Speakers at Audubon meet say warming affects migration

PARK CITY — Global warming not only affects the polar bears in the Arctic, but also the birds in the United States, according to speakers this weekend at the National Audubon Society's annual board meeting and conference.

"Our volunteers are watching birds and seeing their migratory patterns coming earlier and leaving later," said National Audubon Society President John Flicker. "It's because our climate's warming."

Bird-lovers from across the country swooped into Park City this weekend for the conference. These "birders" met to discuss new ways of protecting birds and their habitat in the United States, with particular focus on the hot topic of global warming.

"Birds are indicators of the health of the environment," Flicker said. "If we keep polluting the environment, there won't be any birds to sing in the spring."

The society, founded more than 100 years ago by bird-preservation activists, works in grass-roots fashion, bottom-up. It consists of hundreds of local chapters, four of them Utah-based.

One of the key ways in which the society tackles environmental issues is through lobbying on Capitol Hill in Washington. Today, the bird enthusiasts face the fight of global warming.

"It's the biggest threat to wildlife," said Julia Levin, acting global-warming campaign director. "I think it's very dangerous to wait. Scientists are unanimous (in their calls) to reduce global warming emissions."

John Bellman, a Utahn and director of the Wasatch Chapter of the society, has noticed the effects of global warming in Utah. Birds that were once spotted only in southern Utah are now found in the north, Bellman said.

Greg Butcher, national director of bird conservation, said that if temperatures continue to rise, the black rosy-finch, a favorite Utah bird of his, could become completely extinct.

The conference Friday featured Stanford University professor Stephen Schneider, who began his war against global warming in the 1980s.

"The thermometers of the world don't lie," said Schneider. "They are very objective, having this ability to tell the truth."

Schneider criticized the Bush administration's hesitancy to recognize global warming. "There's no such thing as a Democratic wildfire," he said, noting that Democrats did not invent global warming for political gain.

The society bought enough carbon credits to make up for the energy used in travel and electricity during the conference, calling it a "carbon-neutral" event. Meetings and bird-watching will continue throughout today and Sunday to discuss solutions and plans in the fight against global warming.

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