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NOAA

Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

“In fact, the last time the atmospheric CO2 amounts were this high was more than 3 million years ago, when temperature was 2°–3°C (3.6°–5.4°F) higher than during the pre-industrial era, and sea level was 15–25 meters (50–80 feet) higher than today.

Carbon dioxide concentrations are rising mostly because of the fossil fuels that people are burning for energy. Fossil fuels like coal and oil contain carbon that plants pulled out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis over the span of many millions of years; we are returning that carbon to the atmosphere in just a few hundred years…”

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Blue Newsletter Cover
Blue Mountain Land Trust

Featuring regenerative agriculture and climate change in their newsletter

Blue Mountain Land Trust, WA

Agriculture can be an important part of the climate solution and land trusts can help their communities understand that. The Blue Mountain Land Trust provided information about how that is the case, stating on their website:

“In our last issue, we reprinted Drawdown’s chapter on conservation agriculture. In this issue, we’re reprinting its chapter on regenerative agriculture. Other Drawdown chapters will be reprinted in future issues.

Thank you to Paul Hawken and his associates at Project Drawdown for permission to reprint these chapters.

If you’d like to learn more about regenerative agriculture and the role it plays in carbon sequestration, here’s a recommended reading list:

The Soil Will Save Us, Kristin Ohlson
Cows Save the Planet, Judith D. Schwartz
The Grazing Revolution: A Radical Pan to Save the Earth, Allan Savory
Restoration Agriculture, Mark Shephard
Grass, Soil and Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country, Courtney White
Growing a Revolution: Bringing our Soil Back to Life, David R. Montgomery
Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture, Gabe Brown

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Snowfield At Sunset
Joshua's Trust

Climate change informational talks for all ages

Joshua’s Trust and the Connecticut Museum of Natural History co-sponsored an informational session given by Dr. Anji Seth. Temperatures of 70-degrees on Jan. 12 felt wonderful, but left many wondering if extremes in temperature are the new normal.

“We are doing these three sessions because many are concerned and want to know what they can do locally. We want to ameliorate our climate anxiety,” Nancy Silander, JT trustee, said…

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SOlar on Office
Genesee Valley Conservancy

Office upgrades: Going solar

Historic 1 Main Street, built in 1835, has received its most recent modernization this fall with the addition of solar panels to provide clean electricity.

Building owners Meg and Billy Lloyd partnered with Genesee Valley Conservancy to install the photovoltaic system that will offset 100% of the land trust’s electric use. They acknowledge that “while the land trust works to protect habitat, open space, and farmland in the Genesee Valley, a large supply of power is needed to run the operations of this work: computers, printers, lights, modems, etc.”

The up-front costs were shared by the building owners and the Conservancy, as both will benefit from the project. The Conservancy will see an immediate reduction in monthly utility bills and after six years will break even on the initial investment and begin seeing a net-savings.

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Wooden Gate
Freeport Conservation Trust

Freeport Conservation Trust

“Freeport Conservation Trust is a grass-roots land trust dedicated to sharing Freeport’s special natural places, valued for recreation, wildlife habitat, clean water, farming, forestry and scenic beauty. Since 1977, our volunteers and staff have partnered with landowners, neighbors, local businesses, the Town of Freeport, and other groups to conserve and connect more than 1,500 acres of open space and nearly 20 miles of public trails. From ridgelines to ravines and islands to woodlands, together, we’re preserving the places you love…”

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Climate Change In Our Community
Freeport Conservation Trust

Climate change in our community: Impacts and response

In January, Freeport Conservation Trust partnered with a local arts group, Freeport Arts & Cultural Alliance, and local contributors, for a presentation of writing and art from the book A Dangerous New World: Maine Voices on the Climate Crisis. They then came together to discuss how people felt climate change is impacting them and what they can do about it. Partnering like this, with people who are local, can be very powerful.

Last year, they hosted a conversation at their annual meeting about how the impacts of climate change are being felt locally. They stated on their website:

“Casco Bay is warmer, the sea level is rising, and annual precipitation and extreme weather events have increased. It is critical that our community understands the impacts of climate change and takes steps to respond.”

Check out the presentation and how they related it to what people know and care about.

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Gas Flare
Orjan F. Ellingvag/Corbis via Getty Images

Methane is a hard-hitting greenhouse gas. Now scientists say we’ve dramatically underestimated how much we’re emitting

“Scientists and governments alike have been greatly underestimating emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas operations, according to new research published Wednesday, suggesting both a threat and also an opportunity to curb leaks of the hard-hitting molecule.

The contention emerges in a new study in the influential journal Nature, which draws on samples of ancient air extracted from within the Greenland ice sheet to measure levels of atmospheric methane before humans started burning fossil fuels…”

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Poppies And Solar Panels
Mrs. Green's World

Tucson Electric Power Series

Tucson Electric Power (TEP) provides safe, reliable and increasingly sustainable electric service to approximately 425,000 customers in Southern Arizona. The company is on track to surpass its own ambitious renewable energy goals by expanding use of wind and solar power. TEP is a local leader in community service, volunteerism and economic development efforts, with energy efficiency programs that help customers to better manage their energy costs. It is with great pride that we spotlight TEP programs and services.

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Sheep On A Solar Wagon
Screenshot Mrs. Green's World

Mrs. Green is happy…

A flock of sheep chews away the weeds that grow underneath one of Tucson Electric Power’s (TEP) solar arrays instead of lawnmowers, spray, or weed trimmers, demonstrating one way TEP supports eco-friendly practices.

“To make sure our large solar array gets plenty of sun, we can’t let the weeds grow too high. That’s where the sheep come in,” said Ericca Suarez, a Technical Specialist in Renewable Energy. “It really is more sustainable to use the sheep.” Rancher Rusty Cocke manages the herd to keep the panels productive while preventing damage to the 1,200-acre site.

Learn more about the programs, sustainable practices and powerful partnerships fostered by Tucson Electric Power in the Tucson Electric Power Podcast Series.

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Bumblebee
Pixabay

Climate change contributes to widespread declines among bumble bees across continents

“One aspect of climate change is an increasing number of days with extreme heat. [Research scientists] analyzed a large dataset of bumble bee occurrences across North America and Europe and found that an increasing frequency of unusually hot days is increasing local extinction rates, reducing colonization and site occupancy, and decreasing species richness within a region..”

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