Forum Network

Solar has become one of the least expensive sources for new energy generation and fields of solar panels are appearing everywhere, including on forest and farmland. Most people have a sense that cutting down forests to install solar is not a good idea, but we assume it must be necessary in order to curb climate change. That was the thinking of early legislation passed to fast track solar installations without environmental review. But has that assumption stood up to the facts? This talk explore two aspects of the negative impacts of of solar installations on forest land and the viability of alternatives.

Michelle Manion, Vice President of Policy & Advocacy at Mass Audubon discusses the impacts of current trends in solar installation to nature. She reveals the conclusions of a study commissioned by Mass Audubon on the true cost of more sustainable alternatives. The talk also looks at the heat island effect of large solar installations and consider their impact on climate goals. Jessica Rempel, Natural Resources Analyst for the Cape Cod Commission, joins the discussion to discuss how to balance solar and protection of nature and landscape.

The discussion is moderated by Beck Mordini, Executive Director of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate. This talk is part of Life Saves the Planet, a partnership between Bio4Climate and the GBH Forum Network.

As many interconnected climate crises escalate, we are challenged to see what we have overlooked in our understanding of the causes - and of what the best path forward might be. John Feldman’s film, Regenerating Life, proposes that it is humankind's destruction of nature that has been a primary cause of the climate crisis and that it is in nature we find crucial solutions. Feldman traveled widely to meet people who are working on solutions, innovative ways to repair the damage done to our extraordinary home. By working with nature, they are restoring the forests, fields, wetlands, and oceans, and are regenerating soils to grow healthy food and build healthy communities.

John Feldman is joined in conversation by environmental journalist and author Judith D. Schwartz whose books also present leading scientists and regenerative practitioners.

Dr. Ousmane Pame is founder of REDES Ecovillages based in Senegal. He talka about ecovillage communities in the Sahel region of Africa. and their global and regional contexts. The Sahel region includes Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and the Gambia. REDES is the leading, nonprofit, community-led regenerative organization in the fight against desertification and its negative socioeconomic impacts in the Senegal River Valley. REDES is catalyzing efforts and initiatives on both sides of River Senegal, which is the border between Senegal and Mauritania, to regenerate the ecosystems and improve community life in the region. There are now 100 ecovillages in the area. Dr Pame ia joined by Dr. Marie Nazon, Academic Programs Coordinator for REDES International Service Learning Program and Katrina Jeffries, International relations coordinator. Dr. Dave Damm Luhr moderates the conversation.

The story Coakí - William Wildcat- tells, begins 800,000 years ago. There does not appear to be a break in the lineages of humans and our ancestors Neanderthal and Homo Heidelbergensis using fire and hand tools to create forest clearings to select for plants and animal habitats for food, medicine, and materials important to countless groups of people. These forest gardening practices are our collective heritage and are a defining feature of our identity as a species. We call our ancestors and many of our living relatives “Indigenous” to distinguish them from those of us who have recently lost these practices. We see these practices disappearing around the world as we continue the deforestation of the planet. Our ancestral forest gardening practices are not lost, however. They are still practiced in many surviving traditions, such as the dehesas of Spain and other Mediterranean forest gardening and silvopasture practices, and the ancient form of milpa still practiced in Mesoamerica. It is from a marriage of these ancient agroforestry practices and modern ecology science that a powerful regenerative agriculture system called syntropic agroforestry was born. Syntropic agroforestry restores ecosystems and local economies, creates food security and a diversity of nutrient dense foods, and protects cultures from globalization as it heals human relationships with the forests. Coakí lives in the Mimbres watershed near the Gila wilderness area, in the unceded lands of the living Chiricahua peoples, of the Brown bear, of the Jaguar, and of the forests and wetlands which stood there 400 years ago. He studies, practices, and teaches these modern and ancient technologies there. He is in conversation with Jessica Alvarez Parfrey, Executive Director of Transition US. ### Resources [The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe](https://www.shelterwoodforestfarm.com/blog/the-lost-forest-gardens-of-europe) [Illustrated Guide to Agroforestry](https://agroflorestaemquadrinhos.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/final-english-22-10-under-revision-1.pdf) [Life in Syntropy Documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSPNRu4ZPvE) [Modern Farmer Article on Syntropic Agriculture](https://modernfarmer.com/2023/05/syntropic-agriculture-boosts-soil-vitality-using-the-wisdom-of-the-forest/) [Anastassia Makarieva Biotic Pump 1: Global Cooling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcDvVQOTuOw) [Anastassia Makarieva Biotic Pump 2: Water Cycles](https://forum-network.org/lectures/no-trees-no-rain/)

In 1989 Harvard University Press published the book _A Forest Journey, a history of human civilizations from the Sumerians to the present _revealing that without vast supplies of wood from forests, the great civilizations of Sumer, Assyria, Egypt, Crete, Greece, Rome, the Islamic World, Western Europe, and North America would never have emerged. Never. The book was recognized as a Harvard Classic in Science and World History and listed as one of the university’s One Hundred Great Books. Its author, John Perlin, continued his research and field work over the next 25 years and when asked by Patagonia to update the book in light of the escalating climate crisis, he was well prepared to do so. Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and GBH Forum Network are honored to present John Perlin and his book _A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization_. The 2023 edition of the book concludes with two new chapters on the importance of mature and old-growth forests for our survival. The ability of trees to remove co2 from the atmosphere and sequester it safely in soils and roots is now well known. But the role of trees in keeping the Earth temperate by emitting water into the atmosphere, reducing heat and supplying rain to distant areas cannot be underestimated in a world where drought and warming increase exponentially. John Perlin reminds us, “_Humanity needs trees more than ever before. But this time intact._” ### Resources [Link to John Perlin's book](https://aforestjourney.com/) [Review of the book in LA Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-02-10/forgotten-classic-a-forest-journey-by-john-perlin-reissued-by-patagonia) [Chapter Summaries](https://www.patagonia.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/dw297d2869/slots/RMA/PATA_AForestJourney-Summary-010923.pdf)

Steve Hawley, author of _CRACKED: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World_, will explore the ramifications of the extraordinary dam building boom of the last century that culminated in 800,000 dams worldwide today. What impact are they having on biodiversity loss, heat buildup and aridification of the land? He is joined in conversation by author and essayist David James Duncan and Beth Lambert, Director of the Division of Ecological Restoration in Massachusetts. ### Resources [Link to "Cracked"- Steve Hawley's book](https://flylordsmag.com/patagonia-cracked-book/) [Link to Steve Hawley's film on Salmon and dams ]() [Massachusetts Dam Removals](https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/massachusetts/stories-in-massachusetts/mill-river-restoration/) [American Rivers Dam Removal Map](https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/restoring-damaged-rivers/dam-removal-map/) [Edwards Dam](https://www.nrcm.org/programs/waters/kennebec-restoration/history-edwards-dam/) [Methane Emissions from Reservoirs](https://news.wsu.edu/news/2022/09/19/methane-emissions-from-reservoirs-are-increasing/) [Fluvial (River) Personhood](https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/asia/whanganui-river-new-zealand-intl-hnk-dst/index.html) [About the Snake River](https://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/take-action/snake-river) [Article on indigenous people and their fight to save the lower Snake river](https://www.tu.org/press-releases/nez-perce-lead-the-way-for-lower-snake-river-dam-energy-replacement/) [Three GorgesDam in China](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chinas-three-gorges-dam-disaster/) [About Glen Canyon Dam](https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-02-18/federal-officials-consider-overhauling-glen-canyon-dam) [Film by Patagonia about removing dams](https://youtu.be/laTIbNVDQN8)

While the last few tumultuous years have heightened uncertainties about our food supplies, there’s some good news coming out of the regenerative agriculture movement. Regenerative practices restore degraded land, increase soil productivity, sequester carbon and store water. Because protein is needed by people of all ages, and a decrease in protein could exacerbate health problems among the poor and especially in children, access to a consistent supply of healthy meat is important. This presentation outlines proven, science- based practices for producing grass-fed beef that can be adapted to climatic conditions anywhere in the US. Widespread adoption of regenerative grazing of beef cattle can shorten supply chains and make every region of the country more resilient to shocks to the food system, such as pandemics, fire, ransomware attacks, war and extreme weather events. Instead of the current centralized beef-production system, whereby a number of states in the Corn Belt are largely devoted to growing grain that is trucked long distances to feedlots, we can raise and fatten healthy beef cattle region by region, entirely on grass and forage, with no grain. We will describe the principles and benefits of regenerative grazing, and offer a model that farmers and ranchers all around the US can adopt in order to supply healthy, 100% grass-fed beef to nearby communities: stores, restaurants, CSAs, and institutions. This talk is part of the series "Life Saves the Planet" produced with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate. ### Resources [Link to the book Lynne and Ridge co-authored ](https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/grass-fed-beef-for-a-post-pandemic-world/) [2 Simple Maps That Reveal How American Agriculture Actually Works - Huffpost.com ](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/largest-crop-each-state_n_6488930) [Regenerative grazing triples biomass production ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479722001499?via%3Dihub) [Health-Promoting Phytonutrients Are Higher in Grass-Fed Meat and Milk](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.555426/full) [Chris Gill, “Desert Grasslands Restoration: Manejo Holistico in Chihuahua–Las Damas Ranch,” June 15, 2015, Pitchstone Waters, ](https://pitchstonewaters.com/manejo-holistico-in-chihuahua-las-damas-ranch/) [https://pitchstonewaters.com/manejo-holistico-in-chihuahua-las-damas-ranch/.](https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.71.2.156) [Jennifer Hayden, “Cattle Are Part of the Climate Solution: A Conversation with Rangeland Ecologist Richard Teague, PhD, Analyzing the Role that Adaptive Multi-Paddock Cattle Grazing Plays in Sequestering Carbon,” Rodale Institute, August 28, 2020,](https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/cattle-are-part-of-the-climate-solution/) [Peter Bruce-Iri, “Methane Sources, Sinks, and Uncertainties,” Research Gate, Technical Report, October 2021](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355789160_METHANE_Sources_Sinks_and_Uncertainties?channel=doi&linkId=617e29f20be8ec17a9505975&showFulltext=true)

Most people believe that nature is characterized by competition and conflict—red in tooth and claw, as the poet Tennyson said. But recent science suggests that cooperative relationships among living things have both shaped the world around us and knit ecosystems together. How can we uphold these cooperative relationships and become a cooperative partner with the rest of life? Join us with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate as we host Kristin Ohlson, a Portland, OR, writer and author of _Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Cooperation and Generosity in Nature_ and _The Soil Will Save Us_. Kristin is joined in conversation by ecosystem restoration specialist Jim Laurie.

Join Jess Alvarez-Parfrey, Nathan Lou, and William Wildcat (Coakí) for an exploration of ancestral connections, and transformative opportunities to nurture a truly regenerative, just, joyful, and climate resilient future. Bringing together diverse cultural backgrounds, skills, and experiences, our panel of practitioners will share their story, and explore the theme of “regeneration” as it relates to our connection to place, purpose, and community. In a time of multiple converging and complex crises, a rising generation of change-makers are reclaiming connections to ancestral wisdoms and the critical skills needed to feed, heal, and nurture their communities. The panel will also delve into a powerful discussion around Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), “work”, “citizen science”, and share their visions for regenerative bioregional cultures and economies of care.

Droughts and flash floods are becoming a new normal in our warming world. What changed ? Our landscapes are losing water as people alter the environment, cut trees, drain wetlands, and use chemicals that destroy the soil. And we’re feeling the heat. By learning from nature we can improve the climate where we live. We can learn from plants and trees which provide air conditioning for the Earth. They help drive the water cycle, tame damaging wind and rain storms and even address giant heat islands over the Midwest and forest fires. Climate scientists Anastassia Makarieva and Andrei Nefiodov (Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute) and botanist Jan Pokorny (co-author of the New Water Paradigm) will discuss these issues and answer audience questions on October 21 at 12:15 pm ET. Hart Hagan, regenerative podcaster, will be the Moderator. Anastassia Makarieva, Andrei Nefiodov and Jan Pokorny are instrumental in advocating for land management policy changes. Ms. Makarieva is a senior analyst at Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute and a fellow at the Technical University of Munich. Her work co-developing the Biotic Pump theory of atmospheric moisture transfer is of singular importance. Jan Pokorný is a leading researcher on solar energy conversion and photosynthesis, founder of Enki NGO, and co-author of the book New Water Paradigm. They have both published numerous papers in peer-reviewed publications. This event is co-hosted by Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and GBH Forum Network. Voices of Water for Climate, a program of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, co-organized the event. ### Resources [ERASMUS project Education for Plant Literacy](https://planteducation.eu/) [Biotic Regulation](https://bioticregulation.ru) [Home page for Voices of water at Biodiversity for a livable climate ](https://bio4climate.org/voices-of-water/) Photo credit: Dan Meyers, Unsplash