This morning I am making pancakes. A friend sent me a big goodie box of stuff from Stonewall Kitchen for Christmas. It includes a bottle of Maine Maple Syrup. The back of the bottle says:
Tapped locally, this delicious Grade A, Dark Amber maple syrup is a wonderful New England tradition.
Yes, it is all of that. Local, wonderful, dark amber, and a tradition.
But for how long?
The other night in the Open Thread Spud1 posed a question about the northward movement of the maple sugaring line. This got me thinking and researching. I found some fascinating history about maple syrup on the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association site. Check this out:
1788 Quakers promote manufacture and use of maple sugar as an alternative to West Indian cane sugar production with slave labour.
1790 "Maple Sugar Bubble" grows, with high hopes among national leaders that a home grown alternative to slave-produced cane sugar from the British Caribbean had been found. Key advocates include Thomas Jefferson, Dr. Benjamin Rush and Judge James Fenimore Cooper.
....
1791 Thomas Jefferson and George Washington discuss plans to start "maple orchards" on their Virginia plantations. Most trees die or fail to thrive; Jefferson remains a maple booster.
I had no idea that those activist Quakers had promoted "go local" for social justice in 1788, which seemed to catch the popular attention....funny how history goes around....but I digress...
Anyway, it is clear to the maple syrup producers that things are awry.
Climate change could sour US maple sugaring
By Christa Farrand Case
....
"Due to changes in both sap collection technology ... and climate ... the maple syrup industry is migrating from New England into Canada," concluded the New England Regional Assessment Group in a 2001 report. The study, spearheaded by University of New Hampshire researchers, also predicted that if current climate projections hold true, New England forests will be dominated by oak and hickory trees - not maples - by the end of the century.
Admittedly, maple trees won't flock northward one spring like Canada geese. Rather, the transformation of New England forests will come by a gradual change in the competitive balance of one species over another, says Timothy Perkins, who is nearing completion of a research project on the impact of global change on the maple sugar industry.
....
Traditionally, northern New England's climate has provided the optimal freeze-thaw patterns for sugaring. But in recent years, the transition from winter to spring has accelerated, leaving fewer days for the mercury to hopscotch across Vermont thermometers' 32-degree F. mark.
May I also draw your attention to a record we broke yesterday here in Boston:
Record Report
RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA 600 AM EST MON JAN 01 2007
...WARMEST FINISH OF ANY YEAR IN BOSTON...
...WARMEST DECEMBER AND WARMEST NOVEMBER-DECEMBER COMBINATION RECORDED AT BOSTON/S LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER 2006 WAS 41.1 DEGREES IN BOSTON. THIS BEATS THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 40.7 DEGREES SET IN 1990. THE NORMAL DECEMBER MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IS 34.8 DEGREES WITH A DECEMBER 2006 DEPARTURE OF +6.3 DEGREES.
IN ADDITION...THE COMBINED AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2006 WAS APPROXIMATELY 45.1 DEGREES. THIS BEATS THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 44.6 DEGREES SET DURING THE COMBINED MONTHS OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 1990.
THERE WERE 19 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH ABOVE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FROM DECEMBER 10TH THROUGH DECEMBER 28TH AND 24 DAYS ABOVE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IN DECEMBER 2006.
OFFICIAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT SINCE 1872.
If this continues--not just this year, but year over year, we can kiss American maple syrup goodbye.
I wanted to highlight this because sometimes it is hard to reach people on "global warming" because for those of us with big heating bills, we can see an upside there....also, an extended gardening season doesn't always seem like a bad idea....but I know, I know, it is wrong--it is a lot bigger than my tomato production in my back yard. The awareness of the maple issue jogged me in a way that was different--it was an "oh, right...." moment for me.
I wanted to bring this all to maple syrup because I thought that might be a way to reach some people in a different way. Americans aren't so good at responding sometimes unless you are going to take something away from them. Let's tell them we are taking away their maple syrup--explain that evidence shows we are already losing ground here, and that will continue as we race down the Global Warming path.
And I know people sometimes suggest that we call it "climate change" because that is bigger, broader, scarier. But just today I was watching a show from CBC about global warming where they show who promoted that phrase: Frank Luntz. The show includes a study group with Frank where they show people responding to phrases and ideas and ranking them.
From the CBC show THE DENIAL MACHINE
Luntz rule #1: Never use the term Global Warming. [show puts in some footage of Bush using the Luntz phraseology]
Here's what Frank says (transcribed by me, all typos mine):
"Global warming suggests something more cataclysmic. Climate change suggests something more gradual, something that takes place over time. Global warming is more frightening. Climate change is less so."
I have only watched the first part of this CBC show, but it looks terrific so far. And despite the fact that the Canadian maple sugar industry may benefit from global warming, they seem really to be taking this issue seriously. I thank our northern neighbors for that.
Also, I would encourage you to keep using the phrase "Global Warming" rather than climate change--and thank Frank Luntz for the ammunition....
EDIT: In the comments Snarcalita invites us to join Al Gore in calling it climate crisis. Makes sense to me.
SOS: Save Our Syrup.
Ok, maybe that's over the top....but I'm just trying to find ways to reach more people.