By Michael Svoboda
The enduring pandemic will make conventional forms of travel difficult if not impossible this summer. As a result, many will consider virtual alternatives for their vacations, including one of the oldest forms of virtual reality – books.
<p>Two kinds of books meet this challenge while telling stories about climate change. The first burrows deep into a particular place, noting changes over time as human impacts, including climate change, have intensified. The second tracks a particular effect of climate change – longer droughts, melting ice sheets, rising sea levels, or raging wildfires – across different communities and landscapes.</p>
<p>Both kinds of books can be found in this month's bookshelf. And for those who hope to do some of their "reading" while on the road, socially distanced in their vehicles, each of this month's entries includes a link to a streamable audio interview with the author.</p><p>As always, the descriptions of the titles are drawn from copy provided by the publishers. When two dates of publication are provided, the second is for the release of the paperback edition.</p><p>Safe travels!</p><p><em>Editor's Note: Yale Climate Connections thanks Scott Smallwood, senior communications manager for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.southernenvironment.org/">Southern Environmental Law Center</a>, for suggesting this theme. Three of the online interviews linked to below were recorded for <a target="_blank" href="https://brokengroundpodcast.org/">Broken Ground</a>, the podcast produced by Southern Environmental Law Center. A fourth Broken Ground interview, with Dr. Robert Bullard, considered the founder of the environmental justice movement, can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/270210/3620881-dr-robert-bullard-environmental-justice-is-equal-justice">here</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>1. <a target="_blank" href="https://milkweed.org/book/the-home-place">The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature</a>, by Drew Lanham (Milkweed 2016/2017, 240 pages, $16.00 paperback) / An interview with author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/270210/3433171-drew-lanham-call-of-the-rural-south">here</a>.</strong></p><p>From fertile soils of love, land, identity, family, and race emerges a big-hearted, unforgettable memoir by ornithologist J. Drew Lanham. Dating back to slavery, Edgefield County, South Carolina has been home to generations of Lanhams. In The Home Place, readers meet these extraordinary people, including Drew himself, who over the course of the 1970s falls in love with the natural world around him. As his passion takes flight, however, he begins to ask what it means to be "the rare bird, the oddity." By turns angry, funny, elegiac, and heartbreaking, The Home Place is a meditation on nature and belonging, at once a deeply moving memoir and riveting exploration of the contradictions of black identity in the South – and in America today.</p>
<p><strong>2. <a target="_blank" href="https://milkweed.org/book/late-migrations">Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss</a>, by Margaret Renkl (Milkweed Editions 2019, 248 pages, $24.00) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/270210/3829103-margaret-renkl-backyard-environmentalism">here</a>.</strong></p><p>Growing up in Alabama, New York Times opinion writer Margaret Renkl was a devoted reader, an explorer of riverbeds and red-dirt roads, and a fiercely loved daughter. Here, in brief essays, she traces a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child's transition to caregiver. Ringing with rapture and heartache, these essays convey the dignity of bluebirds and rat snakes, monarch butterflies and native bees. Renkl suggests that there is astonishment to be found in common things: in what seems ordinary, in what we all share. Gorgeously illustrated by the author's brother, Billy Renkl, Late Migrations vividly portrays the cycles of joy and grief that inscribe human lives within the natural world.</p>
<p><strong>3. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062661401/chesapeake-requiem/">Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island</a>, by Earl Swift (Dey Street Books/Harper Collins 2018/2020, 448 pages, $17.99) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/270210/4004636-earl-swift-watching-waters-rise">here</a>.</strong></p><p>Tangier Island, Virginia, is a community unique on the American landscape. Mapped by John Smith in 1608, settled during the American Revolution, the tiny sliver of mud is home to 470 hardy people who live an isolated and challenging existence, with one foot in the 21st century and another in times long passed. But Tangier is disappearing. The very water that has long sustained it is erasing the island day by day, wave by wave; its shoreline retreats by fifteen feet a year. As the graves of their forebears are being sprung open by encroaching tides, the conservative and deeply religious Tangiermen ponder the end times. Chesapeake Requiem is an intimate look at Tangier by an acclaimed journalist who spent much of the past two years living among its people, crabbing and oystering with its watermen, and observing its odd ways.</p>
<p><strong>4. <a target="_blank" href="https://milkweed.org/book/rising">Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore</a>, by Elizabeth Rush (Milkweed Editions 2018/2019, 328 pages, $16.00 paperback) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/11/27/rising-new-american-shore">here</a>.</strong></p><p>Rising seas are transforming the coastline of the United States in irrevocable ways. In Rising, Elizabeth Rush guides readers through some of the places where this change has been most dramatic. For many of the plants, animals, and humans in these places, the options are stark: retreat or perish in place. Weaving firsthand testimonials from those facing this choice – a Staten Islander who lost her father during Sandy, the remaining holdouts of a Native American community on a drowning Isle de Jean Charles, a neighborhood in Pensacola settled by escaped slaves hundreds of years ago – with profiles of wildlife biologists, activists, and other members of these vulnerable communities, Rising privileges the voices of those often kept at the margins.</p>
<p><strong>5. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.counterpointpress.com/dd-product/trees-in-trouble/">Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change</a>, by Daniel Mathews (Counterpoint Press 2020, 304 pages, $26.00) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://oldfirehousebooksblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/15/author-interview-dan-mathews/">here</a>.</strong></p><p>Climate change manifests in many ways across North America, but few as dramatic as the attacks on our western pine forests. In Trees in Trouble, Daniel Mathews tells the urgent story of this loss, accompanying burn crews and forest ecologists as they study the myriad risk factors and refine techniques for saving this important, limited resource. Scrupulously researched, Trees in Trouble not only explores the devastating ripple effects of climate change, but also introduces us to the people devoting their lives to saving our forests. Mathews also offers hope: a new approach to managing western pine forests is underway. Trees in Trouble explores how we might succeed in sustaining our forests through the challenging transition to a new environment.</p>
<p><strong>6. <a target="_blank" href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374280062">Erosion: Essays of Undoing</a>, by Terry Tempest Williams (Farrar, Strauss, Giroux 2019, 336 pages, $27.00) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://radiowest.kuer.org/post/terry-tempest-williams-erosion">here</a>.</strong></p><p>Terry Tempest Williams's fierce and spirited essays are a howl in the desert. She asks: "How do we find the strength to not look away from all that is breaking our hearts?" Here, Williams bravely and brilliantly explores the many forms of erosion we face: of democracy, science, compassion, and trust. She examines the cultural and environmental implications of the gutting of Bear Ears National Monument; of the undermining of the Endangered Species Act; of the relentless press by the fossil fuel industry that has led to "oil rigs light[ing] up the horizon." And she testifies that the climate crisis is not an abstraction, offering as evidence the drought outside her door. Erosion is a book for this moment, political and spiritual at once. Williams reminds us that beauty is its own form of resistance, and that water can crack stone.</p>
<p><strong>7. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nyrb.com/products/wilding?variant=13867544150068">Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm</a>, by Isabella Tree (New York Review Books 2019, 392 pages, $19.95 paperback) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.writersvoice.net/2020/02/writers-voice-isabella-tree-wilding-jeet-heer/">here</a>.</strong></p><p>For years Isabella Tree and her husband, Charlie Burrell, farmed Knepp Castle Estate and struggled to turn a profit. By 2000, with the farm facing bankruptcy, they decided to try something radical. They would restore estate's 3,500 acres to the wild. Using herds of free-roaming animals to mimic the actions of the megafauna of the past, they hoped to bring nature back to their depleted land. In the face of considerable opposition the couple persisted with their experiment and soon witnessed an extraordinary change. New life flooded into Knepp, now a breeding hotspot for rare and threatened species. At a time of looming environmental disaster, Wilding is an inspiring story of a farm, a couple, and a community transformed. Isabella Tree's book brings together science, natural history, a fair bit of drama, and – ultimately – hope.</p>
<p><strong>8. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nyrb.com/products/wilding?variant=13867544150068">Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm</a>, by Isabella Tree (New York Review Books 2019, 392 pages, $19.95 paperback) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.writersvoice.net/2020/02/writers-voice-isabella-tree-wilding-jeet-heer/">here</a>.</strong></p><p>For years Isabella Tree and her husband, Charlie Burrell, farmed Knepp Castle Estate and struggled to turn a profit. By 2000, with the farm facing bankruptcy, they decided to try something radical. They would restore estate's 3,500 acres to the wild. Using herds of free-roaming animals to mimic the actions of the megafauna of the past, they hoped to bring nature back to their depleted land. In the face of considerable opposition the couple persisted with their experiment and soon witnessed an extraordinary change. New life flooded into Knepp, now a breeding hotspot for rare and threatened species. At a time of looming environmental disaster, Wilding is an inspiring story of a farm, a couple, and a community transformed. Isabella Tree's book brings together science, natural history, a fair bit of drama, and – ultimately – hope.</p>
<p><strong>9. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103569/horizon-by-barry-lopez/">Horizon</a>, by Barry Lopez (Penguin Random House 2019/2020, 592 pages, $16.99 paperback) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/rebroadcast-barry-lopez-on-horizon/">here</a>.</strong></p><p>From pole to pole and across decades of lived experience, National Book Award-winning author Barry Lopez delivers his most far-ranging, yet personal, work to date. Horizon moves indelibly, immersively, from Western Oregon to the High Arctic; from the Galápagos to the Kenyan desert; from Botany Bay in Australia to the ice shelves of Antarctica. Along the way, Lopez probes the long history of humanity's thirst for exploration, including prehistoric peoples, 16th & 17th century explorers, 17th and 18th century colonialist, and today's ecotourists in the tropics. And always, throughout his journeys to some of the hottest, coldest, and most desolate places on the globe, Lopez searches for meaning and purpose in a broken world.</p>
<p><strong>10. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/543135/disappointment-river-by-brian-castner/">Disappointment River: Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage</a>, by Brian Castner (Penguin Random House 2018/2019, 368 pages, $16.95 paperback) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhHejIQfx8s">here</a>.</strong></p><p>Fourteen years before Lewis and Clark, Alexander Mackenzie set off to cross the continent to find a trade route to the riches of the East. What he found was a river that he named "Disappointment." In this book, Brian Castner retraces Mackenzie's travels, taking readers to a world rarely glimpsed in the media, a world of tar sands, thawing permafrost, remote indigenous villages and, at the end, a wide open Arctic Ocean that could become a far-northern Mississippi of barges, pipelines and oil money. Disappointment River transports readers back to the heroic age of North American exploration and places them in a still rugged but increasingly fragile Arctic wilderness in the process of profound alteration by the dual forces of globalization and climate change.</p>
<p><strong>11. <a target="_blank" href="https://thenewpress.com/books/end-of-ice">The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption</a>, by Dahr Jamail (The New Press 2019/2020, 288 pages, $17.99 paperback) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://ralphnaderradiohour.com/the-end-of-ice/">here</a>.</strong></p><p>In The End of Ice, we follow acclaimed journalist Dahr Jamail as he scales Denali, the highest peak in North America, dives in the warm crystal waters of the Pacific only to find ghostly coral reefs, and explores the tundra of St. Paul Island where he meets the last subsistence seal hunters of the Bering Sea and witnesses its melting glaciers. Accompanied by climate scientists and people whose families have fished, farmed, and lived in the areas he visits for centuries, Jamail begins to accept the fact that Earth, most likely, is in a hospice situation. Like no other book, The End of Ice offers a firsthand chronicle of the catastrophic reality of our situation and the incalculable necessity of relishing this vulnerable, fragile planet while we still can.</p>
<p><strong>12. <a target="_blank" href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374718992">Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils</a>, by David Farrier (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2020, 307 pages, $28.00) / An interview with the author can be streamed <a target="_blank" href="https://lithub.com/rekindled-david-farrier-in-conversation-with-stephen-sparks/">here</a>.</strong></p><p>Modern civilization has created objects and landscapes with the potential to endure through deep time, whether it is plastic polluting the oceans or nuclear waste sealed within the earth or the 30 million miles of roads spanning the planet. Our carbon could linger in the atmosphere for 100K years, and the remains of our cities will still exist millions of years from now as a layer in the rock. Traveling from the Baltic Sea to the Great Barrier Reef, and from an ice-core laboratory in Tasmania to Shanghai, Farrier describes a world that is changing rapidly, with consequences beyond the scope of human understanding. As much a message of hope as warning, Footprints will not only alter how you think about the future; it will change how you see the world today.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from Yale Climate Connections.</em><em></em></p>
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By Beth Ann Mayer
Since even moderate-intensity workouts offer a slew of benefits, walking is a good choice for people looking to stay healthy.
<p>Just like eating the same thing every day can get stale, so can doing one type of exercise. A few small tweaks can make a world of difference.</p><p>Regular walkers, or those avoiding the monotony of daily strolls altogether, can put a spring back in their step with some simple changes.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><a href="https://www.healthline.com/" target="_blank"><em>Healthline</em></a><em>. For detailed source information, please view the original article on </em><em><a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/8-ways-to-shake-up-your-walking-routine" target="_blank">Healthline</a></em><em>.</em></p>
How to Rock Your Walk
<p>Walking isn't just fun and healthy. It's accessible.</p><p>"Walking is cheap," says Dr. John Paul H. Rue, a sports medicine doctor at <a href="https://mdmercy.com/" target="_blank">Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore</a>. "You can do it anywhere at any time; [it] requires little to no special equipment and has many of the same cardio benefits as running or other more intense workouts."</p><p>Want to up your walking game? Try the tips below.</p>Use Hand Weights
<p>Cardio and strength training can go hand-in-hand when you add weights to your walk.</p><p>A <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2019/03000/Associations_of_Resistance_Exercise_with.14.aspx" target="_blank">2019 study</a> found that weight training is good for your heart, and <a href="https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(17)30167-2/abstract" target="_blank">research</a> shows it reduces the risk of developing a <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/nutrition-metabolism-disorders" target="_blank">metabolic disorder</a> by 17 percent. People with metabolic disorders have a higher chance of being diagnosed with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.</p><p>Rue suggests not carrying weights for your entire walk.</p><p>"Hand weights can give you an added level of energy burning, but you have to be careful with these because carrying [them] over a long period of time or while walking could actually lead to some overuse injuries," he says.</p>Make It a Circuit
<p>As another option, consider doing a circuit. First, put a pair of dumbbells on your lawn or somewhere in your home. Walk around the block once, then stop and do some bicep curls and tricep lifts before walking around the block again.</p><p>Rue recommends <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/running-with-weights" target="_blank">avoiding ankle weights</a> during cardio workouts, as they force you to use your quadriceps rather than hamstrings. They can also cause muscle imbalance, according to the <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/wearable-weights-how-they-can-help-or-hurt" target="_blank">Harvard Health Letter</a>.</p>Find a Fitness Trail
<p>Strength training isn't limited to weights. You can get stronger by <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/bodyweight-workout" target="_blank">simply using your body</a>.</p><p>Often found at parks, fitness trails are obstacle courses with equipment for pullups, pushups, rowing, and stretches to build upper and lower body strength.</p><p>Try searching "fitness trails near me" online, checking out your local parks and recreation website, or calling the municipal office to <a href="https://calisthenics-parks.com/" target="_blank">find one</a>.</p>Recruit a Friend
<p>People who workout together stay healthy together.</p><p><a href="https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-017-0584-3" target="_blank">One study</a> showed that older adults who exercised with a group improved or maintained their functional health and enjoyed their lives more.</p><p>Enlist the help of a walking buddy with a regimen you aspire to have. If you don't know anyone in your area, apps like <a href="https://www.strava.com/" target="_blank">Strava</a> have social networking features so you can get support from fellow exercisers.</p>Try Meditation
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.nccih.nih.gov/research/statistics/nhis/2017" target="_blank">2017 National Health Interview Survey</a>, published by the National Institutes of Health, meditation is on the rise, and for good reason.</p><p>Researchers <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29616846/" target="_blank">found</a> that mind-body relaxation practices can regulate inflammation, <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/biological-rhythms" target="_blank">circadian rhythms</a>, and <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/glucose" target="_blank">glucose</a> metabolism, as well as lower <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure-hypertension" target="_blank">blood pressure</a>.</p><p>"Any form of exercise can be turned into a meditation of some type, either by the surroundings you are walking in, like a park or trail, or by blocking out the outside world with music on your headphones," Rue says.</p><p>You can also play a podcast or download an app like <a href="https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app" target="_blank">Headspace</a> that has a library of guided meditations to practice while you walk.</p>Do Fartlek Walks
<p>Typically used in running, fartlek intervals alternate periods of increased and decreased speed. These are <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-hiit" target="_blank">high-intensity interval training (HIIT)</a> workouts, which allow exercisers to accomplish more in less time.</p><p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0154075" target="_blank">One study</a> showed that 10-minute interval training improved <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/metabolic-syndrome" target="_blank">cardiometabolic</a> health, or lowered the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, just as well as working out at a continuous pace for 50 minutes.</p><p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111489" target="_blank">Research</a> also shows that HIIT workouts increase muscle <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/fast-twitch-muscles" target="_blank">oxidative</a> capacity, or the ability to use oxygen. To do a fartlek walk, try walking at an increased pace for 3 minutes, slow down for 2 minutes, and repeat.</p>Gradually Increase Pace
<p>A faster walking pace is associated with a lower risk of <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/copd" target="_blank">chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)</a> and respiratory diseases, according to a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30303933/" target="_blank">2019 study</a>.</p><p>Still, it's best not to go from a stroll to an Olympic-worthy power walk in a day. Instead, increase your pace gradually to prevent injury.</p><p>"Start by walking at a brisk pace for about 10 minutes per day, 3 to 5 days per week," Rue says. "Once you've done this for a few weeks, increase your time by 5 to 10 minutes per day until you get to 30 minutes."</p>Add Stairs
<p>You've likely heard that taking the stairs instead of an elevator is a way to add more movement into your daily routine. It's also a way to step up your walking. Stair climbing has been shown to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335519301123?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">decrease the risk of mortality</a> and can easily add a bit more challenge to your walk.</p><p>If you don't have stairs in your home, you can often find them outside a local municipal building, train station, or at a high school stadium.</p>Is Your Walk a True Cardio Workout?
<p>Not all walks are equal. A walk that's too leisurely may not provide enough burn to qualify as cardio. To see if you're getting a good workout, try to <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-check-heart-rate" target="_blank">measure your heart rate</a> using a monitor.</p><p>"A target goal for a good walking workout heart rate is about 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate," Rue says, adding that maximum heart rate is <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/fat-burning-heart-rate" target="_blank">typically calculated</a> by 220 beats per minute minus your age.</p><p>You can also monitor how easily you can carry on a conversation while you walk to gauge your heart rate.</p><p>"If you can walk and carry on a normal conversation, that's probably a lower intensity walk," says Rue. "If you are slightly breathless but can still have a conversation, that's probably a moderate workout. If you are out of breath and can't talk normally, that's a vigorous workout."</p>Takeaway
<p>By shaking up your routine, you can add excitement to your workout and reap even more rewards than a basic walk provides. Increasing the pace and intensity of a workout will make it more effective.</p><p>Simply pick your favorite variation to add some spice to your next walk.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Barcelona's Liceu Opera house played a concert for plants Monday. Jordi Vidal / Getty Images
A Barcelona opera house played its first concert since mid-March to an unusual audience: 2,292 plants.
<p>The "Concert for the Biocene" at the Liceu opera house came the day after Spain finally lifted an emergency order put in place to prevent the spread of the new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-spain-opera-for-pl-idUSKBN23T22V" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. A string quartet played Giacomo Puccini's "Chrysanthemum," bowing respectfully before and after to its leafy audience.</p><p>"Nature advanced to occupy the spaces we snatched from it," Eugenio Ampudio, the conceptual artist behind the unique concert, said during a rehearsal Sunday, according to Reuters. "Can we extend our empathy? Let's begin with art and music, in a great theatre, by inviting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nature" target="_self">nature</a> in."</p><p>Human listeners were invited in too via a livestream.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aa1381ac01a4d1ce253436574b1122c4"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rgvadprJFRc?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>The concert organizers are also sharing the event in another way.</p><p>"After the concert, the plants will be donated with a certificate from the artist to 2,292 people who have been on the healthcare frontlines, the toughest front in a battle unprecedented for our generations, in recognition of their work," a <a href="https://www.liceubarcelona.cat/en/artist-eugenio-ampudia-inaugurates-activity-liceu-concert-2292-plants" target="_blank">Liceu press release explained</a>.</p><p>The plants came from local nurseries and will be given to workers at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona in particular.</p>
<p>Spain has been one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, with 28,323 deaths and 246,272 cases to date, according to Reuters. As it emerges from lockdown, theaters and cinemas are being allowed to reopen with limits on audience size, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/22/881943143/barcelona-opera-reopens-with-an-audience-of-plants" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>.</p><p>Monday's unique concert was conceived as a prelude to the opera's 2020-2021 season.</p><p>"The Liceu, one of the largest and most important opera halls in the world, thus welcomes and leads a highly symbolic act that defends the value of art, music and nature as a letter of introduction to our return to activity," the opera house wrote.</p>
<p>The concert also embodies Liceu artistic director <a href="https://www.liceubarcelona.cat/en/victor-garcia-de-gomar-future-artistic-director-gran-teatre-del-liceu" target="_blank">Víctor García de Gomar's</a> goal of forging dialogue between the venue and the visual arts. It is a collaboration between the Liceu, Ampudia, the Max Estrella Gallery and the curator Blanca de La Torre. As part of the collaboration, Ampudia took pictures and a video during the performance that will be added to the Contemporary Art Collection of "la Caixa."</p><p>"After a strange, painful period, the creator, the Liceu's artistic director and the curator Blanca de la Torre offer us a different perspective for our return to activity, a perspective that brings us closer to something as essential as our relationship with nature," the press release said.</p>
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A Sumatran orangutan is prepared for release into the wild at Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program's rehabilitation center in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
"Humanity's broken relationship with nature comes at a cost."
That cost is new zoonotic diseases, which are passed from animals to humans and "are emerging at an alarming rate." That is according to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report released Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate communities and economies across the globe.
<p>The report, entitled <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?364416/Conditions-are-rife-for-next-pandemic-unless-urgent-action-is-taken-WWF-warns" target="_blank"><em>Covid-19: Urgent Call to Protect People and Nature</em></a>, issues a call for global action "to reduce the risk of future pandemics and heal our broken relationship with nature," detailing specific moves that governments, companies and industries, civil society organizations, and the public should take to help create a healthier world.</p><p>"The increased emergence of zoonotic diseases," the report explains, "is linked to two widespread environmental risks."</p><ul><li>Driven by unsustainable food systems, the large-scale conversion of land for agriculture is increasing interactions between wildlife, livestock, and humans. Land conversion is destroying and fragmenting forests and other natural habitats around the world, resulting in higher levels of contact between wildlife, livestock, and humans. This problem is only set to worsen as the challenge of feeding a growing population increases and diets shift.</li><li>Poor food safety standards, including permitting the trade and consumption of high-risk wildlife species, are increasing human exposure to animal pathogens. Globally, demand for wild meat is growing, as either a delicacy or a necessity, driving increased sale and consumption, and increasing the potential for exposure to diseases during high-risk sourcing, handling, and preparation practices.</li></ul><p>Given the increased emergence of such diseases and the threats pandemics pose to health, economies, and global security, the report treats the current Covid-19 crisis as a signal to the international community that rapid "systemic changes must be made to address the environmental drivers of pandemics."</p>
<div id="8bf27" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="abcfdcc8ebf06dbba43a9b5295022d5b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1273245890652901377" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#COVID19 is the greatest health, economic and social crisis in a century. How we respond to it will shape the futur… https://t.co/aXOKL2N0Vb</div> — WWF (@WWF)<a href="https://twitter.com/WWF/statuses/1273245890652901377">1592400450.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>As WWF International director general Marco Lambertini <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?364416/Conditions-are-rife-for-next-pandemic-unless-urgent-action-is-taken-WWF-warns" target="_blank">put it </a>in a statement Wednesday: "We must urgently recognize the links between the destruction of nature and human health, or we will soon see the next pandemic."</p><p>"We must curb the high risk trade and consumption of wildlife, halt deforestation and land conversion, as well as manage food production sustainably," said Lambertini. "All these actions will help prevent the spillover of pathogens to humans, and also address other global risks to our society like biodiversity loss and climate change."</p><p>"There is no debate, and the science is clear; we must work with nature, not against it," he said. "Unsustainable exploitation of nature has become an enormous risk to us all."<em><br></em></p><p>Along with commenting on his group's new report, Lambertini on Wednesday co-authored a related <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/17/coronavirus-warning-broken-relationship-nature" target="_blank">op-ed</a> in the <em>Guardian</em> with Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and Maria Neira, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) department of environment, climate change, and health.</p>
<p>As of Wednesday afternoon, there <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">were</a> more than 8.2 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and over 444,000 deaths worldwide. The trio put the pandemic into a broader context:</p><blockquote>We have seen many diseases emerge over the years—such as Zika, Aids, Sars, and Ebola—and although they are quite different at first glance, they all originated from animal populations under conditions of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/coronavirus-nature-is-sending-us-a-message-says-un-environment-chief" target="_blank">severe environmental pressures</a>. And they all illustrate that our destructive behavior towards nature is endangering our own health—a stark reality we've been collectively ignoring for decades. <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/174012/9789241508537_eng.pdf?sequence=1" target="_blank">Research indicates</a> that most emerging infectious diseases are driven by human activities.<br></blockquote><p>The op-ed's authors echoed WWF's calls to reform global food systems and stop destroying natural habitats, and endorsed <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/26/hundreds-medical-professionals-and-groups-say-covid-19-stimulus-plans-must-be" target="_blank">demands</a> that governments and international bodies have faced throughout the pandemic, writing that "we must embrace a just, healthy, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/24/covid-19-economic-rescue-plans-must-be-green-say-environmentalists" target="_blank">green recovery</a>, and kickstart a wider transformation towards a model that values nature as the foundation for a healthy society, and a well-resourced and equitable economy."</p><p>"This means shifting to more sustainable practices, such as regenerative and diversified agriculture and diets, sustainable animal farming, green urban spaces, and clean forms of energy," they continued. "Not doing so, and instead attempting to save money by neglecting environmental protection, health systems, and social safety nets, has already proven to be a false economy. The bill will be paid many times over."</p>
<div id="7facd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0d96b0f1be500e1be6fa1b430334a062"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1273174411399626752" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Nature provides food & water, powers our economies & underpins our health. Yet we are pushing it to the brink.… https://t.co/8A2wAvIKwN</div> — WWF (@WWF)<a href="https://twitter.com/WWF/statuses/1273174411399626752">1592383408.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Lambertini, Mrema, and Neira expressed hope that the U.N. biodiversity <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/Summit-on-Biodiversity-2020" target="_blank">summit</a> currently scheduled for late September will serve as an opportunity for world leaders to "signal their support for a new relationship with our natural world" and "accelerate action through to next year when they are scheduled to take critical decisions on the environment, climate, and development."</p><p>The WWF report and op-ed follow a series of similar demands to reform humanity's relationship with nature on and leading up to World Environment Day earlier this month. Activists, scientists, policymakers, and other global figures <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/05/world-environment-day-provokes-warnings-care-humanity-we-must-care-nature" target="_blank">declared</a> that "the emergence of Covid-19 has underscored the fact that, when we destroy biodiversity, we destroy the system that supports human life."</p><p>In a webinar about pandemics, wildlife, and intensive animal farming a few days before World Environment Day, primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/03/jane-goodall-warns-humanity-will-be-finished-after-covid-19-without-ending-absolute" target="_blank">warned</a> of the dire consequences of failing to overhaul unsustainable global food systems and end the destruction of nature. "If we do not do things differently, we are finished," she said. "We can't go on very much longer like this."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/17/top-global-experts-say-humanity-must-heal-our-broken-relationship-nature-prevent" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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A woman gardens in an urban vegetable garden on April 17, 2020 in Annecy, France. Richard Bord / Getty Images
By Jennifer Atkinson
The coronavirus pandemic has set off a global gardening boom.
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-atkinson-456724" target="_blank">Jennifer Atkinson</a> is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Studies at University of Washington.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statement:</em><strong> </strong><em>Jennifer Atkinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
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<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-impulse-to-garden-in-hard-times-has-deep-roots-137223" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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<p>In the early days of lockdown, seed suppliers <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/culture/article/A-comeback-for-victory-gardens-amid-Bay-Area-15177272.php" target="_blank">were depleted</a> of inventory and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/coronavirus-gardening-boom-overwhelms-seed-suppliers-in-new-zealand-and-australia" target="_blank">reported</a> "unprecedented" demand. Within the U.S., the trend <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/dining/victory-gardens-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">has been</a> <a href="https://crosscut.com/2020/03/wwii-era-victory-gardens-make-comeback-amid-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR3ZAISo4LLibQcwlnYwjX2sKEdAIwCeU4maVah0DR8164AW7u76kLlZIMw" target="_blank">compared</a> to World War II <a href="https://library.si.edu/exhibition/cultivating-americas-gardens/gardening-for-the-common-good" target="_blank">victory gardening</a>, when Americans grew food at home to support the war effort and feed their families.</p><p>The analogy is surely convenient. But it reveals only one piece in a much bigger story about why people garden in hard times. Americans have long turned to the soil in moments of upheaval to manage anxieties and imagine alternatives. <a href="https://ugapress.org/book/9780820353197/gardenland" target="_blank">My research</a> has even led me to see gardening as a hidden landscape of desire for belonging and connection; for contact with nature; and for creative expression and improved health.</p><p>These motives have varied across time as growers respond to different historical circumstances. Today, what drives people to garden may not be the fear of hunger so much as hunger for physical contact, hope for nature's resilience and a longing to engage in work that is real.</p>
Why Americans Garden
<p>Prior to industrialization, most Americans were <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/" target="_blank">farmers</a> and would have considered it odd to grow food as a leisure activity. But as they moved into cities and suburbs to take factory and office jobs, coming home to putter around in one's potato beds took on a kind of novelty. Gardening also appealed to nostalgia for the passing of traditional farm life.</p><p>For black Americans denied the opportunity to abandon subsistence work, Jim Crow-era gardening reflected a different set of desires.</p><p>In her essay "<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxhbWVyaWNhbmxpdDE0MTV8Z3g6NWRlMGUyYzc5NDJjMTRmNA" target="_blank">In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens</a>," Alice Walker recalls her mother tending an extravagant flower garden late at night after finishing brutal days of field labor. As a child, she wondered why anyone would voluntarily add one more task to such a difficult life. Later, Walker understood that gardening wasn't just another form of labor; it was an act of artistic expression.</p><p>Particularly for black women relegated to society's least desirable jobs, gardening offered the chance to reshape a small piece of the world in, as Walker put it, one's "personal image of Beauty."</p><p>This isn't to say that food is always a secondary factor in gardening passions. Convenience cuisine in the 1950s spawned its <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt5hh1rm" target="_blank">own generation</a> of home-growers and <a href="https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4372.htm" target="_blank">back-to-the-land</a> movements rebelling against a <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520250352/meals-to-come" target="_blank">mid-century diet</a> now infamous for Jell-O mold salads, canned-food casseroles, TV dinner and Tang.</p><p><span></span>For millennial-era growers, gardens have responded to longings for <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329483674_The_Earth_Knows_My_Name_Food_Culture_and_Sustainability_in_the_Gardens_of_Ethnic_Americans" target="_blank">community and inclusion</a>, especially among <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/06/09/doing-whatever-it-takes-to-create-a-prison-garden" target="_blank">marginalized groups</a>. Immigrants and inner-city residents lacking access to green space and fresh produce have taken up "<a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520277779/paradise-transplanted" target="_blank">guerrilla gardening</a>" in vacant lots to revitalize their communities.</p>Gardening in the Age of Screens
<p>In 2011, Ron Finley – a resident of South Central L.A. and self-identified "<a href="https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-ron-finley-project-20170503-story.html" target="_blank">gangsta gardener</a>" – was even threatened with arrest for installing vegetable plots along sidewalks.</p><p>Such appropriations of public space for community use are often seen as threats to existing power structures. Moreover, many people can't wrap their heads around the idea that someone would spend time cultivating a garden but not reap all of the rewards.</p><p>When reporters asked Finley if he were concerned that people would steal the food, <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerrilla_gardener_in_south_central_la" target="_blank">he replied</a>, "Hell no I ain't afraid they're gonna steal it, that's why it's on the street!"</p><p>Since the lockdown began, I've watched my sister Amanda Fritzsche transform her neglected backyard in Cayucos, California, into a blooming sanctuary. She has also gotten into Zoom workouts, binged on Netflix and joined online happy hours. But as the weeks stretch into months, she seems to have less energy for those virtual encounters.</p><p>Gardening, on the other hand, has overtaken her life. Plantings that started out back have expanded around the side of the house, and gardening sessions have stretched later into the evening, when she sometimes works by headlamp.</p><p>When I asked about her new obsession, Amanda kept returning to her unease with screen time. She told me that virtual sessions gave a momentary boost, but "there's always something missing … an empty feeling when you log off."</p><p>Many can probably sense what's missing. It's the physical presence of others, and the opportunity to use our bodies in ways that matter. It's the same longing for community that fills coffee shops with fellow gig workers and yoga studios with the heat of other bodies. It's the electricity of the crowd at a concert, the students whispering behind you in class.</p>
<p>And so if the novel coronavirus underscores an age of distancing, gardening arises as an antidote, extending the promise of contact with something real. My sister talked about this, too: how gardening appealed to the whole body, naming sensory pleasures like "hearing song birds and insects, tasting herbs, the smell of dirt and flowers, the warm sun and satisfying ache." While the virtual world may have its own ability to absorb attention, it is not immersive in the way gardening can be.</p><p>But this season, gardening is about more than physical activity for the sake of activity. Robin Wallace, owner of a photo production business in Camarillo, California, noted how the lockdown made her professional identity "suddenly irrelevant" as a "non-essential" worker. She went on to point out a key benefit of her garden: "The gardener is never without a purpose, a schedule, a mission."</p><p>As automation and better algorithms make more forms of work obsolete, that longing for purpose gains special urgency. Gardens are a reminder that there are limits to what can be done without physical presence. As with handshakes and hugs, one cannot garden through a screen.</p><p>You might pick up skills from YouTube, but, as gardening icon Russell Page <a href="https://www.nyrb.com/products/the-education-of-a-gardener?variant=1094931829" target="_blank">once wrote</a>, real expertise comes from directly handling plants, "getting to know their likes and dislikes by smell and touch. 'Book learning' gave me information," he explained, "but only physical contact can give any real … understanding of a live organism."</p>
Filling the Void
<p>Page's observation suggests a final reason why the coronavirus pandemic has ignited such a flurry of gardening. Our era is one of profound <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.010" target="_blank">loneliness</a>, and the proliferation of <a href="https://www.upmc.com/media/news/012219-primack-sidani-posneg" target="_blank">digital devices</a> is only one of the causes. That emptiness also proceeds from the staggering <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank">retreat of nature</a>, a process underway well before screen addiction. The people coming of age during the COVID-19 pandemic have already witnessed oceans die and glaciers disappear, watched Australia and the Amazon burn and mourned the astonishing <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/wwf-report-reveals-staggering-extent-of-human-impact-on-planet" target="_blank">loss of global wildlife</a>.</p><p>Perhaps this explains why <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/magazine/quarantine-animal-videos-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">stories of nature's "comeback"</a> are continually <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-04-21/wildlife-thrives-amid-coronavirus-lockdown" target="_blank">popping up</a> alongside those gardening headlines. We cheer at images of animals <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/science/coronavirus-animals-wildlife-goats.html" target="_blank">reclaiming</a> abandoned spaces and birds filling skies cleared of pollution. Some of these accounts are credible, others <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-fake-animal-viral-social-media-posts/" target="_blank">dubious</a>. What matters, I think, is that they offer a glimpse of the world as we wish it could be: In a time of immense suffering and climate breakdown, we are desperate for signs of life's resilience.</p><p>My final conversation with Wallace offered a clue as to how this desire is also fueling today's gardening craze. She marveled at how life in the garden continues to "spring forth in our absence, or even because of our absence." Then she closed with an insight at once "liberating" and "humiliating" that touches on hopes reaching far beyond the nation's backyards: "No matter what we do, or how the conference call goes, the garden will carry on, with or without us."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Nature is viewed on a computer screen in NYC. Tetra Images / Getty Images
By Cris Brack and Aini Jasmin Ghazalli
Are you feeling anxious or irritated during the coronavirus lockdown? Do you constantly want to get up and move? Maybe you need a moment to engage with nature.
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<p>Getting into the great outdoors is difficult at right now. But our research soon to be published in <em>Australian Forestry</em> shows you can improve your mood by experiencing nature indoors. This could mean placing a few pot plants in the corner of your home office, or even just looking at photos of plants.</p><p>Our work adds to <a href="https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-and-our-brains-how-ecology-and-mental-health-go-together-in-our-cities-126760" target="_blank">a compelling body of research</a> that shows being around nature directly benefits our mental health.</p><p>Public gardens and parks, street verges with trees and bushes, and even rooftop gardens bring us a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10630732.2019.1637694" target="_blank">broad range of benefits</a> – boosting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(00)00317-2" target="_blank">physical health</a>, reducing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.12.011" target="_blank">air pollution</a>, and even <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs4040394" target="_blank">lowering crime rates</a>.</p>
Biophilia
<p>But inside, in your hastily constructed home office or home school room, you may be unable to take full advantage of <a href="https://theconversation.com/green-for-wellbeing-science-tells-us-how-to-design-urban-spaces-that-heal-us-82437" target="_blank">urban nature</a>.<br></p><p>Embracing the notion of "biophilia" – the innate human affinity with nature – while locked down inside may improve your productivity and even your health.</p><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-a-second-nature-into-our-cities-wildness-art-and-biophilic-design-88642" target="_blank">biophilia hypothesis</a> argues modern day humans evolved from hundreds of generations of ancestors whose survival required them to study, understand and rely on nature. So a disconnection from nature today can cause <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1010043827986" target="_blank">significant issues for humans</a>, such as a decline in psychological health.</p><p>In practice at home, connecting with nature might mean having large windows overlooking the garden. You can also <a href="https://makeitwood.org/documents/doc-1624-pollinate-health-report---february-2018.pdf" target="_blank">improve working conditions</a> by having natural materials in your office or school room, such as wooden furniture, natural stones and pot plants.</p>Indoor Plants
<p>Our research has demonstrated that even a small number of plants hanging in pockets on along a busy corridor provide enough nature to influence our physiological and psychological perceptions.</p><p>These plants even caused behavioral differences, where people would <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866717306763" target="_blank">change their route</a> through a building to come into contact with the indoor plants.</p><p>We surveyed 104 people, and 40% of the respondents reported their mood and emotions improved in the presence of indoor plants.</p><p>They felt "relaxed and grounded" and "more interested". The presence of indoor greenery provides a place to "relax from routine" and it made the space "significantly more pleasant to work in".<span></span></p><p>As one person reported:</p><blockquote>When I first saw the plants up on the wall brought a smile to my face.<br><br>Whenever I walk down the stairs or walk past I mostly always feel compelled to look at the plants on the wall. Not with any anxiety or negative thoughts, rather, at how pleasant and what a great idea it is.</blockquote>Looking at Wildlife Photography
<p>Our research also explored whether viewing images, posters or paintings of nature would make a difference.</p><p>We photographed the plants from viewpoints similar to those the corridor users experienced. Survey responses from those who only viewed these digital images were almost the same as those who experienced them in real life.</p><p>While we can't say for sure, we can hypothesise that given the importance of vision in modern humans, an image that "looks" like nature might be enough to trigger a biophilic response.</p><p>However, physically being in the presence of plants did have some stronger behavioral effects. For example corridor users wanted to linger longer looking at the plants than those who viewed the photographs, and were more likely to want to visit the plants again. Maybe the other senses - touch, smell, even sound - created a stronger biophilic response than just sight alone.</p><p>So the good news is if you can't get to a nursery – or if you have a serious inability to keep plants alive – you can still benefit from looking at photographs of them.</p><p>If you haven't been taking your own photos, search the plethora of images from wildlife photographers such as <a href="http://gimesy.com/" target="_blank">Doug Gimesy</a>, <a href="http://lanting.com/" target="_blank">Frans Lanting</a> and <a href="https://www.tanyastollznow.com/" target="_blank">Tanya Stollznow</a>.</p><p>Or check out live camera feeds of a wide range of environments, and travel to far-flung places without leaving the safety of home.</p><p>While we haven't tested the mood-boosting effects of live videos, we hypothesise their physiological and psychological effects will be no different than digital photographs.</p><p>Here are seven places to help you get started.</p><ul><li>The <a href="https://bushblitz.org.au/" target="_blank">Bush Blitz</a> citizen science app launched a new online tool today. The species recovery program encourages children to explore their backyard to identify different species.</li><li>"From the bottom of the sea direct to your screen": watch this <a href="https://www.natureaustralia.org.au/what-we-do/our-priorities/oceans/ocean-stories/reef-cam-underwater/" target="_blank">underwater live stream</a> of Victoria's rocky reef off Port Phillip Bay</li><li>The Coastal Watch website offers <a href="https://www.coastalwatch.com/surf-cams-surf-reports" target="_blank">live camera feeds on beaches</a> around Australia.</li><li>Watch the running water, trees and occasional fauna in California's <a href="https://explore.org/livecams/zen-den/live-redwood-cam-1" target="_blank">Redwood Forest River</a>.</li><li>In pastoral Australia, go on a <a href="https://youtu.be/qqYFgqN_q-w" target="_blank">four-hour drive through the country side</a> along tree-lined roads.</li><li><a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/animal-house/" target="_blank">Zoos Victoria</a> has set up live cameras that show its animals in natural (and nature-like) environments from Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo.</li><li>Yellowstone National Park may be closed right now, but <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm?sf174893829=1" target="_blank">webcams are stationed</a> in various locations throughout the park.</li></ul>
<p class=""><em></em></p><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cris-brack-98407" target="_blank">Cris Brack</a> is an</em><strong> </strong><em>Associate Professor at Fenner School of Environment and Society at Australian National University.</em></p><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aini-jasmin-ghazalli-117052" target="_blank">Aini Jasmin Ghazalli</a> is a </em>g<em>raduate student.</em></p><p><em>Disclosure statement: Cris Brack has received funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a Member of the Institute of Foresters of Australia and the ACT Climate Change Council as well as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.</em></p><p><em>Aini Jasmin works as a tutor in Universiti Putra Malaysia. She has received funding from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for her PhD.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/cant-go-outside-even-seeing-nature-on-a-screen-can-improve-your-mood-135320" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Alley farming at the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens allows for multiple crops to be planted alongside each other, maximizing the most efficient use of land. Citizen of the Planet / Education Images / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
By Tim Radford
Forget about organic farming: get the best out of the best cropland, return the rest to nature and still feed the world. It could work, say researchers.
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<p><br/></p><p><span></span><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/" target="_blank">Climate News Network</a></em> <em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>
<p>Once again, scientists have demonstrated that <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/iifa-rlt041420.php" target="_blank">humans could restore roughly half the planet as a natural home</a> for all the other wild things, while at the same time feeding a growing population and limiting climate change.</p><p>That doesn't mean it will happen, or could be made to happen easily. But it does yet again address one of the enduring challenges of population growth and <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/humans-drive-sixth-mass-extinction-wave/" target="_blank">the potentially devastating loss of the biodiversity</a> upon which all individual species – humans more than most – depend to survive.</p><p>The answer? Simply to farm more efficiently and more intensively, to maximize the yield from those tracts of land most suitable for crops, and let nature reclaim the no-longer so productive hectares.</p><p>Even more effective would be to release as much land as possible in those regions that ecologists and biologists like to call "biodiversity hotspots," among them the forests where concentrations of species are at their peak.</p><p>European researchers argue, in a study in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-0505-x" target="_blank">Nature Sustainability</a>, that as less land was cultivated, but more intensively, the greenhouse gas emissions from farming would be reduced: so too would water use.</p>
<p>"The main questions we wanted to address were how much cropland could be spared if attainable crop yields were achieved globally and crops were grown where they are most productive," said <a href="https://iiasa.ac.at/web/home/research/researchPrograms/EcosystemsServicesandManagement/Folberth__Christian.html" target="_blank">Christian Folberth, a scientist with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis</a> (IIASA) in Austria, who led the study.</p><p>"In addition, we wanted to determine what the implications would be for other factors related to the agricultural sector, including fertilizer and irrigation water requirements, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration potential, and wildlife habitat for threatened species."</p><p>The problem is enormous, and enormously complex. Cropland farming alone – forget about methane from cattle and sheep – accounts for 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. Worldwide, about 70% of all the freshwater taken from rivers and aquifers goes into irrigation.</p><p>Human populations <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/population-boom-adds-to-city-threats/" target="_blank">continue to soar</a>, while <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/rising-urban-space-demands-squeeze-out-farmers/" target="_blank">cities continue to expand</a> across the countryside. By the end of this century, there could be <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/un-population-growth-data-is-bad-news-for-climate/" target="_blank">more than 9bn people</a> to be fed.</p><p><a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/heat-hits-wheat-yields/" target="_blank">Global heating driven by fossil fuel investment</a> continues to increase, and this in turn <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/lethal-dangers-of-lower-fruit-and-veg-yields/" target="_blank">threatens to diminish harvest yields</a> across a wide range of crops, along with <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/under-nutrition-will-grow-in-warmer-world/" target="_blank">the nutritive value of the staples themselves</a>.</p>
Nature under threat
<p>At the same time, both <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/a-third-of-plants-and-animals-risk-mass-extinction/" target="_blank">climate change driven by global warming</a> and <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/humans-put-conservation-reserves-at-risk/" target="_blank">the expansion of the cities and the surrounding farmlands</a> continue to amplify the threat to natural habitats and the millions of species – many yet to be identified and named by science – that depend upon them.</p><p>And this in turn poses a threat to human economies and even human life: almost every resource – antibiotic medicines and drugs, food, waste disposal, <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/wild-plant-ancestors-need-more-protection/" target="_blank">fabrics</a>, building materials and even fresh air and water – evolved in undisturbed ecosystems long before <em>Homo sapiens</em> arrived, and the services each element provides <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/entire-wild-systems-at-risk-from-rising-global-heat/" target="_blank">depend ultimately on the survival of those ecosystems</a>.</p><p>So the challenge is to restore and return to nature <a href="https://www.half-earthproject.org/" target="_blank">around half the land humans already use</a>, while at the same time feeding what could be an additional 2bn people, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions but still <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300" target="_blank">sustaining development</a> in the poorest nations.</p><p>Dr Folberth and his colleagues from Slovakia, France, Belgium, Spain and the UK are <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/win-win-way-to-aid-food-security-and-climate/" target="_blank">not the first to argue that it can be done</a>, and not just by <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/climate-crisis-needs-radical-food-changes/" target="_blank">changing the planetary lunch menu</a>.</p><p>The scientists looked at the data for 16 major crop species around the world to calculate that at least in theory – with careful use of the right crops on the most suitable soils, and with high fertilizer use – about half of the present cropland now cultivated could still deliver the present output.</p><p>That is, the land humans occupy is not being managed efficiently. If it were, the other half could be returned to wilderness, and <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/conservation-pays-its-way-handsomely/" target="_blank">conserved as natural forest, grassland or wetland</a>.</p>Climate benefits
<p>If humans then thought about how best to slow biodiversity loss, they would do almost as well by abandoning farmland in those places where there was the greatest concentration of wild things – tropical rain forests, estuary floodplains and mangrove swamps, for instance. And just returning 20% of farmland to nature everywhere else would still reduce human farmland use by 40%.</p><p>In return, fertilizer use would remain about the same, but greenhouse gas emissions and water use would fall, while more land would become free to sequester atmospheric carbon.</p><p>There would be costs – nitrogen pollution would go up in some places, and many rural farmers would become even poorer – so more thinking needs to be done. The point the European researchers want to make is that, in principle, it should be possible to feed people, abandon farmland to the natural world and <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/european-union-helped-to-cool-2003-heatwave/" target="_blank">reduce emissions</a> all at the same time.</p><p>"It shows that cropland expansion is not inevitable and there is significant potential for improving present land use efficiency," said <a href="https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/2019/0520-mobersteiner.html" target="_blank">Michael Obersteiner, another author, now at the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford</a>.</p><p>"If the right policies are implemented, measures such as improved production technologies can be just as effective as demand-side measures like <a href="https://climatenewsnetwork.net/less-meat-for-rich-can-cut-heat-and-hunger/" target="_blank">dietary changes</a>. However, in all cases, such a process would need to be steered by policies to avoid unwanted outcomes."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Restored marshlands are photographed at the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve on Feb. 16, 2017, in Hayward, Calif. MediaNews Group / Bay Area News / Getty Images
By Amanda Paulson
Just off Highway 880 at the edge of Hayward, the cityscape changes abruptly. Businesses and parking lots give way to large swaths of pickle grass and pools of water stretching out to the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay.
On a recent sunny, windy March day – just before COVID-19 sent the Bay Area into lockdown – Dave Halsing stood on the trails at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve and pointed out what used to be old industrial salt ponds. He noted how they're gradually being restored into a rich mosaic of tidal wetlands and other ecosystems in the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project.
<p><br/></p>
<p class=""><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/" target="_blank">The Christian Science Monitor </a></em><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>
<p>Little by little, he explains, over 15,000 acres of salt ponds – largely ecological dead zones that had been transferred from industrial companies to the state – are being brought back to functional ecosystems. They provide important habitat for species like the Western snowy plover and California least tern, add recreational trails for Bay Area residents, and provide flood protection for the San Francisco Bay – a needed adaptation in an era of rising seas. "It's inspiring but challenging," says Mr. Halsing, the executive project manager.</p><p>The work to restore the Bay Area's tidal marshes is just one example of a strategy that has been gaining attention in the past few years from climate change experts. Often described as "nature-based climate solutions," this strategy encompasses a wide range of conservation and restoration approaches involving trees, mangroves, soil, and marshlands.</p><p>Many current projects – like the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project – have locally targeted goals: improved habitat for species or resilience to climate change-related events like hurricanes, floods, or fire. But investing in such approaches at a large scale has another potential benefit, too, say experts: harnessing the natural ability of trees, plants, and soil to store carbon. </p><p>"Nature figured out how to solve the toxic carbon dioxide problem 3 billion years ago when it invented photosynthesis, and we're trying to invent similar processes now to solve carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. So why not use nature," explains Peter Ellis, a forest carbon scientist with The Nature Conservancy, who co-authored <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645" target="_blank">a landmark study</a> in 2017 showing that natural climate solutions could accomplish about one-third of the mitigation work required in the next decade to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius. </p>
Could Planting One Trillion Trees Actually Work?
<p>Those promoting natural climate solutions emphasize that it's just one piece of a puzzle that also requires a major shift away from fossil fuels and carbon-based energy. But many experts are seeing these natural solutions as low-hanging fruit that have yet to be tapped at a large scale. </p><p>In January, the World Economic Forum launched the ambitious <a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank">One Trillion Trees</a> initiative, with the goal of planting and conserving 1 trillion trees around the globe in the coming decade. Even President Donald Trump signed on. </p><p>The initiative has received some criticism, even among climate activists, who worry it's overly simplistic, takes emphasis off of the energy shift that needs to happen, and will encourage poorly conceived projects that might perpetuate other environmental issues.</p><p>And some climate experts have argued that the claims made by natural-solutions proponents in general are lofty and overly optimistic – that they couldn't come close to reducing carbon dioxide at the magnitude some studies have found. </p><p>But those debates, ultimately, are unproductive, says James Mulligan, a senior associate in the World Resources Institute's food, forests, and water program. Climate solutions, he notes, aren't a zero-sum game. Nature-based solutions won't ever be enough on their own, says Mr. Mulligan, but they have some big upsides, particularly that most are relatively low cost, some have more bipartisan appeal, and many are "win-win," with none of the "losers" that can be a byproduct of other strategies. </p><p>"The question for me is: would this help? And the answer is yes," says Mr. Mulligan. "Do I think we can restore a trillion trees to the planet? Probably not. ... In the U.S., our analysis shows we could restore 60 billion trees to the American landscape." That, he says, would be a "tall order," but would remove about a half a gigaton of CO2 per year.</p><p>"That's a meaningful wedge," he says. "And that's just one nature-based solution." </p>Protection Before Planting?
<p>All trees – and all nature-based solutions – aren't created equal. And many advocates stress that it makes sense to focus on the ecosystems with the most to offer, or the methods that yield the biggest dividends.</p><p>"We need to protect first, to hold the line," says Mr. Ellis of The Nature Conservancy, explaining that he views good management of existing ecosystems as being even more important than restoration. </p><p>Certain ecosystems, like mangroves and peatlands, are of vital importance to conserve, says Will Turner, senior vice president of global strategies for Conservation International. In those ecosystems, the soil stores so much carbon that losing much more of it in coming years would be devastating, he says.</p><p>But to Dr. Turner, conservation and restoration are two sides of a coin, both necessary. Protecting critical ecosystems like tropical forests and mangroves that are being destroyed at a steady rate is crucial in terms of reducing current emissions, he says. But removing carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere is also necessary, if there is any hope of keeping warming below 2 degrees Celsius. </p><p>"We have a long way to go before we have any technology that is capable of removing CO2 from the atmosphere at scale except trees," says Dr. Turner. "We'd be foolish not to invest incredibly heavily in regrowing forests."</p><p>Despite all the potential of natural climate solutions, most of the examples being tried so far are at a relatively small scale. </p><p>WRI's plan for 60 billion trees planted in the U.S. over the next 20 years, Mr. Mulligan notes, would require about $4 billion a year in federal subsidies. But many of these efforts are "happening at the pace and scale of the conservation sector," he says. And that figure, while relatively modest in terms of government spending, is far beyond what the nonprofit community can handle. </p><p>Dr. Turner, of Conservation International, agrees. What the conservation community has done well, he says, is shown how these projects can work, how technology can be used to monitor and verify emissions reductions, and how financial mechanisms can allow governments or corporations to invest in these strategies.</p>
Discovering an Ecosystem in Every Backyard
<p>Meanwhile, part of the beauty of nature-based solutions, Dr. Turner says, is that – while some may certainly have more payoff than others in terms of climate mitigation – "there is something that can happen anywhere. Every community has an option to protect a forest or grow a forest or protect a grassland, or to better manage grazing lands so you can get greater carbon stored in the soil."</p><p>And many of those solutions – like the marsh restoration taking place in the San Francisco Bay – offer significant local benefits that go far beyond potential emissions reduction: habitat for endangered species, cleaner air and water, recreation opportunities for residents, flood risk mitigation at a time of rising seas. </p><p>In the Bay Area, emissions mitigation isn't a real driver of the restoration work, and the carbon market for wetlands isn't as robust as that for forests. But that doesn't mean those benefits don't exist, says Letitia Grenier, co-director of the Resilient Landscapes Program for the San Francisco Estuary Institute. </p><p>In her role at the institute, Dr. Grenier looks for creative ways to harness the natural benefits of ecosystems in ways that work for both people and nature – and they are plentiful, she says.</p><p>"One of the things climate change has shown us is that we live in ecosystems," says Dr. Grenier. "Not only do we impact ecosystems, but our ecosystem impacts us." In many instances, she says, when she looks at, say, a large watershed, the system is essentially broken. Too many discordant elements have been introduced. </p><p>"Suddenly, our system is not working for us," says Dr. Grenier. "Climate change is creating the realization of that, and the opportunity to fix it."</p>From Your Site Articles
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By Tim Lydon
Climate-related disasters are on the rise, and carbon emissions are soaring. Parents today face the unprecedented challenge of raising children somehow prepared for a planetary emergency that may last their lifetimes. Few guidebooks are on the shelves for this one, yet, but experts do have advice. And in a bit of happy news, it includes strategies already widely recognized as good for kids.
<p>First, consider that a child born today enters a world growing progressively hotter, where recent weather extremes have displaced <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/06/lets-talk-about-climate-migrants-not-climate-refugees/" target="_blank">tens of millions</a> of people. Scientists say displacement may swell into the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2019/10/30/shocking-new-maps-show-how-sea-level-rise-will-destroy-coastal-cities-by-2050/#6195a2a9456c" target="_blank">hundreds of millions</a> in the years ahead, as the rapid <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/12/05/alaska-climate-change-glacier/" target="_blank">melting</a> of glaciers now underway drives sea levels upward. The resulting <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/mental-health/2018/10/18/climate-change-and-its-staggering-refugee-crisis/" target="_blank">migrations</a> will likely trigger conflict, hunger, and political instability. As we already see in the children pressed against the U.S.-Mexico border, many of them fleeing drought in <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/418976-migrant-caravan-shows-the-destabilizing-effect-of-climate-change" target="_blank">Central America</a>, migrations may also lead to hardened borders and xenophobic or <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/8/7/20756775/el-paso-shooting-trump-hispanic-invasion" target="_blank">racist</a> impulses. All this causes military analysts to call climate change a "<a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/06/why-climate-change-is-a-threat-multiplier/" target="_blank">threat multiplier</a>" that can exacerbate existing social problems.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2020/02/18/climate-change-kids/" target="_blank">YES! Magazine</a>. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2645215980#/" target="_self"></a></em><em></em></p>
<p>Parents today must brace kids for both the direct physical impacts of climate change and the humanitarian crises they will trigger, which may be worsened by human behaviors. Whether kids experience the events personally or in the context of world news, experts say kids will need strong foundations in resilience, positive thinking, compassion, and other skills to maintain mental health and inform their responses.</p><p>"It's a lot for parents to think about," said Tracey Wiese, an advanced nurse practitioner who specializes in family practice and psychiatric mental health in Alaska. As warming brings <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/new-report-highlights-alaska%E2%80%99s-last-five-years-dramatic-climate" target="_blank">transformative change</a> to Alaska, upending landscapes, cultural norms, and nutritional resources, Wiese sees growing anxiety among parents.</p><p>"I hear about it every week now," she said from her office in Anchorage. "Parents are worried about existential stuff, like clean water, a livable planet for their kids, even catastrophic environmental events."</p><p>Wiese said parents can use a range of strategies to help children, but that kids first require a supportive relationship with one or more caregivers.</p><p>"That connection is vital for helping children develop skills such as resilience," she said.</p>
PoPositive Stress and Strong Support Networks
<p>Wiese defines resilience as the ability to manage stress and adapt to change. Her words are backed by a 2017 American Psychological Association <a href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> on the mental health impacts of climate change, which also emphasizes strong caregiver support and the value of resilience. For parents, the report's authors recommend cultivating belief in a child's own resilience, fostering optimism, and teaching children to control emotional responses to change. These are common tenets of modern parenting the report said are made especially important by climate change.</p><p>Psychologists also describe the value of "<a href="https://center.uoregon.edu/StartingStrong/uploads/STARTINGSTRONG2016/HANDOUTS/KEY_49962/TypesofStress.pdf" target="_blank">positive stress,</a>" which may include public speaking, making new friends, and other experiences that can briefly increase heart rates but that help wire young minds to adapt to change. Parents who provide supportive coaching through these normal life experiences help kids develop resilience.</p><p>"Parents also need to model positive and appropriate responses to stress," Wiese said.</p><p>Like many things, what happens earliest in life matters most, but teens and even adults can still improve resilience. The APA offers an online <a href="https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/resilience" target="_blank">guide</a> with age-appropriate strategies for parents.</p><p>In contrast, stress related to poverty, malnutrition, violence, or abuse can weaken a child's resilience, acting as "threat multipliers" of their own for children born into the climate change era. In such cases, climate can compound existing stress, potentially increasing odds for substance abuse, anxiety, or depression, according to the authors of the APA report.</p><p>Especially where caregiver support is lacking, coaches, teachers, and other mentors can help young people manage these negative stressors. It's a reminder that entire communities, not just parents, will have a hand in raising climate-resilient children.</p><p>That community focus is an important factor according to Susan Clayton, a psychologist at Wooster College in Ohio and co-editor of <em><a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/psychology-and-climate-change/clayton/978-0-12-813130-5" target="_blank">Psychology and Climate Change: Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses</a>,</em> which summarizes psychological research tied to climate change.</p><p><span></span>"Strong social support networks give children a better foundation in resilience," Clayton said. She lists teachers, clubs, and faith communities as good examples of social networks that become "sources of meaning" for kids.</p>Connnection to the Outdoors
<p>Connecting youths to the outdoors is also important when it comes to climate change. <a href="https://www.parentingscience.com/outdoor-learning.html" target="_blank">Research</a> shows time outdoors, especially at an early age, can reduce childhood stress and anxiety, while strengthening confidence, imagination, and physical health — all characteristics that will help tomorrow's adults adapt to a changing world.</p><p>"Nature-based education [and] therapy are real sources of strength and resilience for young people," Clayton said.</p><p>But not everyone grows up with access to the outdoors, and both climate change and population growth are driving greater <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/03/climate-migrants-report-world-bank-spd/" target="_blank">movement</a> to urban areas worldwide. It means more kids live in developed areas with limited time in nature.</p><p>Fortunately, concern over how much time kids spend hitched to phones and computers has already sparked a <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/12/13/nature-based-education/" target="_blank">revival</a> in nature-based education. Parents and teachers today can access a growing network of tested programs. Some, such as <a href="https://www.plt.org/about-us/" target="_blank">Project Learning Tree</a> and the <a href="https://www.neefusa.org/nature/water/benefits-environmental-education" target="_blank">National Environmental Education Foundation</a>, are active across the country, but an expanding galaxy of others function at the local level. At the movement's cutting edge is a growing number of outdoor-focused <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/early-childhood-outdoor-education/558959/" target="_blank">preschools</a> and <a href="https://www.rei.com/blog/news/are-outdoor-preschools-the-wave-of-the-future" target="_blank">kindergartens</a> that provide formative experiences in natural settings, including within urban areas.</p><p>Proponents say nature-based education is good for older kids, too, and can spark interest in science and other fields that will be crucial in the decades ahead, as people engineer solutions to climate-related challenges. Such programs may steer teens toward promising careers. But in the short term, learning about science and nature can instill optimism in the face of discouraging climate news.</p>Discuss and Model Solutions
<p>But what about day-to-day actions in the home? Experts agree that discussing climate change and modeling behaviors that reflect climate solutions are important, too. Discussions need to be <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/04/raising-kids-climate-change/554969/" target="_blank">age-appropriate</a> to protect young children from unnecessary stress and anxiety. But exhibiting climate-positive behaviors such as energy conservation and avoiding single-use plastics carries value at all ages. According to Wiese, it shows kids that parents are engaged in trying to better the world, and it fosters resilience by channeling energy toward tangible action.</p><p>Mary DeMocker, author of <a href="https://www.marydemocker.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Parents' Guide to Climate Revolution</em></a>, agrees. As the mother of two young adults, DeMocker spent more than two decades raising kids with climate change in mind, and she believes in empowering young people to create solutions.</p><p>"Anything that gives kids a sense of agency is important," she said. "Maybe they help put together the family's emergency plan or evacuation kit. For older kids, it might mean writing letters to Congress."</p><p>DeMocker's book contains 100 short, action-oriented chapters with ideas on greener lifestyles, getting kids outdoors, and promoting solutions to the climate crisis. She is attentive to the science of climate change and the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046972" target="_blank">urgent need</a> for a swift transition to clean energy. That drives her belief that children growing up today must feel empowered to create change. In addition to strong support networks, time outdoors, and positive thinking habits, she said, empowerment comes from solid foundations in both civics and climate science.</p><p>"I encourage parents to push for climate literacy in schools," she said. "Climate change is the biggest thing that's going to affect their children's future. Kids need to know the science and causes but also the solutions. And it needs to be taught free from the constraints of political interests."</p><p>DeMocker said young people should not be told "what to think about climate, but how to think about it." She believes teaching kids to think critically about the issue, including in geopolitical terms, helps them avoid despair and instead empowers them to create change. A grounding in civics and democracy then informs kids how change can occur.</p>Foster Compassion
<p>Compassion is also a theme in DeMocker's work. She said it's an important emotional response for parents to exercise while listening to a child's fears about climate change, which may include concerns about wildlife, natural disasters, or the well-being of friends, family, and even pets.</p><p>In Alaska, Wiese also sees the importance of compassion. She said parents foster compassion when they provide a safe emotional place for kids to express their feelings and where feelings are respected. For younger children, she also sees value in <a href="https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/raising-includers-5-tips-to-help-your-kids-be-kind-and-compassionate?gclid=Cj0KCQiApaXxBRDNARIsAGFdaB9Dp67VmyJHY5kke0ptpDapbSc767cVtYMrs-05ZI0DtfKRAKVgRw8aArYCEALw_wcB#disqus_thread" target="_blank">compassion-based play</a>.</p><p>Exercising compassion models behaviors young people will need in the future, too, as they emerge as adults into a world undergoing significant physical and societal change. Global experts <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/06/1041261" target="_blank">predict</a> low- and middle-income people — and especially children — will continue feeling the brunt of weather extremes, food shortages, and other climate-related events. Tomorrow's adults will need to know the value of compassion to promote responses that alleviate suffering, foster social justice, and decarbonize the economy. That provides a check against intolerance, nationalism, and other negative reactions that can compound suffering and civil unrest. Practicing compassion also carries mental health <a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-compassionate-mind" target="_blank">benefits</a> that can help tomorrow's adults weather the climate disruption they will experience.</p><p>Like climate change itself, the prospect of raising children on a warming planet is daunting. When it becomes overwhelming, Wiese said, parents should focus on what they can control: Practice self-care. Provide kids with safety and support. Teach resilience and compassion. And model planet-healthy choices that orient children away from anxiety and toward solutions.</p><p><em>Tim Lydon has worked on public lands issues for many years and is a founding member of the Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation. His writing has appeared in Hakai Magazine, The Revelator, The Hill, Terrain.org, and elsewhere.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Lioness displays teeth during light rainstorm in Kruger National Park, South Africa. johan63 / iStock / Getty Images
Ahead of government negotiations scheduled for next week on a global plan to address the biodiversity crisis, 23 former foreign ministers from various countries released a statement on Tuesday urging world leaders to act "boldly" to protect nature.
<p>"It is clear to us... that climate change, ecosystem degradation, and the excessive exploitation of natural resources are now threatening millions of species with extinction and jeopardizing the health of our planet," says the statement. "The loss and degradation of nature jeopardizes human health, livelihoods, safety, and prosperity. It disproportionately harms our poorest communities while undermining our ability to meet a broad range of targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."</p><p>"The world has a moral imperative to collaborate on strong actions to mitigate and adapt to the current climate change and biodiversity crisis. Ambitious targets for conservation of land and ocean ecosystems are vital components of the solution," the statement continues. "Humanity sits on the precipice of irreversible loss of biodiversity and a climate crisis that imperils the future for our grandchildren and generations to come. The world must act boldly, and it must act now."</p>
<div id="e87b3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4ZM3VT1582133041"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1229719456793784322" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"Humanity sits on the precipice of irreversible loss of #biodiversity. The world must act boldly, and it must act n… https://t.co/yNIHPhhjI2</div> — Friends of the Earth (@Friends of the Earth)<a href="https://twitter.com/foeeurope/statuses/1229719456793784322">1582022940.0</a></blockquote></div><p>A U.N. report released in May 2019 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warned that, as Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/06/ominous-un-report-warns-human-activity-has-pushed-one-million-plant-and-animal" target="_blank">reported</a> at the time, "human exploitation of the natural world has pushed a million plant and animal species to the brink of extinction—with potentially devastating implications for the future of civilization."</p><p>That report and a growing body of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/climate-crisis-could-cause-third-plant-and-animal-species-disappear-within-50-years" target="_blank">scientific research</a> on rapidly declining biodiversity has led scientists and policymakers alike to raise the alarm about the consequences of not acting ambitiously enough to address what experts have called the "<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/11/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-underway-scientists-implore-action" target="_blank">sixth mass extinction</a>." U.N. biodiversity chief Elizabeth Maruma Mrema <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/21/we-risk-living-empty-world-if-assault-nature-not-stopped-warns-un-biodiversity-chief" target="_blank">told</a> the <em>Guardian</em> last month that humanity risks being left to contend with an "empty world."</p><p>The new statement from diplomats came before the Feb. 24–29 <a href="https://sdg.iisd.org/events/second-meeting-of-the-open-ended-working-group-on-the-post-2020-global-biodiversity-framework/" target="_blank">meeting</a> of the Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which was recently <a href="https://www.cbd.int/notifications/2020-014" target="_blank">moved</a> from Kunming, China to Rome, Italy due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/13/who-forum-ends-updated-figures-china-reveal-new-virus-has-infected-over-60000" target="_blank">outbreak</a>. The event will build on an August 2019 meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. A third meeting in Cali, Colombia is planned for July.</p><p>Those three events will culminate in the adoption of a "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/18/world-leaders-urged-to-step-back-from-precipice-of-ecological-ruin-aoe" target="_blank">Paris-style U.N. agreement</a>" to protect nature at the 15th <a href="https://seea.un.org/fr/events/fifteenth-meeting-conference-parties-convention-biological-diversity" target="_blank">meeting</a> of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is still set to be held in Kunming in October. A 20-point draft plan to stop and reverse biodiversity loss worldwide, which will be a focus of the Rome talks, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/un-draft-plan-sets-2030-target-to-avert-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-aoe" target="_blank">unveiled</a> last month.</p>
<div id="10f62" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="DMF4V41582133041"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1229804633775837184" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"The #Kunming talks should focus on solving the deeper problems that have hampered the effectiveness of the Convent… https://t.co/XlQARU8PeG</div> — Jennifer Morgan (@Jennifer Morgan)<a href="https://twitter.com/climatemorgan/statuses/1229804633775837184">1582043248.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The foreign ministers' statement specifically expresses support for "setting a global target of strongly protecting at least 30 percent of the land and 30 percent of the ocean by 2030." The 30 percent conservation target, as the statement notes, is backed by "a broad coalition—including youth, the business community, and representatives from the developing world."</p><p>"We also support the finalization of a new international legally binding treaty in 2020 for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas currently being negotiated under the U.N . Convention on Law of the Sea," the statement says, noting that nearly two-thirds of the ocean is beyond the legal jurisdiction of any one nation.</p><p>The statement was released through the international nonprofit think tank the Aspen Institute by members of the <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/aspen-strategy-group/the-aspen-ministers-forum-2/" target="_blank">Aspen Ministers Forum</a>, which was founded in 2003 by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.</p><p>Along with Albright, the statement was signed by Lloyd Axworthy (Canada), Mohamed Benaissa (Morocco), Maria Eugenia Brizuela de Avila (El Salvador), Erik Derycke (Belgium), Lamberto Dini (Italy), Alexander Downer (Australia), Jan Eliasson (Sweden), Joschka Fischer (Germany), Jaime Gama (Portugal), Ibrahim Gambari (Nigeria), Marina Kaljurand (Estonia), Tzipi Livni (Israel), Susana Malcorra (Argentina), Donald McKinnon (New Zealand), Daniel Mitov (Bulgaria), Amre Moussa (Egypt), Marwan Muasher (Jordan), George Papandreou (Greece), Malcolm Rifkind (United Kingdom), Claudia Ruiz Massieu (Mexico), Javier Solana (Spain), and Knut Vollebæk (Norway).</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/18/world-must-act-boldly-23-former-diplomats-urge-global-leaders-adopt-paris-style?cd-origin=rss">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Birds fly over Lake Erie. Residents of Toledo, a city on the shores of heavily polluted Lake Erie in the U.S. state of Ohio, voted to give the lake rights of nature last year. A local farm responded by filing a lawsuit claiming this violated the rights of agribusinesses. Jessica Hetrick / EyeEm / Getty Images
"We see ourselves not as an owner of wild rice but a symbiotic partner and a parallel entity from the Creator," says Frank Bibeau, a lawyer from the Anishinaabe indigenous group in the U.S. and Canada.
<p>Harvesters use flailing sticks to beat the wild rice — or manoomin, by its Anishinaabe name — and release grain into the air. "A good portion of the rice gets sent out in all directions to reseed the rice. Maybe half of it or a little more falls into the canoe for food," Bibeau explains. "So we are part of the natural reseeding process ourselves."<em></em></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/environmental-protection-should-nature-be-given-rights-enshrined-in-law-a-52186866/a-52186866?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em></p>
<p>Seeking ways to block an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil">oil</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" rel="noopener noreferrer">pipeline</a> through the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Great-Lakes" rel="noopener noreferrer">Great Lakes</a> ecosystem where his people and the rice have thrived together for generations, Bibeau designed legislation granting wild rice its own rights under tribal law.</p><p>According to the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) that advised Bibeau on the legislation, manoomin is the first plant in the world to be granted rights. But it joins a growing number of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rivers" rel="noopener noreferrer">rivers</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/forests" rel="noopener noreferrer">forests</a>, and characterizations of nature as a whole, that are protected by "rights of nature" laws around the world.</p>
Indigenous Approaches Written Into Law
<p>"Conventional environmental laws are really about regulating how we use nature," says Mari Margil of CELDF. "The consequences of that have been so devastating that people in different parts of the world are saying we need to make a fundamental shift in our relationship with nature."</p><p>With the idea that indigenous peoples are the most reliable custodians of our planet now repeated by politicians and environmental NGOs alike, giving nature rights suggests a way their approaches might be adopted by broader society.</p><p>It was in this spirit that Ecuador became the first country to enshrine the rights of nature — personified as Pachamama, the Andean earth goddess — in its constitution, in 2008.</p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Bolivia">Bolivia</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Uganda" rel="noopener noreferrer">Uganda</a> have since enshrined the rights of nature in their constitutions, and <a href="https://celdf.org/2019/10/media-release-rights-of-nature-constitutional-amendment-introduced-in-swedens-parliament/" target="_blank">an amendment</a> was recently proposed for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Sweden" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sweden</a> to do the same.</p>A Healthier Relationship With Nature?
<p>Asserting that nature has intrinsic rights isn't just a legal tool to prosecute polluters. It also challenges the "ecosystem services" approach to environmental protection that costs up the economic value of clean air, water and biodiversity — and even the concept of conservation areas.</p><p>As a national park, land surrounding the Whanganui River in New Zealand was off limits to the Iwi Maori tribe who had hunted and fished there sustainably for generations. In 2017, the dispute was resolved by making the river a person in its own right, owned by neither the state nor the tribe.</p><p>Maori law professor Jacinta Ruru sees it as a major breakthrough that New Zealand law now reflects the relationship the country's indigenous people have with the environment — one that sees no division between what's good for people and the planet.</p><p>"My tribe — we'll talk about your veins in your arms as being like the riverways of the land," explains Ruru. "So you're seeing the health and wellbeing of who you are as a person, your health, your own happiness, as entirely connected with the health and wellbeing of the environment around us."</p>Strategic Compromise
<p>Ruru says it's too soon to judge the ecological impact of the Whanganui River's change of status. And it remains to be seen if the Rights of Manoomin will be any match for the interests invested in the pipeline.</p><p>In Ecuador's case, the new constitution has been used to block plantations and road-building that threatened forest, but it hasn't proved enough to transform an entire system geared toward economic development; cases brought by indigenous activists have ended in Pachamama's rights being trumped by those of <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55914fd1e4b01fb0b851a814/t/5748568c8259b5e5a34ae6bf/1464358541319/Kauffman++Martin+16+Testing+Ecuadors+RoN+Laws.pdf" target="_blank">businesses</a>.</p><p>Critics also <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2514848618763807" target="_blank">point out</a> that making rivers and forests honorary people owes less to any indigenous deification of nature than to the Western rights discourse.</p><p>"There is a strategic relationship between indigenous communities and the rights of nature," says Mihnea Tanasescu, a political scientist who authored a book on the subject in Ecuador, "but there is not necessarily an intrinsic philosophical affinity, because rights are a very Western legal category."</p><p>Michelle Maloney of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance is developing legislation based on Aboriginal traditions that ground all law in relationships to the land. She says nature rights are a way for different cultural perspectives to work together.</p><p>"The legal personhood argument is getting traction around the world," she says, because "the average Westerner-lawyer type understands it as a construct."</p><p>The Ganges and Yamuna rivers now have legal personhood, as do each of Bangladesh's hundreds of rivers. The <a href="https://celdf.org/advancing-community-rights/rights-of-nature/rights-nature-timeline/" target="_blank">Colombian judiciary</a>, meanwhile, has repeatedly ruled that the rights of rivers of forests had been violated by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer">pollution</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/logging" rel="noopener noreferrer">logging</a>.</p><p>These laws draw on specific local indigenous ideas. Yet a single U.S.-based organization, CELDF, has been instrumental in drafting nature rights legislation around the world.</p>
<p>CELDF worked on the world's first rights of nature law — a local ordinance to <a href="https://celdf.org/2015/08/tamaqua-borough/" target="_blank">stop toxic waste dumping</a> in Pennsylvania — in 2006, and Margil says close to 40 nature rights bills have now been passed in the U.S. Many are brought by activists with no indigenous ties frustrated by a legal system that doesn't recognize damage to nature as a crime until it affects human health or livelihoods.</p>
Conversation-Changer
<p>Last year, one such case made international headlines. Residents of Toledo, a city on the shores of heavily polluted Lake Erie in the U.S. state of Ohio, voted to give the lake rights. A local farm responded by filing a lawsuit claiming this violated the rights of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agribusiness" rel="noopener noreferrer">agribusinesses</a>. </p><p>Since the bill was more or less quashed by Ohio state legislature, activists are fighting to revive it from legal limbo. But if nothing else, their struggle has drawn attention to the priorities of a legal system that treats nature as property but corporations as legal persons.</p><p>"Often people just don't think about these invisible systems that govern our world," Maloney says. "So as a starting point — and a conversation- and discourse-changer — the rights of nature is very powerful."</p>From Your Site Articles
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