Alabama, In a New Light
R. SCOT DUNCAN can tell you how Alabama ranks among the 50 states for its number of imperiled species (third). He can say how much temperatures have already risen in the region (three degrees Fahrenheit over the last two decades). He will talk about legacy river issues and compare damming to “dropping a nuclear bomb on a river.” And he can detail the complex and seemingly contradictory climate change impacts affecting the Southeast’s water supply. But Duncan does not despair in the face of these biodiversity, climate, and water crises. For all the environmental problems he faces on a daily basis as a conservation biologist in a state where it’s particularly hard to be such a thing, Duncan fixates on solutions. “I learned early on in teaching that I can’t hit people with doom and gloom because they just check out. Instead, what I put in front of them is ‘Here’s the future that we need. It’s good for biodiversity. It’s good for people. It helps eliminate poverty. It helps people live healthier, happier, more fulfilling lives,’” Duncan says. “When you start putting it in those terms, looking at the future becomes less burdensome and instead one we can work toward and we all want to be part of.” Science journalist Kelsey Barnett-Fischels profiles a biologist who journeyed from being “embarrassingly ignorant” of Alabama’s incredible biodiversity to one of its most devoted conservation champions.
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