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Climate Change & Conservation eNews

Economy

Agrivoltaics
NREL and Hyperion Systems LLC

Agrivoltaics: Solar panels on farms could be a win-win

With more and more states realizing we are facing a climate crisis, the goal of becoming carbon neutral is picking up speed. Yet those renewables need to go somewhere. Land trusts can help communities understand how solar can be very compatible with agriculture if planned—and implemented—well. Personally, I think we need to move to "elevated" solar for a large portion of solar on agricultural lands. Here's an article to help you envision that. There is growing research and realization that this could help farmers economically and also enhance productivity and soil health.

The solar panels in the fields at the University of Massachusetts Crop Research and Education Center don’t look like what most of us have come to expect. Instead of hunkering close to the earth, they’re mounted seven feet off the ground, with ample room for farmers or cows to wander underneath.

Panels are separated by two and three-foot gaps, instead of clustering tightly together. Light streams through these spaces and, underneath, rows of leafy kale and Brussels sprouts replace the typical bare earth or grass…

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BlackRock boss Larry fink says protesters, such as these people in Australia, have been quicker to recognise the climate crisis than the financial sector
Jenny Evans/Getty Images

World’s biggest fund manager vows to divest from thermal coal

“BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, has announced it will put sustainability at the heart of its investment decisions.

In his annual letter to chief executives, the BlackRock boss, Larry Fink, writes that the climate emergency is altering how investors view the long-term prospects of companies. “Awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.”

Fink acknowledges that financial markets have been slower to reflect the threat to economic growth and prosperity posed by the climate crisis than protesters who have taken to the streets, including during the Extinction Rebellion demonstrations…”

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Misty River Mouth
Adam Meek under CC BY-SA 2.0

Tourism organizations reckon with wildfire

“A warmer and drier climate is expected to make wildfires worse, raising tough questions for regional marketers promoting the outdoors. Stretching from the northern edge of Crater Lake National Park to the Pacific Ocean, the 215-mile Rogue River serves as the lifeblood of the southern Oregon tourist economy, reliant on whitewater rafters, hikers and anglers each summer.

Brad Niva purchased Rogue Wilderness Adventures in 2006 and grew the company’s presence in that tourist economy, offering rafting, hiking and fishing trips on the river. At the height of the busy season each summer, Niva oversaw a staff of more than 100…”

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A Climate Reckoning In The Heartland

“I’m not a climate change guy, but…” Farmers reckon with new reality in the heartland: Video

Can you share this on your social media feed or with specific members of your local agriculture group? In this video, the farmer's newly daily routine at ~12 minutes might surprise you...

The reality is that protecting land for future generations is now more at risk than ever before: families’ lives are at stake. We need to rethink what conservation will mean into the future.

In response to troubling weather patterns and climate changes, some farmers in Nebraska are considering new solutions to keep their businesses afloat. One of those farmers, Graham Christensen, travels the country discussing a green farming initiative called regenerative farming…

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Field
Judy Anderson

The new plan to remove a trillion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? Bury it in farmland.

Called the Teraton Initiative (a “teraton” is a trillion tons), this company forecasts that the initiative (sounds like carbon payments) will sign up 3,000 farmers globally, including more than 1 million acres in 2019. Will your area farmers be part of this?

“Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere [recently] surpassed 415 parts per million, the highest in human history. Environmental experts say the world is increasingly on a path toward a climate crisis.

The most prominent efforts to prevent that crisis involve reducing carbon emissions. But another idea is also starting to gain traction—sucking all that carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it underground.

But an upstart company, ­Boston-based Indigo AG, now wants to transform farming practices so that agriculture becomes quite the opposite of what it is today (a major source of greenhouse gas emissions)…

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Corn In The Sun
Inside Climate News

Corn’s Troubled Future Under Climate Change

“There’s something horribly ironic about the recent report from Environment America that suggests American corn yields will decline 3 percent in coming years due to anthropogenic global warming.

The report itself is bad news.

It suggests that contrary to much-ballyhooed studies and predictions that American crop yields will increase due to a longer growing season and the carbon fertilization effect, which increases crop growth due to greater atmospheric carbon for plants to feed on, American corn farmers in coming years will lose over a billion dollars in revenue annually as irregular precipitation and overly-warm temperatures stunt crop growth…”

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Stock Photo Millennials
Pixabay

Top GOP Pollster Finds Overwhelming Support for Carbon Tax by Millennial Republicans

Looking to connect with the younger generations? They care about slowing down climate change. They want action.

“This is the first time we’ve polled a climate plan that has real positive appeal across Republicans and Democrats.”

A new survey finds Republicans under 40 support a carbon tax 7-to-1. And a remarkable 85% of Republican millennials are concerned that “the current Republican position on climate change is hurting the party with younger voters.”

But what makes this result so striking is that the survey was conducted by Frank Luntz, a top GOP strategist and pollster. Luntz wrote an infamous memo in 2002 detailing the exact words conservatives should use if they want to sound like they care about climate change without actually doing anything about it.

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Solar Farm With Flowers
Hyperion Systems LLC

Michigan to Allow Commercial Solar Panels on Conserved Farmland

“This administrative decision will not result in a loss of useable farmland,” MDARD Director Gary McDowell said in a statement. “The change ensures that Michigan’s farmland is preserved so we can continue to feed our communities while also balancing the need to develop renewable energy sources. This is an exciting new opportunity for Michigan’s farmers to diversify while they continue to face challenging circumstances.”

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Teal Mood Clouds
Victor Rodriguez/Unsplash

The future of the world is on the line, and our chance to fix it is now

“To have the best chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, the world needs to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius–and to do that, society needs to completely transform over the next three decades, according to a new report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Global CO2 emissions may need to peak around 2020. By midcentury, we have to reach net zero emissions.

The report explains why it’s so important that we meet the 1.5 degree target, and how difficult that will be to accomplish. The changes required, from energy to agriculture, are “unprecedented in terms of scale,” the group writes in a summary for policymakers. And right now, we’re not anywhere close to the path to make it happen…”

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Silos In Midwest Flooding
Hilary Swift/The New York Times

The Midwest flooding has killed livestock, ruined harvests and has farmers worried for their future

(CNN)Farmers in parts of Nebraska and Iowa had precious little time to move themselves from the floodwaters that rushed over their lands last week, so many left their livestock and last year’s harvest behind.

Now as they watch the new lakes that overtook their property slowly recede, some have a painfully long time to reflect: They lost so much, staying in business will be a mighty struggle.

Across parts of the Midwest, hundreds of livestock are drowned or stranded; valuable unsold, stored grain is ruined in submerged storage bins; and fields are like lakes, casting doubt on whether they can be planted this year.

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