he said. âIâm looking at the effects of climate change on migratory birds. Birds all over the world have been confused by the speedy rise in temperatures, and their migrations reflect that. Some of them donât bother to migrate at all anymore, because their nesting habitats have gotten so warm they donât need to fly south for winter.â
âDoesnât sound so bad to me,â Alex said. âI hate commuting.â
âWell,â Perry said, âthey end up fighting for scarce resources, not having enough food to eat, falling victim to predators. And their schedules donât sync with plant growth anymore, so pollination doesnât occur, and then the plants stop growing. . . . The problem is spreading throughout the ecosystem. Watch.â
He started showing some of his footage. Alex sat back with his arms crossed over his chest, as if nothing Perry showed him could change his mind.
The film began with a small, beautiful songbird, with a yellow head and belly, looking for a place to land on a coastline filled with highways and beach development. âThis used to be marshland, a resting stop for these birds on their way from New England to the West Indies,â Perry said. âBut development has left them no safe place to stop.â One of the birds dropped into the ocean, looking exhausted. A larger, predatory seabird swooped down to snatch it up. âTheir numbers are diminishing fast.â
âWhat kind of bird is it?â Alex asked.
âThe Cape May warbler.â The film showed the bird in a spruce tree, chirping.
âCape May?â Alex said. âMy family has a house in Cape May. Iâve heard that chirp when weâre down there on fall weekends.â
Aha,
Haley thought.
Got him.
Perry talked over the raw footage of the beautiful little bird struggling for survival. Global warming was predicted to drive up to thirty percent of all animal species to extinction by the year 2100, he explained. And the change in bird migration patternsâwhich meant that birds arrived at their destinations weeks earlier than in previous yearsâwas just an early warning sign, incontrovertible proof that the climate was warming up. Alex watched the bird, so familiar from his childhood beach vacations, with growing alarm on his face.
âAs you said yourself, itâs all connected,â Haley said. âThe birds to the plants and insects, to the food supply, to human life on earth. How can there be any economy if thereâs no food to support the population? Who needs a job when thereâs nothing to eat?â
âI have to admit, this is disturbing,â Alex said. Haley had to stop herself from smiling in triumph. Disturbing! His face had turned white.
The front door opened and Joan Miller stumbled in with armloads of groceries. âAnybody home?â
Perry hurried over to help her with the bags, as Alex jumped up and offered to assist too. âThanks, both of you,â Joan said, casting an approving glance in Haleyâs direction.
âMom, this is Alex Martin,â Haley said.
âNice to meet you, Mrs. Miller,â Alex said. âWe were just admiring your husbandâs work-in-progress.â
âWere you?â Joan headed into the kitchen, and the others followed with the grocery bags. âAlex Martin? I know that name. Arenât you captain of the debate team? With Annie Armstrong?â
âGuilty as charged.â Alex set the bags on the counter and leaned against it, his confidence returning.
âThatâs funny,â Joan said. âI work with Annieâs mother, Blythe.â She paused, glancing from Alex to Haley as if she wasnât sure whether she should continue.
âWhat is it?â Haley asked.
âWell, I suppose youâll hear about it from Annie eventually,â Joan continued. âIt seems that Nora Metzger has moved in with your art teacherâMr. Von, is