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Agrisolar Clearinghouse

Farmer first solar: Agrivoltaics webinar series

The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is hosting a series of webinars around the ins and outs of agrivoltaics. This might be a good thing to share with community members, your friends and neighbors, and other conservation folks.

The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is an information-sharing, relationship-building public communications hub for all things agrisolar. The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is offering a free series of webinars regarding research on how solar and agriculture can work (and are working) together to enhance farm/ranch viability, soil health, and water management.

Webinar topics include: the cost of agrivoltaics, growing crops under solar panels, taste differences among crops grown under panels, solar and pollinator habitats, and more. You can sign up here, or watch recordings of past webinars.

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Canopy Fire
Federico Rios for The New York Times

Stopping climate change is doable, but time is short, U.N. panel warns

Sometimes land conservationists ask me why they should advocate for energy conservation efforts or find ways to link compatible renewables to their conservation work when they are so busy working to conserve the lands we all cherish. It's a valid question that rests on a dwindling window of time to stop the climate pollution that is driving the extreme weather, and the related impacts that go along with it.

Nations need to move away much faster from fossil fuels to retain any hope of preventing a perilous future on an overheated planet, according to a major new report on climate change released on Monday, although they have made some progress because of the falling costs of clean energy.

The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, warns that unless countries drastically accelerate efforts over the next few years to slash their emissions from coal, oil and natural gas, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, will likely be out of reach by the end of this decade.

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By Degrees

By Degrees: Covering climate change

New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) is leading the charge — making climate change front and center in their communications.

Human activity is warming the planet. This change is already reshaping how we live and interact with our environment in New Hampshire, across New England and beyond. And just as more people than ever were beginning to wake up to the climate emergency, our lives collided with the coronavirus pandemic and a generational reckoning on racial justice.

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Ccl
CCL

Our solution to climate change? Democracy.

Conserving Carolina says, "Three cheers for our partners the Citizens Climate Lobby who successfully supported this [carbon tax credit] policy in Canada and who are mobilizing grassroots support for it in the U.S.! Citizen lobbyists are the heart of this campaign. If you want to be a part of the solution, find your local chapter of CCL and get involved." Check it out....

We empower everyday people to work together on climate solutions…

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Kindle
iStock

A review of invasive species reporting apps for citizen science and opportunities for innovation

The Northwest Climate Adaption Center provides reliable and interesting information related to climate change impacts and solutions. This is a scientific article they posted that might be of interest.

While more reporting apps are developed each year, innovation across diverse functionalities and data management in this field are occurring separately and simultaneously amongst numerous research groups with little attention to trends, priorities, and opportunities for improvement.

This creates the risk of duplication of effort and missed opportunities for implementing new and existing functionalities that would directly benefit IAS research and management…

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Thoughtful Ag
NRDC

Fighting climate change through farming

In Central California, small ranches and farms are growing their connections — to the land, to the past, and to each other. And that's happening all over this country. This article includes a video that features a Midwest farmer taking action around clover crops. We need to share these stories so people understand that farming is part of the climate solution.

Some research suggests that widespread trapping of carbon in soil through practices such as cover cropping, low- or no-till cultivation, and crop rotation could globally store up to the equivalent of eight billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year—nearly matching current annual emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, though more research is needed to determine if the gains decline overtime…

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The Secret Weapon to Healthier Soil

Watch this short video about covers and how they help farmers and farmland.

Cover crops, an age-old farming strategy, can help boost soil health, protect water sources, and create fields that are more resilient to climate change. Watch how…

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Poppy For Peace
Max Pixel

Here’s how Americans can donate to help people in Ukraine

If you'd like to help Ukrainians, you can find ideas here.

“Across the country, many Americans are desperate to support Ukraine as its people try to fend off a Russian invasion that has left hundreds dead, thousands homeless and millions fearful of what could become of their country in the weeks ahead…”

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Planting Trees
Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The surprising downsides to planting trillions of trees

Large tree-planting initiatives often fail — and some have even fueled deforestation. There’s a better way.

On November 11, 2019, volunteers planted 11 million trees in Turkey as part of a government-backed initiative called Breath for the Future. In one northern city, the tree-planting campaign set the Guinness World Record for the most saplings planted in one hour in a single location: 303,150.

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Solar Symposium

Virtual Solar Symposium

I thought you might appreciate the upcoming Solar and Wildlife/Natural Resources Symposium from December 1st – 3rd. It's remote; they will share recordings after the sessions if you are busy during that time. There's a very interesting mix of speakers and topics. American Farmland Trust, Defenders of Wildlife, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society, and American Solar Grazing Association are presenting, to name a few. 

Dual-use solar is increasingly recognized as a way to accelerate climate “mitigation” (slowing down) while enhancing farm and ranch viability, soil health, and water management.

For many people in the conservation field, as well as community members, this perspective and the supporting data require a paradigm shift.

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