Borley wood – restoration This view shows a area from which planted exotic conifer species have just been removed to allow site native species to re-assert themselves (NVC W8 ash/maple woodland type), October 17, 2006.
A recent study “A Century of Reforestation Reduced Anthropogenic Warming in the Eastern United States” unveils a silver lining through the lens of historical reforestation efforts in the Eastern United States. Spanning over a century, these endeavors have contributed to the greening of landscapes and played a pivotal role in reducing anthropogenic warming across the region. This study revealed the significant impact of reforestation on local climate mitigation and underscores the potential of nature-based solutions in our fight against global warming.
The Cooling Effect of Reforestation
The research, conducted by a team of environmental scientists, reveals that reforestation in the Eastern U.S. has led to a noticeable cooling of both land surface and near-surface air temperatures. By analyzing ground and satellite-based observations, the study highlights a significant reduction in temperatures, with forests cooling the land surface by 1–2°C annually compared to adjacent grasslands and croplands. This cooling effect is most pronounced during the growing season’s midday, offering a natural buffer against the rising temperatures associated with climate change.
A Shift in Climate Trends
Interestingly, the study correlates the extensive reforestation efforts with the anomalous lack of warming in the Eastern U.S. throughout the 20th century. Unlike other North American regions that experienced substantial warming, the Eastern U.S. showed minor cooling trends, attributed to the biophysical impacts of reforestation. This phenomenon, often referred to as the “warming hole,” underscores the potential of strategic reforestation efforts in tempering regional climate trends.
Implications for Climate Adaptation
The findings of this study underscore reforestation’s dual benefits: sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and directly cooling the Earth’s surface. In the face of escalating climate change, reforestation emerges as a vital nature-based solution, offering a sustainable pathway for climate adaptation and mitigation. The study’s insights highlight the importance of preserving and expanding forested areas as a proactive measure against global warming.
Renewed Focus on Reforestation & Conservation
As we move forward, the study calls for a renewed focus on reforestation and forest conservation as key strategies in the global climate action agenda. By learning from the century-long reforestation efforts in the Eastern U.S., we can harness the power of nature to forge a cooler, more sustainable future for our planet.
The study provides compelling evidence of reforestation’s positive impact on climate. It serves as a call to action for policymakers, environmentalists, and communities worldwide to invest in reforestation as a practical and impactful climate solution.
King Solomon may have gained some of his famed wisdom from an unlikely source – ants.
According to a Jewish legend, Solomon conversed with a clever ant queen that confronted his pride, making quite an impression on the Israelite king. In the biblical book of Proverbs (6:6-8), Solomon shares this advice with his son: “Look to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”
While I can’t claim any familial connection to King Solomon, despite sharing his name, I’ve long admired the wisdom of ants and have spent over 20 years studying their ecology, evolution and behaviors. While the notion that ants may offer lessons for humans has certainly been around for a while, there may be new wisdom to gain from what scientists have learned about their biology.
Ants have evolved highly complex social organizations.
Lessons from ant agriculture
As a researcher, I’m especially intrigued by fungus-growing ants, a group of 248 species that cultivate fungi as their main source of food. They include 79 species of leafcutter ants, which grow their fungal gardens with freshly cut leaves they carry into their enormous underground nests. I’ve excavated hundreds of leafcutter ant nests from Texas to Argentina as part of the scientific effort to understand how these ants coevolved with their fungal crops.
Much like human farmers, each species of fungus-growing ant is very particular about the type of crops they cultivate. Most varieties descend from a type of fungus that the ancestors of fungus-growing ants began growing some 55 million to 65 million years ago. Some of these fungi became domesticated and are now unable to survive on their own without their insect farmers, much like some human crops such as maize.
Ants started farming tens of millions of years before humans.
Ant farmers face many of the same challenges human farmers do, including the threat of pests. A parasite called Escovopsis can devastate ant gardens, causing the ants to starve. Likewise in human agriculture, pest outbreaks have contributed to disasters like the Irish Potato Famine, the 1970 corn blight and the current threat to bananas.
Since the 1950s, human agriculture has become industrialized and relies on monoculture, or growing large amounts of the same variety of crop in a single place. Yet monoculture makes crops more vulnerable to pests because it is easier to destroy an entire field of genetically identical plants than a more diverse one.
Industrial agriculture has looked to chemical pesticides as a partial solution, turning agricultural pest management into a billion-dollar industry. The trouble with this approach is that pests can evolve new ways to get around pesticides faster than researchers can develop more effective chemicals. It’s an arms race – and the pests have the upper hand.
Ants also grow their crops in monoculture and at a similar scale – after all, a leafcutter ant nest can be home to 5 million ants, all of which feed on the fungi in their underground gardens. They, too, use a pesticide to control Escovopsis and other pests.
Yet, their approach to pesticide use differs from humans’ in one important way. Ant pesticides are produced by bacteria they allow to grow in their nests, and in some cases even on their bodies. Keeping bacteria as a living culture allows the microbes to adapt in real time to evolutionary changes in the pests. In the arms race between pests and farmers, farming ants have discovered that live bacteria can serve as pharmaceutical factories that can keep up with ever-changing pests.
Whereas recent developments in agricultural pest management have focused on genetically engineeringcrop plants to produce their own pesticides, the lesson from 55 million years of ant agriculture is to leverage living microorganisms to make useful products. Researchers are currently experimenting with applying live bacteria to crop plants to determine if they are effective at producing pesticides that can evolve in real time along with pests.
Improving transportation
Ants can also offer practical lessons in the realm of transportation.
Ants are notoriously good at quickly locating food, whether it’s a dead insect on a forest floor or some crumbs in your kitchen. They do this by leaving a trail of pheromones – chemicals with a distinctive smell ants use to guide their nest mates to food. The shortest route to a destination will accumulate the most pheromone because more ants will have traveled back and forth along it in a given amount of time.
In the 1990s, computer scientists developed a class of algorithms modeled after ant behavior that are very effective at finding the shortest path between two or more locations. Like with real ants, the shortest route to a destination will accumulate the most virtual pheromone because more virtual ants will have traveled along it in a given amount of time. Engineers have used this simple but effective approach to design telecommunication networks and map delivery routes.
Photo by Carlos Pernalete Tua
Not only are ants good at finding the shortest route from their nests to a source of food, thousands of ants are capable of traveling along these routes without causing traffic jams. I recently began collaborating with physicist Oscar Andrey Herrera-Sancho to study how leafcutter ants maintain such a steady flow along their foraging paths without the slowdowns typical of crowded human sidewalks and highways.
We are using cameras to track how each individual ant responds to artificial obstacles placed on their foraging trails. Our hope is that by getting a better understanding of the rules ants use to respond to both obstacles and the movement of other ants, we can develop algorithms that can eventually help program self-driving cars that never get stuck in traffic.
Look to the ant
To be fair, there are plenty of ways ants are far from perfect role models. After all, some ant species are known for indiscriminate killing, and others for enslaving babies.
There is still a lot to learn about ants. For example, researchers still don’t fully understand how an ant larva develops into either a queen – a female with wings that can live for 20 years and lay millions of eggs – or a worker – a wingless, often sterile female that lives for less than a year and performs all the other jobs in the colony. What’s more, scientists are constantly discovering new species – 167 new ant species were described in 2021 alone, bringing the total to more than 15,980.
By considering ants and their many fascinating ways, there’s plenty of wisdom to be gained.
Many Americans are ready for meaningful progress on climate change — so how can they make it happen?
By Karin Kirk, Geologist and science writer, ensia (CC BY-ND 3.0)
August 25, 2020 — In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans have not forgotten about climate change. In fact, our recognition of the problem is at or near all-time highs, according to research from Yale and George Mason universities. Polling data from the universities from April 2020 revealed that 61% of registered voters accept that humans are changing the climate, and most support policies like a carbon tax or a fee-and-dividend program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s impressive that the public commitment to act on climate change remains steadfast in the face of new challenges. But the flip side is that only 13% of registered voters have urged an elected official to address the problem. They may be primed for action, but we have yet to fully step into that role. So what’s the best way to do that?
What follows is an inexhaustive list of concrete ideas and tools individuals can use to boost civic engagement on climate change — steps that experts say can translate data like those from Yale and George Mason into meaningful progress, right now.
1. Learn where the public is already aligned with policies that address climate change
“Know thy audience,” the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication recommends,noting that public opinion is a major influence on public policy. Delving into the data, there’s strong bipartisan agreement on many elements of climate policy, especially for renewable energy. Yale, Utah State University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, have created climate opinion maps that plot climate beliefs and energy policy preferences down to the scale of individual counties and congressional districts. The same institutions have assembled customizable fact sheets that summarize climate opinions for adults by state, county and congressional district.
These tools allow people to find angles that are likely to resonate within a given community. Policymakers may appreciate knowing where most of their constituents are already on board.
2. Build racial and social justice into climate solutions
Research on pollution inequity is increasingly able to quantify how Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) bear the brunt of the pollution burden, while the people whose lifestyles cause the most pollution are shielded from its ill effects. For example, according to a 2019 study in PNAS, “Blacks and Hispanics on average bear a ‘pollution burden’ of 56% and 63% excess exposure, respectively, relative to the exposure caused by their consumption.” This imbalance likely partly explains why Hispanics/Latinos and African Americans tend to be more concerned about climate change than white people. Environmental organizations, such as Earthjustice, 350.org, Sierra Club and others, are recognizing that racial and social justice are an integral part of the push for climate solutions.
Environmental activist Leah Thomas proposes several starting points in her article, “Why Every Environmentalist Should Be Anti-Racist.” She encourages environmental advocates to “hold themselves accountable and do the inner anti-racism work to achieve both climate and social justice.” Listening and learning how environmental injustices are affecting BIPOC communities is important, writes Jocelyn L. Travis, an organizing manager for the Sierra Club: “People know what they need. They just need to be heard.” BIPOC-led organizations can be one source for solutions that help those communities specifically.
3. Dig into energy production
Science has long told us that burning fossil fuel is the primary cause of anthropogenic climate change and reducing fossil fuel use, the most potent solution to the problem. Finding out where an individual’s energy comes from is an important piece to the puzzle.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s state energy profiles show energy production and consumption and energy sources for electricity generation in all 50 states. Meanwhile, Stanford University professor of civil and environmental engineering Mark Jacobson has developed fact sheets about state-by-state opportunities for renewable energy.
Total consumption is the heat content of energy consumed by all end-use sectors, including energy losses associated with the generation, transmission, and distribution of the electricity flowing within and across state lines. Source: State Energy Data System (SEDS).
Judy Dorsey is president and principal engineer at the Brendle Group, a consulting firm that helps communities plan climate action. She recommends that people who want to reduce their climate impact look at their energy provider’s “resource plan,” which is the mix of energy sources the company intends to use in the future. This information is usually available on the company’s website. “If the utility is municipality-owned, then there would be opportunities for public input,” she says. If the company is investor-owned, people can “look for roundtables or other ways to get involved,” Dorsey advises.
Some utilities allow an option to buy into an energy portfolio that’s greener than their general portfolio. If a utility does not offer a low-carbon electricity product, customers can ask it to do so. Corporations are greening up their energy use, too, and consumers and investors can support companies that have proven track records for purchasing renewable energy.
4. Follow the money
Public policy researchers have found connections between money in politics and inaction on curbing pollution. For example, the fossil fuel industry exerts considerable financial resources to influence elections and reward policymakers who vote against environmental policy measures. Furthermore, a look at lobbying and campaign donations in federal politics shows that the fossil fuel industry outspends the renewable energy industry by more than 13 to 1.
The financial ties of elected officials and candidates are easy to track; the Follow the Money database allows users to research state and local politicians. Similarly, the Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets is a tool to explore contributions to federal campaigns and lobbying information. Here are some examples of how climate advocates can use Open Secrets:
Find House and Senate candidates with the largest fossil fuel funding; the oil and gas industry has donated more than US$70 million (and counting; the tally increased by over US$10 million while this article was being edited) to national-level candidates in 2020.
Dig into key electoral races and see where fossil fuel funding may be tilting the balance. In the Colorado senate race, for example, the database compares the funding for Cory Gardner and John Hickenlooper, showing stark differences in fossil fuel ties.
Advocates can use such information in conversations with voters, letters to the editor and public meetings and with the public officials themselves.
5. Get to know elected officials
Brittany Webster, program manager of public affairs at the American Geophysical Union (AGU), credits public engagement for “forward movement” of climate policy in Congress. Webster says the arena for climate change has shifted from debating the science to exploring what to do about it. But still, “they’re not talking enough about solutions,” she says.
Webster advises people to “look at the consequences and impacts to your community.” For people in Florida, for example, climate change is “literally seeping into their back yard,” she says. Taking a local focus and carrying it forward to lawmakers is “how you start the conversation,” says Webster.
Cities are increasingly making bold plans for climate action. “Many cities have an energy and climate task force,” says Dorsey. “Look to see if your city has a climate and energy plan, and ask about joining their volunteer advisory board.” Climate change can be part of planning for development, transportation, utilities, food systems and water resources in every community. Currently, given the global pandemic, some city meetings are being conducted online, making attendance easier for some.
If a particular city has not yet begun climate planning, nearby localities may have, giving examples and strategies that could work elsewhere. The Wisconsin Clean Energy Toolkit contains resources for communities seeking to transition to renewables.
“Raising your voice” is another strategy, said Andrew Valainis, executive director of the Montana Renewable Energy Association, in a recent policy webinar. “Advocates are really important,” he said. “If you’re not up there raising your voice, then all the legislators hear is the opposite opinion.” Groups like Citizens’ Climate Lobby or regional advocacy organizations offer opportunities for people to get involved.
Local environmental groups track state and local politics and send alerts when action is needed, such as those around key bills, opportunities for hearings or public service commission meetings where people can share their ideas. It might seem like one voice is too small to matter, but, Valainis said in the webinar, “It’s really important. It makes a big difference.”
At the national level, Webster advises that constituents call their senators’ and representatives’ D.C. offices instead of the local office to connect. “Identify yourself as a constituent,” she says, and ask for the email address of the staffer working on the issue you want to discuss. Then write to the staffer and ask to set up a phone call. “You’re working to build a relationship,” Webster says. Advocates can use the first meeting to share their story about why tackling climate change matters, using a local angle when possible. Webster suggests asking for support of specific measures because a concrete and tangible “ask” is likely easier to act on than an open-ended request.
AGU offers advice about how to effectively talk to policymakers.
6. Hit the campaign trail
Voting for candidates who will aggressively pursue climate policy is one way to bring about change, but involvement can go further than that. Campaigns all around the country look for people to help with phone and text banking, organizing, and getting out the vote. “If you don’t help, who will,” writes Larry Walker, an educational consultant who works with historically Black colleges and universities, in an article detailing the benefits of campaign volunteering. Interested individuals can find their local campaign office or join national groups like the Environmental Voter Project. Individuals often feel powerless in the face of devastating environmental news. But no one is powerless, and no one is alone. There are dozens of avenues for engagement. Many can be pursued from home. And every action puts a dent in the problem.
