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Citizen science programs, iNaturalist app, makes climate change real
Through its citizen science programs, Redwood Watch and Fern Watch, the Save The Redwoods League (a land trust in California) works with community members to help study where redwood forest plants and animals live throughout the redwood range, and track changes in the forest over time, including climate impact.
The land trust has a variety of programs centered around climate change research and uses iNaturalist to help with community plant identification. Check out the fern watch program…
Dems, GOP agree more than they think on climate change
Just how far apart are Republicans and Democrats when it comes to views on climate change?
Not nearly as far as most assume, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research that surveyed more than 2,000 adults.
“Despite what we often hear about the deep divisions between parties, we found that there is actually general agreement that climate change is real, that human activity causes climate change, and that we should do something about it,” said Leaf Van Boven, a psychology and neuroscience professor at CU Boulder and lead author of the study, published today in Perspectives on Psychological Science…
A regional land trust works to combat climate change with guidelines for building clean energy
Scenic Hudson has developed siting and design principles for renewable energy development to help stakeholders find common ground in a regional model for increased renewable energy development that also protects natural and economic resources:
- Prioritize development on previously disturbed areas
- Protect agricultural lands and promote co-location
- Protect natural beauty protect ecological resources
- Protect historic and cultural resources
- Maintain the purpose of conserved lands
- Avoid and minimize new transmission and distribution lines
- Use construction and operation best practices
- Promote sustainable renewable energy development through planning and zoning
Perhaps your land trust or community would find these guidelines helpful.
Why are America’s farmers killing themselves?
“It is dark in the workshop, but what light there is streams in patches through the windows. Cobwebs coat the wrenches, the cans of spray paint and the rungs of an old wooden chair where Matt Peters used to sit. A stereo plays country music, left on by the renter who now uses the shop…”
Michigan farmers, residents, praise wind power
Farmers are committing suicide in record numbers—in the US and around the world. Crop and water disasters are a major part of this, resulting in loss of income, massive debt, and unending despair. For some, “farming energy” with solar and wind, along with more traditional agricultural products, may avoid the unhappy reality of selling for development.
“For those committed to farmland conservation programs, Mills said, wind farms and wind turbines help keep farmers living on their farm lands, help attract and retain younger people, and help provide diversified funding streams…”
This farmer turns manure into clean water and it may be the future of farming
Austin Allred is so devoted to dairy farming that he switched over to it after growing up as a crop farmer. He now runs Royal Dairy, located in central Washington, where cows are a powerful tool in an astonishing process that creates bio-rich soil and clean irrigation water while cutting down greenhouse gases.
That’s because as much as Royal Dairy cares about what goes into the cows, visitors will quickly realize that their operation is equally concerned with what comes out of them…
What moral heroes are made of
Conservation might be seen as a heroic task. It involves taking the here-and-now and thinking into the future, against great odds. With climate change it means re-thinking what is a good use of our time and what is truly urgent. Just what are moral heroes made of? Maybe they are describing you…
Climate change is happening, here’s how you can help
Talking about climate change and the impacts it is having on the animals, communities, and landscapes people care about is critical. Walking the walk demonstrates the land trust really cares about the issue and is serious about its pledge to conserve land for generations to come.
Providing community members with steps they can take is central to them staying involved and being part of the solution. Check out how one land trust is doing this…
Brilliant teen’s invention to remove all plastic from ocean is finally becoming a reality
A solution to the catastrophic plastic pollution in the ocean, now a problem even in the Great Lakes, is getting a major boost. When Boyan Slat was 16 years old, he found himself coming across more plastic than fish while diving in Greece. It was then that he decided to dedicate a high school project to investigating ocean plastic pollution and how he could make a difference.
Check out what’s about to happen off the coast of California this summer…
Talking about solar as part of the solution
“As a conservation organization, Otsego Land Trust understands that climate change is an enormous conservation challenge. Our work protecting forest and farmlands, wetlands, open space, and wildlife habitat makes a positive contribution to mitigating the negative damage of climate change…”