The Essay Jonathan Franzen Should Have Written

by Lorna Salzman (May 2015)

The whole American birding community, which numbers in the millions if you count backyard bird feeder watchers, has its collective knickers in a twist over a recent New Yorker essay by novelist Jonathan Franzen, a recent acolyte to birding and simultaneously a critic of the movement to curb climate change. 

All of this is a tall order to tackle and most critics have quite authoritatively rebutted his claims, which in the end are really just opinions, to which he is entitled of course. But Franzen has missed the boat by a wide margin, not least because he has not schooled himself on what climate change will mean for birds and other creatures. He skims over this smoothly by suggesting that other species, including birds, will adapt to climate change or move northward. What he fails to understand is that changes in global and regional temperature are only one part of the climate change threat.

As we have already witnessed, drought, floods, wildfires, desertification, depletion of freshwater sources, sea level rise, rising sea temperatures’ impact on shellfish and marine life, and inundation of coastal estuaries and wetlands will take a huge toll on all forms of life. He might consider the albatross, some species of which nest on tiny Pacific islands which will disappear in the near future like those islands inhabited by humans. He might consider shorebirds and water birds which depend on coastal wetlands, barrier islands and beaches for breeding and importantly for migration feeding and resting twice a year. The coast and its estuaries also provide breeding and shelter for millions of gulls, ducks and geese, and hunting grounds for Bald Eagles, osprey, owls and migrating raptors.

But the biggest void in Franzen’s thinking is that regarding biodiversity. Indeed, had he started with the premise that the loss of biodiversity is arguably a greater threat than climate change, he might have mustered a lot of support, mine included. The question that needs to be answered before any argument begins is this: Threat to whom? And then: On what time scale? 

No one disputes the fact that human settlements and infrastructure are in the sea level rise line of fire. In NYC, utilities, subways, sewage lines and communications have already been taken down by Hurricane Sandy and other severe storms. People have lost their homes. Businesses lost equipment and were shut down for long periods. Some subway stations were flooded and closed for over a year. Sewage treatment plants overflowed as did storm drains and combined sewage overflow pipes. As a result discussions are now being held about how to implement “resiliency” and protect the low-lying parts of the city and its infrastructure from future flooding (which is guaranteed by sea level rise, not just hurricanes and storms). The threat of climate change to the economy of not just New York City but the whole region and to trade and communications is very real. In this scenario, the threat is to humans and their creations and structures. It is not an ecological threat but a very real economic one, and one that governments and businesses take seriously enough to start planning for the worst scenario. It is the economic and financial services provided by municipalities and businesses to businesses and citizens that are threatened. The notion floated by Franzen that we should throw up our hands and instead save birds is not disingenuous but downright social suicide. And it is a threat whose price can actually be calculated.

Ask what the loss of filter feeders and tidal wetlands would mean to fish and shellfish nurseries and to the purity of estuaries. 

There are no monetary figures big enough to calculate these losses not only for us today but for future generations who have or had every expectation of inheriting an earth that provides these services. Seen in this light, there is no question that the loss of biodiversity is a far greater threat to life on earth than climate change. And of course the loss of ecosystem services translates into economic terms too, at least for those economists who still think they can put a price on them. But any price is arbitrary and merely reflects current values and costs, which are not objective but purely human-contrived. I doubt that Bjorn Lomborg would put the high price on the loss of a species, even a lowly one such as an ant, that I would put on it if I were forced to do so.

In fact I heartily agree with Franzen’s entreaty to the world to embrace the preservation of birds and natural areas and wilderness. I fervently believe that this would necessitate major changes in human values and activities as well as in societal ethics and objectives. I believe that this would in fact be more conducive to the preservation of biodiversity than any other effort. I also believe that this would enhance human welfare as well as that of nonhuman species and would constitute a huge spiritual and philosophical change in all of humanity. In fact, I have long taken this position: that nature comes first and that all human endeavors must conform to the “laws of nature,” especially to the evolutionary imperative of preserving the genetic heritage of all living things. Those who believe human needs come first are the capitalists and the social justice movements … the right and the left.

Indeed, I suspect many environmentalists and conservationists secretly agree with this fatalistic analysis though not to the point of abandoning hope or action (as Franzen urges with regard to climate action). But if Franzen really believes that it is possible to save the earth through individual commitment to the preservation of nature, he isn’t giving us a clue as to how this should be done. He doesn’t even mention the word “biodiversity.” He addresses birds. I love birds. I’ve birded in fifteen countries of the world since the mid 1960s, when I first saw a Snowy Egret on the wetlands near my summer home on Long Island and thought it was an escape from Disney World. I’ve been in the misty cloud forests of South America, the chilling paramo of the Andes, the karoo of South Africa, the steamy jungle of Malaysia, the mallee forests of Australia and the temperate hills of Nepal’s Himalayas. I am not alone. Birding as a hobby has exploded in the past thirty years, here and abroad. The publication of books about birds has grown tenfold and shows no signs of slowing down. Birding is a wonderful hobby and a great educational and scientific experience. I remain totally surprised that not everyone is a birder! After all, along with butterflies it is the only class of animals that is out during the daytime. What could be easier? Or cheaper? Certainly cheaper than skiing.

Franzen is probably newer to birding than I am, so there may be hope that he will realize that preserving birds is only one part of the bigger challenge. Seeing birds in their special habitat or niche is a wonderful experience … it’s fun! … but seeing birds as part of the bigger natural world is better. And perhaps in a few years we’ll have a different Franzen essay.

 

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Politics as if Evolution Mattered,” which addresses the intersection of evolution with socio-political policy. 

 

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