Given the marathon of two in-depth reviews last week I think I’ve used up (almost) all my words for October… let’s just quietly hang out on the beach then.

Afternoon soft light, winds sweetly teasing, tons and tons of gorgeous birds.

You think you could just sit there and bathe in the momentary peace and beauty. That is until you see the crab. Snatched by a pelican.

What comes to mind? The warming of the waters due to man-made climate change. (Or, as is also the case, issues of over-extraction and regulations that contributed to the extinction.)

The Alaska snow crab harvest has been canceled for the first time ever after billions of the crustaceans have disappeared from the cold, treacherous waters of the Bering Sea in recent years. The Alaska Board of Fisheries and North Pacific Fishery Management Council announced last week that the population of snow crab in the Bering Sea fell below the regulatory threshold to open up the fishery. But the actual numbers behind that decision are shocking: The snow crab population shrank from around 8 billion in 2018 to 1 billion in 2021, according to Benjamin Daly, a researcher with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (Ref.)

It doesn’t help to see the loving pelican parent feeding that crab to junior. What comes to mind?

The World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Index, which monitors 32,000 separate populations of species around the world, found that on average they were 69% smaller than they had been in 1970.

Here is a beautiful essay by Bill McKibben with the title A Fast-Emptying Ark – The World Grows Quieter by the Day. He spells out familiar causes – habitat destruction, climate change – but also offers an almost poetic lament.

And with my brain’s tendency for far flung associations, I think of birds bringing harm to other birds. In Oregon this month alone Canada geese, mallards and bald eagles carried the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI virus) across areas where they can infect domestic poultry.

In Florida almost the entire bird stock of a small farm was killed by the virus brought in by an invasion of Egyptian geese – Hurricane Ian produced much standing water in which the virus finds good conditions to multiply. In this particular case, a beloved internet creature – the emu Emmanuel who used to be of “help” creating educational videos about farming – was also afflicted and the owners are trying everything to rescue him. I wonder if such a single instance of an internet celebrity – he really was and for good reason (his owner was wonderfully funny in talking to him) – might alert many people to issues of climate change who would otherwise be uninterested or uniformed.

Let’s hope the loss has some positive consequence attached. Including the insight that who we vote for matters for action or inaction regarding climate change. Voter registration deadline is tomorrow. There are only two states with direct ballot measures on the issue this year – California voters will decide the fate of Proposition 30, the Tax on Income Above $2 Million for Zero-Emissions Vehicles and Wildfire Prevention Initiative, and The Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 that would allow the state to sell bonds to fund $4.2 billion for environmental improvements that, according to the proposal, would “preserve, enhance, and restore New York’s natural resources and reduce the impact of climate change.” (Ref.) But who governs states or legislates federally plays of course a huge role in general.

• In-person at local election office: Oct 18
• Online: Oct 18 by 11:59 p.m.
• By mail (postmarked by): Oct 18

Enough. Let’s watch the pelicans cavort.

Or practice trios.

Soave sia il vento it shall be. The wind was indeed sweet at the beach.

Here is the full Cosi fan Tutte if you want to sweeten your morning, a production from Vienna 3 years ago.