Blog

May 5, 2012

Lexington Massachusetts is where the American Revolution began

Bill McKibben

Group photo of volunteers holding a "Lexington MA USA CONNECT-thWOIS" banner in a wooded area, gathered around a tree stump with carved design, participating in community environmental work.
Group photo of volunteers holding a "Lexington MA USA CONNECT-thWOIS" banner in a wooded area, gathered around a tree stump with carved design, participating in community environmental work.

But now they’re worried about a revolution in our climate. After the unusually warm fall of 2011leaves clung to trees long into the season. A freak snowstorm, unparalleled since 1895, created havoc, with gunshot-like sounds echoing throughout town as trees snapped off. Schools were closed, emergency shelters set up, and Halloween was even postponed. The stump of a storm victim is seen in our photo. But that’s not all. Unusual periods of heat and drenching rains in the past few years have made people wonder if something is happening to our weather. A walk in the woods followed to see the explosion of heat loving wooly adelgid insects attacking our hemlock trees. No one heard the majestic 100 year old ash tree fall in the Halloween storm, but we used its remains as a “dot” to remind us that we must move into action to limit climate change.