Most people across the globe want their governments to act on climate change. In some countries, as much as 89% of the population is in that camp. That’s according to a peer-reviewed study published in the scientific journal called Nature Climate Change.
With the annual global climate change conference about to kick off in Brazil, WUWM is exploring attitudes about climate action in Wisconsin. Some anglers and hunters share their points of view.
Hobbies that take people outdoors can be relaxing, a way to be with friends, maybe offer an escape from consuming concerns of the world.
But Tom Koch, a lifelong fisherman says climate change is never far from his mind. We met as he came off the Milwaukee River after a morning of angling.
Koch says he’s watched climate change impacts play out up and down the river he loves to fish.
“I would say about 10 years ago, you could almost set your clock — about everything was happening. And now the seasons go up and down because of different rainfall, different temperatures. It used to be very, very predictable,” Koch says.
Even though cleanups and dam removals have resulted in a cleaner and more fish-rich river, Koch says, “just the conditions overall have changed.”
Take this season, Koch says, water has been low and temperatures high.
I asked him about a study published in a scientific journal called Nature Climate Change. It found most people around the world want their governments to act on climate change — in some countries as much as 89%.
Koch says he definitely falls into the 89% camp and thinks everybody needs to play a role to point us in the right direction.
“Staying educated and trying to make the right personal choices. We need everyone to do that — from the top down,” Koch says.
As I meandered local waterways on the watch for anglers willing to share their climate attitudes, I found Emani Ativalu just south of downtown Milwaukee.
He was squeezing in some fishing during his lunch break. Ativalu had just finished casting his line into the Menomonee River near the Harley Davidson Museum.
The 25-year-old got into angling only a few years ago. Fishing brings him joy. “Being out, being able to keep to your thoughts. Sometimes people walk by you and talk a bit. It’s cool,” he says.
Ativalu says climate change doesn't consume his thoughts on or off the river. “It’s not something I tend to think about,” he says.
Upstream near American Family Stadium, Drew Kallie was busy pulling on his waders. “Yeah, I like coming here a lot. Every fall the salmon come in. They’re always stacked up here,” Kallie says.
The college freshman fell in love fishing with his dad at age 7. I asked Kallie if he's noticed the impacts of climate change over the years on the waters he loves.
“I personally haven’t really seen anything. I guess something could be happening, but I don’t really look for that per se,” he says.
Kallie’s fishing buddy and friend since high school, Ryan Lee, says he does take notice. Lee says last year was a historically bad salmon run. River levels were low, making it tough for salmon to swim upstream to spawn. “I think it’s definitely tied to the climate. It was just really bad,” he says.
Lee thinks the government “and everybody" should act on climate change.
“If you like fishing and hunting, it’s all tied into the climate. So I think if you’re a fisherman or a hunter you should care about that because it affects you pretty deeply,” Lee says.
Mark Kakatsch likes waterfowl hunting – OK, he loves it.
“I have a picture. I was probably 4-years-old and it was in the backyard. My dad, my grandfather — they’re kneeling down with a couple of Canada geese. That’s my earliest recollection that I have of being introduced to hunting,” Kakatsch says.
I chatted with Kakatsch, who grew up in Bay View, on the Horicon Marsh last weekend. He was inside the duck shack his dad bought 30 years ago.
“You just pull up, put on your waders, hop in the boat,” Kakatsch says.
We talked about the percentage of people who think the government should act on climate change. This reporter’s takeaway? If there were a 100% club, Kakatsch — who works for a cable company — would be its president.
“I feel I’ve had great friends that helped me learn, help teach a cable guy about biology, about what makes everything work, not just what makes a duck fly,” Kakatsch says.
Like a couple of the outdoors people we talked to, Kakatsch believes addressing climate change should be everyone’s passion, starting with the federal government.
And don’t bother trying to change Kakatsch’s mind.
