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Family forests: An untapped powerhouse in climate change mitigation
[T]he American Forest Foundation and TNC have partnered to develop the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) to remove the barriers smaller landowners often face—carbon market access, lack of forest management expertise, and cost—to help them optimize the carbon storage potential of the 290 million acres of privately-owned U.S. forestland.
Meeting that potential requires helping those individuals and families adopt a science-based approach to take advantage of incentives for specific forest management practices that measurably enhance carbon sequestration. It requires engaging local foresters who have decades of experience working with private landowners.
Through sustainable management, landowners can reduce their expenses by as much as 75 percent…
How art can inspire viewers toward climate action
Land trusts have long worked with artists to elevate the importance of land and water, and to connect with their community. Current examples abound from local art sales, like the Agricultural Stewardship Association’s art show featuring farms and area landscapes, to the New Canaan Sculpture Trail.
Increasingly, with the growing realization of how climate change is the greatest threat to conservation we have yet seen, land trusts are now working with artists to inspire change and action.
One example is the D&R Greenway Land Trust. Back in 2016, the D&R Greenway Land Trust was in its 27th year of preserving and protecting natural lands, farmlands, and open spaces throughout central and southern New Jersey. Their art partnership was focused on raising the profile of climate change on the lands and waters people love—and the need for action.
Healthy Soils Grant
A $2 million grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been awarded to the Vermont Land Trust to help farmers implement practices that enhance the health of their soils. The Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) Program and the On-Farm Trials of NRCS stimulate the adoption and evolution of innovative conservation approaches in partnership with farmers.
The Vermont Land Trust, Biological Capital, and the University of Vermont Extension will work with approximately 25 conserved farms to create, implement, and evaluate practices that enhance the health of soil, including its ability to store carbon. This is the only Vermont-based project to receive CIG funding…
The Vermont Land Trust will provide project oversight, work directly with farmers, and manage…
How important is climate change to voters in the 2020 election?
As Election Day nears, a majority of registered voters in the United States say climate change will be a very (42%) or somewhat (26%) important issue in making their decision about whom to vote for in the presidential election, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted July 27–August 2…
100% renewable energy: what we can do in 10 years
It will take at least three decades to completely leave behind fossil fuels. But we can do it. And the first step is to start with the easy stuff…
Fracking linked to rare birth defect in horses: study
This is believed to be the first study to find fracking chemicals in farm water linked to birth defects in farm animals.
In 2014, veterinarians at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals in Ithaca, New York, realized that they’d diagnosed five out of 10 foals born on one farm in Pennsylvania with the same rare birth defect…
Kiss the Ground
A cure for climate change starts with a simple solution right under our feet. Kiss The Ground is now streaming on Netflix, and the exclusive, live Q&A with Gisele Bündchen, Woody Harrelson, and Ian Somerhalder, plus the filmmakers, farmers, and activists behind the regenerative movement, is right here.
Natural debate: do forests grow better with our help or without?
The study is the most detailed attempt yet to map where forests could grow back naturally, and to assess the potential of those forests to accumulate carbon. “We looked at almost 11,000 measurements of carbon uptake from regrowing forests, measured in around 250 studies around the world,” Cook-Patton told Yale Environment 360…
Let’s talk climate
You know that the science on climate change is clear. But less than half of us talk about it with family and friends—and we can’t fix what we don’t talk about.
Check out our how-to guide for simple tips to get the conversation started. You’ll learn:
- What’s more important than being an expert on the facts
- How to connect to the person across from you
- The kinds of questions to ask if you get stuck…
Climate primer: how to talk about climate change
Climate change-related threats—from record wildfires to worsening heatwaves, floods, and storms—are affecting more and more people around the world. So why aren’t we acting on the increasingly evident changes around us?
One reason is too many people still see climate change as a faraway threat—one their children or grandchildren, people in distant countries or polar bears will face—but not one that will hit them personally, or that needs attention now…