Gardener’s Guide to Global
Warming
Challenges and Solutions
Patty Glick
Senior Global Warming Specialist
National Wildlife Federation
Gardener’s Guide to
Global Warming
•Science
•Impacts
•Solutions
Gardener’s Guide to
Global Warming
•Science
•Impacts
•Solutions
How Global Warming Works
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) – 80%
Land-use (deforestation, agriculture) - 20%
700? 900?
Atmospheric CO2 (ppm)
■ >380 ppm
today
Up 11+˚ F ?
Up 1.4˚ F
Global Average Temperature Change
A Changing Climate
•More frequent and severe
extreme weather events
(including floods, droughts,
and heat waves)
•Earlier spring snowmelt and
lower average snowpack in
mountains
•A lengthening of the frost free
season and earlier date of last
spring freeze
When it Rains it Pours…
…or Not at All
With Climate Change
Reduced Snowpack
Mid-21st Century
Longer Frost-Free Season
Gardener’s Guide to
Global Warming
•Science
•Impacts
•Solutions
Gardeners
Have a
Unique
Connection
to the Land
Plants are Leafing Out and
Blooming Earlier
Butterfly weed, other
plants blooming more
than two weeks earlier
Chinese lilac blooming
six days earlier
Cherry trees are blooming
a week sooner
Changes in Migration and Breeding
Patterns
Robins are arriving 10 days earlier
in Wisconsin
Butterflies are advancing their first
flight date by 24 days
Tree Swallows are laying eggs 9
days earlier
Species are Shifting Ranges
Changes in USDA Hardiness Zones
MORE CHALLENGES
FOR GARDENERS...
Threats to Agriculture
Some Like it COLD
Threats to Agriculture
Suitable Premium
Wine Grape Regions
Today
Future Premium Wine
Grape Regions (Late
21st Century)
...A CATASTROPHE FOR NATURE
Expansion of Invasive Species
Worsening Native Pest Outbreaks
Disrupted Ecosystems and
Species Extinctions
Gardener’s Guide to
Global Warming
•Science
•Impacts
•Solutions
You Can
Take Action
&
Make a
Difference
Laura Ouimette, Flickr.com
Take Action in Your Backyard
Improve Your Energy Efficiency
Take Action in Your Backyard
Reduce the Use of Gasoline-Powered
Yard Tools
Take Action in Your Backyard
Compost kitchen and garden
waste
Take Action in Your Backyard
Use Organic Gardening Methods
Take Action in Your Backyard
Reduce Water Consumption
Take Action in Your Backyard
Get the Right Kind of Mulch
Take Action in Your Backyard
Develop a Rain Garden
NRCS
Take Action in Your Backyard
Plant Trees to Protect Your Home
from the Elements and Consider
Installing a Green Roof
Actions in your Backyard
Incorporate a Diversity of Native Plants
into Your Landscape
Take Action in Your Backyard
Grow Your Own Food
Take Action in Your Community
Plant Native Trees and Protect
Undeveloped Landscapes
Take Action in Your Community
Participate in Citizen Science
Take Action in Your Community
Certify your Home and Neighborhood
as a Community Wildlife Habitat
Demand Action From Your
Elected Officials
Urge elected officials
to support climate
change policy:
Cut global warming
pollution
Help human and
natural systems
“adapt”
WWW.NWF.ORG