional sites for harvesting sweetgrass and other natural medicinal plants are already being threatened by erosion and flooding.

Josephine Augustine, an herbal healer who practices traditional medicine at Elsipogtog, said Tuesday that she is having more and more difficulty finding the plants she picks and uses to make remedies for allergies, arthritis, headaches, psoriasis and ulcers, among other ailments.

“It is getting and harder,” Augustine said from her office in the health centre at the First Nation, which is near Rexton. “We are losing land to water, and we are losing medicines here.

“People need to be educated about the environment, and they have to let Mother Nature take its course. We have to let people know the ramifications of what they are doing, make them understand that these plants have a purpose.”

A teacher in Moncton from 2001 to 2004, Vasseur said areas like Bouctouche will be hurt economically unless people adapt to environmental conditions such as the rising sea level. She said they need to build farther inland, and they need to leave natural barriers to coastal erosion, including trees and shrubs, in place.

“People like to have a nice, manicured lawn running all the way down to the water, but when they remove all the trees they increase the vulnerability to the impact of a storm. All in all, we need to reduce our footprint on the environment, and everybody can play a role in that.

“I’m optimistic that people could be very good at adapting to these changes if they got together, but they have to first understand what is causing the changes.”

Honeyman, the naturalist, has spent countless hours walking the boardwalk at the Irving Eco-centre. Tuesday he lamented the threat to one of his favourite places.

“Once you get 200 meters past our interpretive centre, you have a wonderful feeling of solitude and are buffeted by beautiful breezes off the Northumberland Strait. It is really a special spot.”

Note - Credit for this article goes to…
Marty Klinkenberg
Telegraph-Journal
Published Wednesday October 31st, 2007
Appeared on page A1
Telegraph Journal

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