August of 2024 is the hottest August to date. Before that, August of 2023 was the hottest to date, one degree above the pre-industrial level.
Dr. David Creech, Director of the SFA Gardens at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas, attributes the warmer summer temperatures to ongoing climate change. Dr. Creech studies horticulture from around the world but is very familiar with the weather changes of the Southern States.
For example, Dr. Creech has examined tide data from Galveston, Texas.
"If you look at that data, really, in 1904 all the way up into the 1990s, it was a very slow increase. It was going up." Dr. Creech says. "Starting in the 1990s, it really accelerated. Which means, the high tides are getting higher. And, you know, if we don’t get the laws to figure out a way to deal with this increasing Carbon Dioxide, Galveston goes under."
Rising ocean levels are a global problem as it will continue to swallow more of the coasts. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sea level continues to rise at a rate of about one-eighth of an inch per year.
"So, not only is the ocean rising, coastal areas are where people live." says Dr. Creech. "And this is getting to be more and more erosion, more high tides."
He says drastic weather changes have also heavily affected the university’s gardens, specifically nonnative plants.
Nonnative plants are brought in from outside climates, and since Louisiana and Texas experience such drastic weather changes, it’s hard for these plants to stay alive. Dr. Creech says a way to combat climate change is to focus on native plants.
"And, what we try to do is, is to encourage them to grow plants that are a little more resilient and can deal with this because debris removal is huge. Whether your trees are dead or knocked over from old age or hurricanes or drought or freezes; it still is a huge amount of energy to remove them. It would be really nice to choose plant materials that are a little bit tougher." Dr. Creech adds. "And it just depends on the genetics of what you’re looking at. When you look at the bread sloth of trees and shrubs, natives are a pretty good investment. And they’re already interfaced and integrated into our natural ecology."
Dr. Creech says the bald cypress, live oaks, oakleaf hydrangea, and azaleas are some really common and popular climate resilient plants in East Texas and Louisiana. Dr. Creech also says that finding and sticking to native plants can be really difficult because of the nursery industry. For example, the Indian hawthorn is not a very climate resilient, but it is a very popular plant.
Dr. Creech believes that if more people plant native and climate resilient plants, gardening can be more sustainable.
"Look at our highways," Dr. Creech says. "If you look at the big highways where you have a median down the middle- and look at the size of our highways; all we do is mow it with big tractors, and that’s carbon. And there’s no trees! That’s part of the solution, is to plant more trees."
Dr. Creech says fighting climate change can be done on an individual level. Producing less waste, emitting less carbon, and having personal plants can be really beneficial. However, he says the biggest impact starts with a community effort.
Dr. Creech says making necessary changes now will really benefit future generations.
"So go plant a tree," says Dr. Creech.
This is Alaina Atnip with Red River Radio News.