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Girl Holding Globe
Brittainy Newman/The New York Times

Americans see climate as a concern, even amid Coronavirus crisis

Yes, your land trust can still talk about climate change and the solutions that you—and others—can and are doing. Researchers thought Covid-19 might displace climate change as a threat in the American mind. It hasn’t, according to a new survey.

Americans’ positions on climate change have remained largely unshaken by the Coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis, according to a new national survey that showed acceptance of the reality of global warming at record highs in some categories.

In the report, Climate Change in the American Mind, written by researchers at Yale University and George Mason University and made public on Tuesday, 73 percent of those polled said that climate change was happening, which matches the highest level of acceptance previously measured by the survey, from 2019.

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Im Not Racist Tho
VICKY LETA / MASHABLE

6 ways to be antiracist, because being ‘not racist’ isn’t enough

“One cannot strive to be antiracist without action, and Kendi says that one way to act is by supporting organizations in your community that are fighting policies that create racial disparities. You can volunteer for or fund those organizations. Kendi also recommends using one’s power or getting into a position of power to change racist policies in any setting where they exist—school, work, government, and so on. The point is to commit to some form of action that has the potential to change racist policies…”

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Climate Justice Is Social Justice March
Eric Risberg/AP

I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet.

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson quotes Toni Morrison in a poignant article for the Washington Post, entitled "I'm a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet."

‘The very serious function of racism…is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.’

Johnson goes on to say, “As a marine biologist and policy nerd, building community around climate solutions is my life’s work. But I’m also a black person in the United States of America. I work on one existential crisis, but these days I can’t concentrate because of another.

People of color disproportionately bear climate impacts, from storms to heatwaves to pollution. Fossil-fueled power plants and refineries are disproportionately located in black neighborhoods, leading to poor air quality and putting people at higher risk for coronavirus…Look, I would love to ignore racism and focus all my attention on climate. But I can’t. Because I am human. And I’m black. And ignoring racism won’t make it go away…”

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George Floyd
CNN

George Floyd’s memorial and funeral services will take place in Minneapolis, Houston, and North Carolina

This week has been a difficult week and today is another sad, and challenging, day. In the face of escalating violence against people of color and those responding with a call for change, I trust you stand with me in our fight against racism. It isn't enough to be against racism, you must be actively anti-racist. It must be authentic, heartfelt, and sustained.

Services honoring George Floyd, who died while being arrested in Minneapolis, will take place in three states over the course of six days…

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Volcanic Activity On Snow
NASA

Fire and ice: Why volcanic activity is not melting the polar ice sheets

NASA helps explain what is going on in a conversational voice, with really cool photos and graphs. If you like science, this is a good read.

There are many places on Earth where fire meets ice. Volcanoes located in high-latitude regions are frequently snow- and ice-covered. In recent years, some have speculated that volcanic activity could be playing a role in the present-day loss of ice mass from Earth’s polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. But does the science support that idea?

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Farmer Looking Over Shoulder At Tractor
ChavoBart Digital Media

How improving soil health can help farmers adapt to extreme weather

Do you want to help spread the word about climate action while also helping farmers? Does your local land trust work with farmers? This might be something to share on social media or as part of your land trust's eNews.

Heavy rain can wash topsoil off farm fields. Droughts can leave crops withering in the sun. But improving soil health can help farmers adapt to extreme weather.

Healthy soil absorbs and holds more water, so farms can better withstand droughts and floods. Jennifer Moore-Kucera of the American Farmland Trust says healthy soil also stores more carbon, which helps slow global warming…

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Cows
Solar Builder Mag

How solar farms can be regenerative for soil and sequester more carbon

With Natural Climate Solutions estimated to be 21% in this country, we need renewables—and fast—to save the places we love. Solar installations can be done in a manner that helps agricultural viability and soil health. Here's a good example. We can help people see solutions and encourage better design and management.

What if renewable energy was not just sustainable but was also regenerative? This is the goal of a partnership between White Oak Pastures and Silicon Ranch Corporation, an independent solar power producer under the umbrella of Shell.

In 2020 alone, this partnership will bring holistic planned livestock grazing and regenerative land management practices to nearly 2,400 solar farm acres in Southwest Georgia to create carbon sinks, restore biodiversity and soil health, and add to the environmental, social, and economic benefits of these clean energy projects…

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Model Of Oceanic Climate
Los Alamos National Laboratory

CMIP6: the next generation of climate models explained

“Climate models are one of the primary means for scientists to understand how the climate has changed in the past and may change in the future. These models simulate the physics, chemistry and biology of the atmosphere, land and oceans in great detail, and require some of the largest supercomputers in the world to generate their climate projections…”

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Wind And Sea
Shutterstock

Just how hot will it get this century? It’s worse than we thought

Climate scientists use mathematical models to project the Earth’s future under a warming world, but a group of the latest models have included unexpectedly high values for a measure called “climate sensitivity.”

But the new climate sensitivity values raise the question of whether previous climate modelling has underestimated potential climate change and its effects, or whether the new models are overdoing things.

If the high estimate is right, this would require the world to make greater and more urgent emission cuts to meet any given warming target…

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Screen Shot Of Testimony

The Right Thing To Do: Conservatives for Climate Action Hearing

Watch the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis who will hear from republicans who support climate action…

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