Living With Thin Ice: Past Perspectives on Climate Change in Belfast, Maine with Emma C. Moesswilde

Living With Thin Ice: Past Perspectives on Climate Change in Belfast, Maine with Emma C. Moesswilde

How did Mainers experience climate change in the past? What might this history tell us about the present and future in light of the current climate crisis? This talk recounts the history of climate change and its impacts on Maine’s people and landscapes. Using historical records and recent data from climate scientists, it highlights the long and varied history of adaptations to extreme weather in Maine through stories of past experiences of climate change. Using the example of Belfast and mid-coast Maine, the talk outlines how and why climate history can offer valuable perspectives on climate change today, and what lessons the past might hold for current climate change conversations.

Watch the recording here.

Bio: Emma C. Moesswilde is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at Georgetown University. Her dissertation project investigates the relationships between climate change and agricultural practice by examining rural experiences seasonal variability across the British Northern Atlantic from 1540-1816. She is committed to incorporating multidisciplinary methods and evidence to understand how rural communities responded and adapted to climate change over the course of the early modern period.

Born and raised in midcoast Maine, Emma has lived and worked in rural communities and environments for much of her life, including projects with Maine Farmland Trust and Maine Conservation Voters. She graduated with a B.A. cum laude in History and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College in 2018, and also holds an M.A. in History from Georgetown.

Her scholarly work has contributed to publications such as Nature and H-Environment and been featured in Active History and NiCHE. Emma also co-hosts the podcast Climate History. She lives in Washington, D.C.

May 10, 2022