Books worth reading: “The New Climate War”
In The New Climate War, Dr. Michael Mann, one of the world’s leading climate scientists and communicators, argues that all is not lost. He draws the battle lines between the people and the polluters — fossil fuel companies, right-wing plutocrats, and petrostates. And he outlines a plan for forcing our governments and corporations to wake up and make real change, including…
The environmental performance of protecting seedlings with plastic tree shelters
Highlights
• Plastic waste pollution should be considered when increasing woodland cover.
• We compared the environmental impact of planting trees with and without shelters.
• Planting seedlings without tree shelters is the environmentally preferable option.
Trees should be planted without plastic guards, says UK study
Darren Moorcroft, chief executive of the Woodland Trust, said: “As one of the nation’s largest tree planters, by committing to go plastic-free in terms of the use of tree shelters, we are set to be the trailblazers in this field – catalysing a permanent change to the tree-planting world.”
Assisted migration aims to help forests — and people — adapt to a swiftly changing climate
“Models predict that natural migration rates of tree species will likely not be able to keep up with the rapid pace of climate change,” said Heidi Asbjornsen, associate professor of natural resources and the environment at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.”
The future value of ecosystem services: Global scenarios and national implications
“Ecosystem services are a major contributor to sustainable human wellbeing…”
Americans see spread of disease as top international threat, along with terrorism, nuclear weapons, cyberattacks
“Americans continue to see many international issues – including terrorism, the spread of nuclear weapons and cyberattacks – as major threats to the well-being of the nation. But as the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, the greatest threat named by Americans in a March 3-29 Pew Research Center survey is the spread of infectious diseases.”
Why psychology should be a part of the fight against climate change
“Climate change isn’t just a political, social and economic issue. It’s also a deeply psychological one — and now, behavioral scientists are using psychology to better understand the complex relationship between people and nature.”
Climate change is a major threat to us all, but here’s why you might not care
“When it comes to communicating the dangers of climate change — a pretty pressing task when fewer than 1 in 4 Americans say they’re extremely worried about it — it’s not so simple as reminding people how bad the outlook for the planet is.
In fact, scientists in the burgeoning field of conservation psychology warn, there may be a limit to how much bad news about the climate people can handle before they become numb to it.”
Amid worrisome signs of warming, ‘Climate Fatigue’ sets in
“Climate news seems to have been all bad since the Nobel Prize–winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) came out with its fourth assessment in February 2007.”
The antidote to climate dread
There have long been concerns in the climate science community about possible public “fatigue” at being bombarded with dire news of the worsening climate, and having this lead to widespread dread or overwhelm, which can create an emotional barrier to actually taking action.