puffin in flight

Climate Change & Conservation eNews

Communications

Home > Climate News > Climate News: Communications

Migrating Shorebirds At Kimbles Beach NJ
Jacqueline Larma/AP

North America Has Lost 3 Billion Birds, Scientists Say

‘Over the past half-century, North America has lost more than a quarter of its entire bird population, or around 3 billion birds.

That’s according to a new estimate published in the journal Science by researchers who brought together a variety of information that has been collected on 529 bird species since 1970.

“We saw this tremendous net loss across the entire bird community,” says Ken Rosenberg, an applied conservation scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y. “By our estimates, it’s a 30% loss in the total number of breeding birds…”‘

Read More »
Nuthatch On Log
Pixabay

Most US birds are facing extinction unless we take action

One of the ways your land trust can help is to convey that unless we reduce fossil fuel consumption soon, much of what land trusts are working to conserve will be lost to climate change. This article offers several suggestions.

Like the canary in the coal mine, birds foreshadow danger to humans. Our nation’s birds are facing more and greater threats to their survival than ever before.

A study published in September in Science journal documented that since 1970, North America has lost about 3 billion birds, more than one in four birds on the continent. The National Audubon Society just released a report, Survival by Degrees, finding that 389 bird species in North America are at risk of extinction due to climate change, and more vulnerable than ever from rising temperatures and climate-related events.

The report clarifies what can be done…

Read More »
Greta Onboard Sail Boat
AFP via Getty Images

Greta Is Right: Study Shows Individual Lifestyle Change Boosts Systemic Climate Action

“It is really important that scientists, or other messengers who communicate with the public, model those behaviors that reduce carbon emissions to drive their point home,” one of the authors, Professor Elke Weber, said in an interview released yesterday by Princeton University.

“Our new research showed that the carbon footprints of those communicating the science not only affects their credibility, but also affects audience support…

Read More »
World Meteorological Organization Logo

WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin

The State of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere Based on Global Observations through 2018…

Read More »
Ice Fire Nasa Collage
Pixabay/NASA Public Domain

Carbon Dioxide Reaches Highest Recorded Levels In Human History

“We are in an unprecedented era, at no point in human history has carbon dioxide levels been this high, presenting concerning questions over what lies ahead.

This week the World Meteorological Organization published their yearly report on the “State of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere,” compiling data up to 2018.

The report, unsurprisingly, found that carbon dioxide reached an all-time high in 2018 since pre-industrial amounts. The highest recorded measurement in 2018 was 415.70 ppm on May 15, 2019, higher than it has ever been during human history…”

Read More »
Modernized Solar Panel Photo
University of Minnesota via CC

Solar PV power potential is greatest over croplands

“Solar energy has the potential to offset a significant fraction of non-renewable electricity demands globally, yet it may occupy extensive areas when deployed at this level. There is growing concern that large renewable energy installations will displace other land uses. Where should future solar power installations be placed to achieve the highest energy production and best use the limited land resource?…”

Read More »
Solar Panels
U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]/Flickr

Solar panels pair surprisingly well with tomatoes, peppers, and pollinators

American Farmland Trust's conference in November 2019 on solar and farmland was well attended. They will be posting links to the presentations soon. In the meantime, here is some of the research presented.

In ‘agrivoltaics,’ crops and solar panels not only share land and sunlight, but also help each other function more efficiently.

Big, utility-scale “solar farms” are one important source of solar power, helping complement smaller, less centralized sources like solar panels on the roofs of buildings. Solar farms take up a lot of space, though—and they thrive in places with many of the same qualities favored by food crops. As one recent study found, the areas with the greatest potential for solar power tend to already be in use as croplands, which makes sense, given the importance of sunlight for both…

Read More »
Solar Partnership
GVLT

Solar for conservation

Land conservation may provide up to 21% of climate change solutions if we modify our management approaches. Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy—and energy conservation—will be critical. How will your land trust promote all three?

“GVLT is proud to have conserved over 45,000 acres across our region. While protecting land from development and fragmentation is the first step, protecting the ecological integrity of our natural resources is equally as important which is why we’re proud to announce a partnership with On Site Energy. What’s the connection between land conservation and solar energy?

Fish need cold, clean water to survive, and rivers need high altitude snow pack to keep them flowing throughout hot summer days. Ranchers and farmers depend on the availability of that water for irrigation, and wildlife depend on the intricate balance of the changing seasons to maintain viable habitats…”

Read More »
TNC Climate Graphic Map Of USA
Land Trust Alliance/TNC

A Call to Action for land conservation in America

The Land Trust Alliance's President and CEO Andrew Bowman spoke at the national land trust conference this October with a rousing call to action...

Land conservation is playing—and can play—a critical role in slowing down climate change as well as adapting to its impact. Here, Andrew Bowman outlines a vision for what could be done…

“Let’s first examine the role that land conservation can play in mitigating climate change, both by preventing the conversion of intact natural lands and through land management practices, such as reforestation and active soil management on working lands..”

Read More »
MALT Sign
MALT

Can California’s protected farmland fight climate change?

Creating a page on your website dedicated to climate change is a good first step in raising awareness. But you need to drive people to your content: talk about it, post on social media, and share stories. Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) is talking about climate change. How might your land trust do the same? If your land trust focuses on agriculture, perhaps the following would be a good post to share, especially when you add your own pre-text to connect the dots with what you are doing.

“In the past year, the threat of climate change has risen to the forefront of public consciousness. With this growing awareness, many solutions are being offered to avert this crisis—from planting millions of trees to innovating electric car technology to passing state legislation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

One powerful tool to address climate change is putting in action land use planning policies that preserve working farms and ranches…”

Read More »