New 探花精选 Science: Two-Thirds of North American Birds at Risk of Extinction Due to Climate Change

Use 探花精选鈥檚 Birds and Climate Visualizer to see how climate change will impact the birds in your community, and find out how you can help.

NEW YORK (October 10, 2019) 鈥 Today, the 探花精选 announced a groundbreaking climate report, . 鈥淭wo-thirds of America鈥檚 birds are threatened with extinction from climate change, but keeping global temperatures down will help up to 76 percent of them. There鈥檚 hope in this report, but first, it鈥檒l break your heart if you care about birds and what they tell us about the ecosystems we share with them. It鈥檚 a bird emergency,鈥 said David Yarnold, (), CEO and president of 探花精选.

鈥淎 lot of people paid attention to last month鈥檚 report that North America has lost nearly a third of its birds. This new data pivots forward and imagines an even more frightening future,鈥 Yarnold said. 鈥淎nd, you can use a first-of-its kind web tool to find threatened birds in your zip code, as well as a list of things everyone can do.鈥

探花精选 scientists studied 604 North American bird species using 140 million bird records, including observational data from bird lovers and field biologists across the country.

探花精选鈥檚 zip code-based tool, the Birds and Climate Visualizer, helps users understand the impacts to birds where they live, making climate change even more local, immediate and, for tens of millions of bird fans, deeply personal. 

鈥淏irds are important indicator species, because if an ecosystem is broken for birds, it is or soon will be for people too,鈥 said Brooke Bateman, Ph.D., the senior climate scientist for the 探花精选. 鈥淲hen I was a child, my grandmother introduced me to the Common Loons that lived on the lake at my grandparent鈥檚 home in northern Wisconsin. Those loons are what drive my work today and I can鈥檛 imagine them leaving the U.S. entirely in summer but that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e facing if trends continue.鈥

Dr. Bateman and her team also studied climate-related impacts on birds across the lower 48 states, including sea level rise, Great Lakes level changes, urbanization, cropland expansion, drought, extreme spring heat, fire weather and heavy rain.

鈥淲e already know what we need to do to reduce global warming, and we already have a lot of the tools we need to take those steps. Now, what we need are more people committed to making sure those solutions are put into practice,鈥 said Renee Stone, vice president of climate for the 探花精选. 鈥淥ur elected officials at every level of government must hear from their constituents that this is a priority. 探花精选 is committed to protecting the places birds need now and in the future and taking action to address the root causes of climate change.鈥

探花精选 has outlined five key steps:

  1. Reduce your use of energy at home and ask your elected officials to support energy-saving policies that reduce the overall demand for electricity and that save consumers money.
  2. Ask your elected officials to expand consumer-driven clean energy development that grows jobs in your community 鈥 like solar or wind power.
  3. Reduce the amount of carbon pollution released into the atmosphere. In order to drive down carbon emissions, we will need innovative economy-wide solutions that address every sector of the economy 鈥 like a fee on carbon. Another option is to address carbon emissions one sector at a time like setting a clean energy standard for electricity generation.
  4. Advocate for natural solutions, from increasing wetlands along coasts and rivers that absorb soaking rains to protecting forests and grasslands that are homes to birds and serve as carbon storage banks, and putting native plants everywhere to help birds adapt to climate change.
  5. Ask elected leaders to be climate and conservation champions.

Enter your zip code into 探花精选鈥檚 Birds and Climate Visualizer to see how climate change will impact your birds, your community, and the ways you can help.

探花精选鈥檚 report is based on the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report models for 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 degrees C of global warming. At the highest warming scenario of 3.0 C, 305 bird species face three or more climate-related impacts.

Last month, Science published describing a grim picture: a steady decline of nearly three billion North American birds since 1970, primarily as a result of human activities. Climate change will further exacerbate the challenges birds are already facing from human activity.  

In 2014, 探花精选 published its first . The study showed that more than half of the bird species in North America could lose at least half of their current ranges by 2080 due to rising temperatures. 探花精选鈥檚 new findings reflect an expanded and more precise data set, and indicate the dire situation for birds and the places they need will continue.

The full report, visuals and assets are available in the .

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About 探花精选
The 探花精选 protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. 探花精选 works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give 探花精选 an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, 探花精选 believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at  and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.

Media Contacts:
Robyn Shepherd, robyn.shepherd@audubon.org, 267.230.7651
Chandler Lennon, chandler.lennon@audubon.org, 804.832.0832
Nicolas Gonzalez, nicolas.gonzalez@audubon.org, 310.897.9836