How Do We Tell The Kids We Let Them Down Again?
The Penguins haven’t even seen humans, but their fate is up to us
Driving a dark country road one night, several years ago, I hit a mother duck. When I pulled over, I discovered a dozen, now orphaned, baby ducklings running into the fields and onto the road. I didn’t know what to do. I could hear their tiny peeping cries, but could only catch a couple. It seemed hopeless.
Then, I looked up and two middle-aged guys were next to me, searching the grass with flashlights and scooping ducklings into their shirts. Within minutes, they’d saved them all.
I wish we could have done the same for the baby penguins.
Last night, I watched a scientist report on the catastrophic breeding failure of the emperor penguins. As she spoke, her voice cracked with concern, her eyes tearing up.
Listening to the explanation made me tear up, too. The emperor penguins rely on 9 months of stable land-attached sea ice each breeding season. But this season it melted too early, plunging baby chicks into the icy ocean. Around 10,000 chicks drowned.
By 2100, if global warming persists at the current rate, scientists expect 90% of emperor penguins will be extinct.
“ Climate change is considered the only…
