Humility, caring and wisdom make a better future possible
(David Suzuki)
For many, the pandemic has renewed our innate appreciation for and connection to nature. People have taken to growing food on windowsills and in backyard and community gardens. We’re cultivating yeasts to bake bread and getting outside more to walk, run, swim and cycle.
https://davidsuzuki.org/story/humility-caring-and-wisdom-make-a-better-future-possible/
Climate Patterns Linked in Amazon, North and South America, Study Shows
https://researchfrontiers.uark.edu/climate-patterns-linked-in-amazon-north-and-south-america-study-shows/
Forest degradation outpaces deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/forest-degradation-outpaces-deforestation-in-the-brazilian-amazon-study/
The murky process of licensing Amazonian meat plants
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/the-murky-process-of-licensing-amazonian-meat-plants/
Systems Based Ag Solutions Required for Systemic Ag Problems
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/arohi-sharma/systems-based-ag-solutions-required-systemic-ag-problems
“Deep Ecology’s core principle is the belief that the living environment as a whole should be respected”
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/10/22/1971872/-Regenerative-Culture-Deep-Ecology
Organics, regenerative agriculture and the political will to grow the movement
Several parties are promoting policies that aim to develop New Zealand’s regenerative agriculture and organics sectors. Michael Andrew asks the experts what it could mean for the environment,
the economy and New Zealand’s participation in a burgeoning global market.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/14-10-2020/organics-regenerative-agriculture-and-the-political-will-to-grow-the-movement/
Drawdown Georgia Launches to Accelerate Climate Solutions
Nonpartisan effort to scale solutions by bringing Georgians together to crowdsolve for climate progress
https://www.raycandersonfoundation.org/articles/drawdown-georgia-launches-to-accelerate-climate-solutions
Building A Circular Economy In New York City And Beyond.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2020/10/20/building-a-circular-economy-in-new-york-city-and-beyond/#6e70095b5b5d
Denim brands this fall are releasing their first jeans that follow the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign guidelines, an industry-wide effort to put circular jeans on the market.
https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-innovations/ellen-macarthur-foundation-jeans-redesign-documentary-outerknown-h-m-weekday-239912/
New Study Reveals United States a Top Source of Plastic Pollution in Coastal Environments
Agroforestry – pathway to secure the right to food in time of crisis.
The method increases ecosystem services such as biodiversity, erosion control,
drought resilience, carbon sequestration and increased soil moisture.
https://www.ippmedia.com/en/features/agroforestry-%E2%80%93-pathway-secure-right-food-time-crisis
On a Philippine island, Indigenous women get their say on marine conservation.
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/on-a-philippine-island-indigenous-women-get-their-say-on-marine-conservation/
Parsing Panera’s plan to nudge consumers toward low-carbon meals.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/parsing-paneras-plan-nudge-consumers-toward-low-carbon-meals
Soil fungi act like a support network for trees, study shows.
U of A research is first to show that growth rate of adult trees is linked to fungal networks colonizing their roots.
https://www.folio.ca/soil-fungi-act-like-a-support-network-for-trees-study-shows/
New Cornell dean sees climate resilience in agriculture.
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/10/new-cals-dean-sees-climate-resilience-agriculture
A renewable solution to keep cool in a warming world
Month-on-month, year-on-year, the world continues to experience record high temperatures.
In response to this and exacerbated by a growing global population, it is expected
that air-conditioning demand will continue to rise.
A new IIASA-led study explored the pros and cons of seawater air-conditioning
as an alternative cooling solution.
https://iiasa.ac.at/web/home/about/news/201019-Seawater_cooling_.html
As the first Regenerative Organic Certified winery,
Tablas Creek is committed to farming like the world depends on it.
https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/as-the-first-regenerative-organic-certified-winery-tablas-creek-is-committed-to-farming-like-the-world-depends-on-it
How regenerative farming cut fixed costs by 40% in first year.
https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/land-preparation/soils/how-regenerative-farming-cut-fixed-costs-by-40-in-first-year
Regenerative agriculture – an idea 12 000 years in the making.
The future of agriculture may draw more from its past than the present.
https://www.702.co.za/articles/399385/regenerative-agriculture-an-idea-12-000-years-in-the-making-bizun
Make agriculture a key to reconcile with our planet
Working with scientists, the EU can lead a truly green transition
and post-COVID recovery, writes 2020.
by World Food Prize Winner Rattan Lal.
https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/make-agriculture-a-key-to-reconcile-with-our-planet
Fossil fuel subsidies need global reform, say Baker Institute experts.
http://news.rice.edu/2020/10/22/fossil-fuel-subsidies-need-global-reform-say-baker-institute-experts-2/
Let’s not bet the farm on industrial food policy
Federal support should shift to plant-based agriculture, including trend-setting oat and pea farmers, whose crops are made into meat and dairy alternatives.’
https://ipolitics.ca/2020/10/28/lets-not-bet-the-farm-on-industrial-food-policy/
Waste not, want not: recycled water proves fruitful for greenhouse tomatoes
Just what California needs.
Powerhouse: the startup making solar the most accessible energy in the world (2017)
It’s one of the only incubators focused on solar companies – but Powerhouse is part of a larger movement to nurture new companies in the low-carbon future
‘Green hydrogen’ from renewables could become cheapest ‘transformative fuel’ within a decade
Government has nominated ‘clean hydrogen’ using gas and CCS but for many countries ‘clean’ already means without fossil fuels
No Place Like Home: Fighting Climate Change (and Saving Money) by Electrifying America’s Households.
This new report shows that the average American household can both fight climate change and save money at the same time.
https://www.rewiringamerica.org/household-savings-report
What to Do When the World is on Fire
https://www.localfutures.org/what-to-do-when-the-world-is-on-fire/
WATER CYCLE CONCERNS
World leading scientists put a spotlight on the risks of homogenization of the terrestrial water cycle.
As the world responds to the simultaneous challenges of climate change and increased demands for certain commodities such as food and energy, land use and land cover are changing.
Increasing plantation forestry and agricultural monocultures are turning once diverse landscapes into areas with a single plant species, which affects the terrestrial water cycle.
World-leading water scientists warn of ecological risks in global shift to monoculture crops and tree plantations
Conversion of large swaths of land to uniform tree plantations and single-crop species may lead to unintended consequences for the water cycle, putting ecosystems at greater risk for fires, floods, droughts and even hurricanes, warns a think-tank group of almost 30 water scientists from 11 countries.
Increasing stability decreases ocean productivity, reduces carbon burial.
Stable conditions in the atmosphere favor fair weather. However, when the ocean is stable, the layers of the ocean do not mix. Cooler, oxygenated water from beneath does not rise up and deliver oxygen and nutrients to waters near the surface, and warm surface water does not absorb carbon dioxide and bury it at depth.
“The same process, global warming, is both making the atmosphere less stable and the oceans more stable,” said Michael Mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric sciences and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State. “Water near the ocean’s surface is warming faster than the water below. That makes the oceans become more stable.”
MORE POWER FROM THE SUN
New solar-cell design shows potential for increased efficiency
A collaborative research team, consisting of University of Delaware mathematicians and engineers at Pennsylvania State University, has come up with a new design for thin-film solar cells with the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of these flexible panels that convert sunlight into electricity.
For example, standard solar cells, the kind seen on rooftops and in “farms” spread over acres of land, are reasonably efficient and increasingly affordable, but they are heavy and rigid. Thin-film cells —built from lightweight and flexible materials, making them useful for such applications as portable devices and vehicle roofs — are inexpensive and easy to manufacture, but they are much less efficient at converting light into power. Specialized types of thin-film technology are more efficient,
but those cells are manufactured from expensive materials or are not long-lasting, severely limiting their use.
Agribusiness Is Trying to Greenwash Its Dirty Waste as “Renewable Energy”.
Companies Are Making Major Climate Pledges. Here’s What They Really Mean.
How to decode corporate climate change targets ― from net-zero emissions to going carbon negative.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/companies-climate-pledges-what-they-mean_n_5f7b6237c5b66fab25dc3079
Earth just had its hottest September on record.
With 3 months left, 2020 could rank among three-warmest years on record for globe.
https://www.noaa.gov/news/earth-just-had-its-hottest-september-on-record
What Impacts Do the West Coast Wildfires, Smoke Have on Crops?
In the midst of weeks of poor air quality, wine grape and cannabis growers try to assess the damage of the ash and smoke on their crops, as well as to human health.
https://civileats.com/2020/10/13/what-impacts-do-the-west-coast-wildfires-smoke-have-on-crops/
‘We Don’t Need a Climate Denier on the Supreme Court’: Outrage as Barrett Says She Has No ‘Firm Views’ on Climate Crisis
“If you’re neutral on climate change, you’re complicit in the collapse
of the planetary ecosystem upon which the survival of every living thing depends.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/14/we-dont-need-climate-denier-supreme-court-outrage-barrett-says-she-has-no-firm-views?cd-origin=rss
Amy Coney Barrett’s Climate Dodge Isn’t Just Unscientific. It’s At Odds With Most Americans.
The Supreme Court nominee suggested the very fact that the climate is changing is debatable. She could soon rule on a suit involving the oil industry.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amy-coney-barrett-climate-change-supreme-court-hearing_n_5f87b93bc5b6c5eccffd36e2
“To be fair, I don’t have any “views on climate change” either. Just like I don’t have any “views” on gravity, the fact that the earth is round, photosynthesis nor evolution… But understanding and knowing their existence really makes life in the 21st century so much easier.”
Why Green Sports Are Good Sports
https://today.tamu.edu/2020/10/06/why-green-sports-are-good-sports/
Climate change is threatening unique permafrost landforms
https://www.oulu.fi/university/news/climate-change-is-threatening-unique-permafrost-landforms
Project to reveal fate of tire particles in the ocean.
A new study involving experts from Newcastle University aims to assess an until now hidden form of marine litter and show the effects it could have on our seas.
Risks to marine life
A substantial quantity of tire wear is potentially a major contributor to microplastic pollution in the marine environment.
Tire particles are believed to transfer in large quantities from vehicles into our rivers and oceans.
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2020/10/tyre-loss/
Less than a fifth of farmers plan to fully retire
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/homepage/title_820932_en.html
‘Gather’ Centers Efforts to Heal and
Rebuild Indigenous Traditions and Foodways.
Filmmaker Sanjay Rawal explains the complexities of making
the documentary for and about Indian Country.
https://civileats.com/2020/10/14/gather-centers-efforts-to-heal-and-rebuild-indigenous-traditions-and-foodways/#s-in-the-background/
FARMERS AND MEATPACKERS ARE TEAMING UP
During the pandemic and recession, farmers are realizing they have
more in common with immigrant meatpackers than agribusiness CEOs.
https://otherwords.org/farmers-and-meatpackers-are-teaming-up-for-pandemic-safety/
25-Year Study of Nuclear vs Renewables Says One Is Clearly Better at Cutting Emissions
https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-why-nuclear-won-t-cut-it-if-we-want-to-drop-carbon-as-quickly-as-possible
A fifth of countries worldwide at risk from ecosystem collapse as biodiversity declines, reveals pioneering Swiss Re index
https://www.swissre.com/media/news-releases/nr-20200923-biodiversity-and-ecosystems-services.html
Eberhard to build AI-driven recycling plant
Arctic communities planning for abrupt permafrost thaw
https://instaar.colorado.edu/news-events/instaar-news/arctic-communities-planning-for-abrupt-permafrost-thaw/
Microplastics ‘abundant’ in remote polar seas
https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/microplastics-abundant-in-remote-polar-seas/
Pandemic and rise in plastic pollution
http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/896260
Circular economy and the Covid-19 recovery – outlining the opportunities for a circular, low-carbon economic recovery
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/circular-economy-and-the-covid-19-recovery
Call for proposals re plastic-free circular economy
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/call-for-proposals-re-plastic-free-circular-economy.827122