Climate News: Community - Community Consultants

“Earthrise” by Amanda Gorman

Sometimes sharing a poem or image is a powerful way to connect with those around you. For me, music and poetry provide a place to slow down and connect to what I care about. If you haven't listened to Amanda Gorman recite this poem, you may enjoy it.

“On Christmas Eve, 1968, astronaut Bill Anders
Snapped a photo of the earth
As Apollo 8 orbited the moon…”

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Psychologists are learning how to bolster the health of humans and the environment as the planet warms

Land and water conservation, and climate solutions, need to support those who will treasure it for generations to come. With increasing stress on people, as well as natural systems, we need to think holistically and be honest about the solutions.

“We are concerned about the findings,” said Clayton, a psychology professor at the College of Wooster in Ohio. “Negative emotions and pessimistic beliefs can be a source of stress that leads to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.” Nearly half of the participants reported that their feelings about climate change negatively affected aspects of their daily lives, such as sleeping, socializing, school, and work…

What is the AgriSolar Clearinghouse?

Solar installations may cover more than 3 million acres of the United States over the next decade, opening the door for PV to be paired with agricultural land to produce food, conserve ecosystems, and maximize income for farmers. This opportunity, led by the National Center for Appropriate Technology to launch, is said to be the nation’s first AgriSolar Clearinghouse to connect farmers, ranchers, land managers, solar developers, and researchers with information about co-locating solar and agriculture...

The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is an information-sharing, relationship-building, public communications hub for all things agrisolar. The AgriSolar community will:

Connect farmers, developers, researchers, and the public
Provide practical technical assistance
Develop best practices and innovative solutions to barriers
Evaluate innovative financing options
Promote sustainable agrisolar opportunities

Virtual Solar Symposium

I thought you might appreciate the upcoming Solar and Wildlife/Natural Resources Symposium from December 1st – 3rd. It's remote; they will share recordings after the sessions if you are busy during that time. There's a very interesting mix of speakers and topics. American Farmland Trust, Defenders of Wildlife, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society, and American Solar Grazing Association are presenting, to name a few.

Dual-use solar is increasingly recognized as a way to accelerate climate “mitigation” (slowing down) while enhancing farm and ranch viability, soil health, and water management.

For many people in the conservation field, as well as community members, this perspective and the supporting data require a paradigm shift.

Agriculture

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Farmers combat climate change

Farmers can be part of the climate solution — and many already are. If you or your land trust works with farmers, you might consider how to amplify the positive change agriculture can be.

American Farmland Trust is committed to making U.S. agriculture climate neutral. To do so, we are elevating the role of farmers and farmland in adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. From policy leadership, coalition building, and training, to research and on-the-ground demonstration projects, we are working to scale up the adoption of regenerative and soil health-promoting agricultural systems…

Kathryn Donohew/Getty Images

Communications

Community

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.

COP26

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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.

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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.

Werner Slocum, NREL

The future of agriculture combined with renewable energy finds success at Jack’s Solar Garden

Across the world, and here in the U.S., those who care about farm and ranch viability, healthy soils, and water retention are realizing that elevated solar, and solar that works well with large animals and crops, is going to be an important piece in the conservation puzzle.

Jack’s Solar Garden is the largest commercially active agrivoltaics system researching crop and vegetation growth under photovoltaic solar panels in the United States. The garden generates enough power for more than 300 homes from 3,276 solar panels (6 ft and 8 ft) that create a 1.2-MW community solar garden.

Audubon Rockies, a regional office of the bird protection society, established their largest Habitat Hero pollinator habitat in Colorado around the solar array, while a local nonprofit farming organization, Sprout City Farms, trains young farmers to cultivate crops under the solar panels…

Judy Anderson

Communications

Community

Renewables

Best practices in local review of community solar in rural areas

The Columbia Land Conservancy is hosting a series of webinars about community solar. Your area land trust could do this too. You can listen to the first webinar and download the slides, all of which are very informative.

Community solar projects have numerous novel features, compared to other types of development. During this session, Adriana Beltrani, an Environmental Planner with the firm Nelson, Pope, Voorhis will present what to look for in a complete site plan application package and explore ways for local planning boards to ensure that information about important resources and other local priorities are considered during the site design and review.

The session seeks to provide attendees with the tools to appropriately investigate, avoid, and mitigate potential impacts from solar projects…

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“Earthrise” by Amanda Gorman

Psychologists are learning how to bolster the health of humans and the environment as the planet warms

What is the AgriSolar Clearinghouse?

Virtual Solar Symposium

Farmers combat climate change

Therapists in Maine are treating more people for climate anxiety

Uniting the world to tackle climate change

Dramatic increase in public beliefs and worries about climate change

The future of agriculture combined with renewable energy finds success at Jack’s Solar Garden

Best practices in local review of community solar in rural areas

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