The landmark climate change agreement announced Wednesday between the United States and China represents an incredible opportunity to move the world toward reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and reduce some of the harsher effects that scientists have been predicting for years. Many observers believe that this agreement between the No. 1 and No. 2 greatest producers of greenhouse gas emissions will inspire other countries to make similar commitments.
When I learned of this agreement, I couldn’t help but be struck by the image of the eagle and the crane. We all know the importance of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle as national symbols of our country. Likewise, the crane has deep significance in Chinese mythology and iconography.
We must assume that our President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping came to these discussions concerned about the impacts of climate change to their respective countries. For instance, in America, we worry about sea-level rise wiping out some of our great coastal cities, while in China air pollution from coal-burning plants is literally choking the populace. Both countries face immense risk to economic security, as well.
But it is also noteworthy that the avian national symbols are also at risk from global warming. According to Audubon’s research on the threat of global warming to North American birds, both the Bald Eagle and the Golden Eagle, as well as the Sandhill Crane and the Whooping Crane, face substantial losses in their ranges if we fail to take substantial action on emissions.
This agreement between the U.S. and China has the potential to prompt exactly the kind of society-level action that has the potential to spare birds, in North America and beyond, the most severe impacts of global warming.
It is wonderful to think that the eagle and crane – two birds not known for their close relations with each other – might transcend their differences to reach an agreement that might ensure their mutual survival.
(photo of Bald Eagle by Chris Smith; photo of Sandhill Crane by John Carrel)
