Climb aboard a fishing boat with us
Growing up among the orchards and dairy farms of Vermont, it was easy to see how weather affected crops, from a spring cold snap that killed off apple blossoms to a wet fall that delayed the corn harvest.
Over the past 50 years — my own lifetime — climate change has noticeably altered my my home state: Spring is arriving two weeks earlier and winter starts a week later. Winters are 4 degrees warmer and summers are 2 degrees hotter, according to state statistics. For those of us who grew up depending on the weather to make a living, these seemingly small differences are starting to add up. And nowhere is that more apparent than the oceans surrounding the United States.
Hi, I'm Paste BN reporter Trevor Hughes. Welcome to a special edition of Climate Point, your guide to climate, energy and environment.
Today, with support from the Pulitzer Center, Paste BN presents the Warming Waters series, where we take you fishing in the four corners of the country: Alaska, Southern California, Florida and Maine. The journey showcases how climate change affects one of America's oldest industries at time it's already facing significant challenges.
Read the series: Climb aboard four fishing boats with us to see how America's warming waters are changing
For the men and women who make their living fishing those waters, climate change is yet one more challenge they face atop normal seasonal variations and obstacles such as high diesel prices, foreign competition and the changing tastes of America's dinner tables.
This series gives you a nuanced understanding of the added complexity posed by climate change for fishers around the country.