This year’s theme is REGENERATION!
All webinars on Wednesdays, 4-5:30 pm, starting 5/29/24
Free, but registration required, use the links below
Overview: We’ve spent the last couple of years reviewing problems associated with climate change and biodiversity loss and considering how each of us can help slow the warming of the planet. This summer we will focus on how we can regenerate life on Earth in a way that will revive the ecosystems on which we all depend. Here’s something that has surprised me: as I learn more about regeneration, I’m realizing that it’s not just about how we can help the other species with which we share our planet, but how we can revive our own species as well. You will see that I’ve been very inspired by Paul Hawken’s book, Regeneration. As always, however, the ideas and information in the talks will come from all over.
This will be an interesting summer — please join me!
Here’s a flyer about the 2024 webinars to share with friends and colleagues!
May 29, 2024
Regeneration: Why & how plus finding the strength to make it happen
In just a few hundred years, mining, drilling, agriculture and development have damaged food webs and decimated biodiversity. Why does this matter and how can regeneration restore the ecosystem stability on which we all depend? Regeneration requires attitude adjustment, persistence and courage – how can we remain “stubborn optimists” as we regenerate our world? Registration
June 19, 2024
Regenerating our soil
Conventional methods for agriculture and landscaping have caused massive erosion, loss of organic matter, and greatly reduced biodiversity in the soil ecosystem. These impacts have only been aggravated by the impacts of climate change. What is healthy soil and how can we get it back? Why is restoring soil health not only essential for rebuilding terrestrial food webs but also an important strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving climate resilience? Registration
July 17, 2024
Regenerating home and municipal landscapes
How can we produce beautiful residential and municipal landscapes that will reduce carbon emissions, maintain & improve soil health, help manage stormwater, boost biodiversity and even save money? Find out how you can make your yard and/or your community’s landscape part of the climate and biodiversity solution. Registration
Aug. 7, 2024
Regenerative agriculture and other fixes to the food system
Industrial agriculture has brought us huge monocultures of corn and soybeans. Yearly tillage has robbed the soil of organic matter, and little habitat remains to support the natural enemies of crop pests. These impacts now require the heavy use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides to maintain yields, resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions and massive air & water pollution. How can we change agriculture to maintain soil health and rebuild the biodiversity that can help control pests while reducing carbon emissions, controlling pollution and maybe even sequestering some carbon? Registration
Aug. 28, 2024
Rewilding: Regenerating communities and ecosystems
The removal of large predators and herbivores in the US and Europe has reduced the complexity and stability of natural food webs. This has changed and impoverished ecosystems to the point of near-collapse. Reintroducing predators and/or large herbivores to “rewild” ecosystems has produced some exciting results. Rewilding is not about restoring past communities and ecosystems. Instead, it aims to establish new food webs that can become as stable and biodiverse as native ones. Registration
Sept. 18, 2024
Progress in the energy transition and our liberation from fossil fuel use
Major transitions between technologies, like gas to electric lights, may seem quick when we look back on them. But transitions generally take decades. During this time, progress is inevitably punctuated by setbacks as the proponents of the status quo fight the prospect of change. This bumpy path is clear in our current transition from dirty fossil fuel-based power to clean renewable power from wind and solar. As disinformation and political lobbying by fossil fuel interests accelerate, the giddy jubilation of 2022 has given way to discouragement. But take heart – data show that fossil fuel use has already peaked in some countries. The demise of fossil fuels is now inevitable! Registration
The Climate Corner 