puffin in flight

Climate Change & Conservation eNews

Communications

Lobster Shack
Kathryn Donohew/Getty Images

Therapists in Maine are treating more people for climate anxiety

Perhaps you can relate to this article about how therapists in Maine are treating more people for climate anxiety.

‘What do you call a lobsterman when there are no more lobsters?’

The climate crisis is impacting all aspects of people’s lives, from rising temperatures outsides, to food supply, to even the money in people’s wallets. And it’s particularly worrying Maine residents who rely on consistent climates for a living — and their identity.

Read More »
Logging
Wikus de Wet/AFP via Getty Images

These World Heritage Forests have gone from removing carbon from the atmosphere to emitting it

With the international climate talks getting considerable press, there's been more interest in sharing climate-related impacts, as well as solutions. For example, you might find the research documenting that World Heritage forests are releasing more carbon than they absorb, of interest.

Human activity and climate change-fueled disasters have turned 10 of the planet’s internationally recognized forests, also known as World Heritage sites, from carbon absorbers into carbon emitters, researchers have found. The report from UNESCO found these sites can absorb approximately 190 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year — roughly half the amount of the United Kingdom’s annual fossil fuel emissions.

Read More »
Glasgow
COP26

Uniting the world to tackle climate change

Have you been following some of the recent research around climate change? With the international climate talks getting considerable press, there's been more interest in sharing climate-related impacts, as well as solutions.

The UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021. The COP26 summit brought parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Read More »
Tree Plastic
iStock

Trees should be planted without plastic guards, says UK study

As land trusts ramp up natural climate solutions, including tree plantings, there are a lot of things to consider. Plastic tubing is one of them.

Since the 1970s, saplings have generally been planted in translucent plastic tubes to protect them from being eaten by browsing animals. However, the research — which analyzed the lifecycle of the plastic and trees — found it was better to lose a certain percentage of saplings than use plastic guards to protect them…

Read More »
Beach Trash
KatharineHayhoe.com

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe: Talking climate in a polarized environment

In case you missed this, her talk is still relevant. The Climate Citizens Lobby is something worth checking out, too.

Join Katharine Hayhoe for the opening plenary for Climate Citizens Lobby’s February 2021 Regional Conferences as she untangles the science behind how our beliefs shape our identity and highlights the key role our values can play in shaping our conversations on this crucial topic…

Read More »
Selfie
Pixabay

Dramatic increase in public beliefs and worries about climate change

If you are curious about how your region stacks up, by county, on the scale of climate concern, you can check out the Climate Opinion Maps by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

“Americans’ belief that global warming is happening has increased six percentage points since March. Americans who think that global warming is happening now outnumber those who think it is not happening by more than 6 to 1.”

Check out the maps and data. It might be something you could share with others.

Read More »
Solar
Robin Lubbock/WBUR

What you need to know about the new Mass. climate law

Listen to this short (7 min) news report by WBUR about the new Massachusetts climate law.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed a sweeping climate bill into law on Friday, signaling a new era in Massachusetts’ plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, build a greener economy and prioritize equity and environmental justice…

Read More »
pine cones
Judy Anderson

A climate mitigation opportunity in New England and New York

"WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A CLIMATE CRISIS. A steadily increasing excess of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, predominantly from fossil fuel use by humans, is driving rapid changes in the global climate system..."

This study quantifies the climate mitigation that could be achieved by avoiding deforestation in seven states across the northeastern US. Forest losses to development, agriculture and other land uses release carbon to the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and associated climate change.

Read More »
Deciduous Forest
Charles Krupa/AP

New England forests can help slow climate change. A new report shows exactly how much

If we are going to meet our climate goals, we need to support nature-based solutions, like forests and farms. That will mean finding ways to slow down climate change and get off fossil fuels so that forests and soils remain healthy.

The report by researchers at Clark University, called “Avoided Deforestation: A Climate Mitigation Opportunity in New England and New York,” provides hard numbers for officials trying to hit their climate goals — for instance, Massachusetts’ ambitious plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050…

Read More »
Solara
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE

Agrivoltaics to protect crops from heavy rainfall

If agriculture is going to flourish in a changing climate, we need to think about how to support it given increasingly extreme weather, blights, and management challenges. With millions of dollars going to farm viability efforts in the U.S. every year, it's completely possible that we as a country would also start to channel some of those funds to support elevated solar. Solar and orchards is a new idea for me, but I could see it having a lot of benefits in areas dealing with hail and extreme weather.

BayWa r.e. and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have built a 258 kW agrivoltaic system that hosts apple cultivation under four different crop protection systems. The system utilizes agrivoltaic technology with permanent, light-permeable PV modules that block rain, and tracking PV module tech that blocks rain only if necessary…

Read More »