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Chronicles of the Rings: What Trees Tell Us
Reading the climate stories trees tell will help with forecasting. “One of the big questions in the field is what’s going to happen to the jet stream,” said Dr. Trouet. “This data helps the modeling of climate change become more reliable.”
Trees, it seems, are giant organic recording devices that contain information about past climate, civilizations, ecosystems, and even galactic events, much of it many thousands of years old…
As climate change bites in America’s midwest, farmers are desperate to ring the alarm
“Richard Oswald did not need the latest US government report on the creeping toll of climate change to tell him that farming in the midwest is facing a grim future, and very likely changing forever.
For Oswald, the moment of realisation came in 2011.
The 68-year-old lives in the house he was born in and farms 2,500 acres with his son, some of it settled by his great-great-grandfather. The land sits where the Missouri river valley is about four miles wide.
Growing up, Oswald heard tales of a great flood in 1952 which prompted the army to construct levees…”
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.
Farm Bureau Shows Little Concern About Climate Change Agricultural Effects
Those of us who don’t grow our own food may lose sight of how much risk is involved in agriculture. But the recent floods in the Midwest are a startling reminder that farming can be a precarious occupation because of climate change, with its unpredictable and sometimes downright wild weather.
Not enough water or far too much; sweltering days or frigid ones; and unexpected shifts in the timing of all these things can put farmers in trouble. As the headline of a worthwhile overview story in The Guardian puts it, “As Climate Change Bites in America’s Midwest, Farmers are Desperate to Ring the Alarm.”
Greta Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: ‘Some people can let things go. I can’t’
One day last summer, aged 15, she skipped school, sat down outside the Swedish parliament – and inadvertently kicked off a global movement.
Greta Thunberg cut a frail and lonely figure when she started a school strike for the climate outside the Swedish parliament building last August. Her parents tried to dissuade her. Classmates declined to join. Passersby expressed pity and bemusement at the sight of the then unknown 15-year-old sitting on the cobblestones with a hand-painted banner.
Eight months on, the picture could not be more different. The pigtailed teenager is feted across the world as a model of determination, inspiration and positive action. National presidents and corporate executives line up to be criticised by her, face to face. Her skolstrejk för klimatet (school strike for climate) banner has been translated into dozens of languages. And, most striking of all, the loner is now anything but alone…
Greta Thunberg: Saving Your World
“Greta Thunberg cut a frail and lonely figure when she started a school strike for the climate outside the Swedish parliament building last August. Her parents tried to dissuade her. Classmates declined to join. Passersby expressed pity and bemusement at the sight of the then unknown 15-year-old sitting on the cobblestones with a hand-painted banner.
Eight months on, the picture could not be more different. The pigtailed teenager is feted across the world as a model of determination, inspiration and positive action. National presidents and corporate executives line up to be criticised by her, face to face. Her skolstrejk för klimatet (school strike for climate) banner has been translated into dozens of languages. And, most striking of all, the loner is now anything but alone…” [excerpt from The Guardian].
Greta leads the world in fighting climate change because she confronts people with reality—while using language that connects to what people care about and provides us with a way to change. Check out a video compilation of her speeches.
Soil champions: farmers lead
Farmers take risks all year long and with climate change, those risks are growing with extreme and unpredictable weather. Yet we know from research that soils can and do impact how fast climate change will accelerate—or slow down.
American Farmland Trust, in partnership with farmers and partners, is ramping up its communications efforts to support farmers in this transition. Check out this short video where the farmers of Long Island, NY, talk about the changes they have made, and why.
Fourth National Climate Assessment
These Summary Findings represent a high-level synthesis of the material in the underlying report. The findings consolidate Key Messages and supporting evidence from 16 national-level topic chapters, 10 regional chapters, and 2 chapters that focus on societal response strategies (mitigation and adaptation). Unless otherwise noted, qualitative statements regarding future conditions in these Summary Findings are broadly applicable across the range of different levels of future climate change and associated impacts considered in this report.
What land conservationists can do: Open Lands Land Trust is communicating about climate change
Climate science can be cumbersome and disheartening, including when the White House released the much anticipated Fourth National Climate Assessment, a sweeping Federal review of the impact of climate change on the natural environment, agriculture, human health, forests, transportation, and natural resources. The report, which was authored by scientists from 13 federal agencies and climatologists from across the country, documents in explicit terms the changes to our climate that have already occurred in the United States.
The Open Lands Land Trust observes that reports like this no doubt will lead to some anxiety for many of us. But they want to prepare you with information and talking points so you can advocate for climate action right now.
Farmers showcase climate smart agriculture policies in action
CalCAN co-organized a farm and ranch tour in Solano County that highlighted climate-beneficial farming practices and several state-funded Climate Smart Agriculture programs that harness agricultural opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. Greenbelt Alliance, Solano Land Trust, Dixon Resource Conservation District (RCD), and Solano RCD joined CalCAN in organizing the tour…
Soil is the foundation of agricultural productivity and sustainability, global food security, and our rural economies. Healthy soils (see the program in California) not only lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, but also improve crop yields, drought and flood tolerance, and air and water quality. The health of our soils is improved through farm management that increases soil organic matter and reduces reliance on fossil fuel-based inputs.