Life Saves the Planet Blog: Uncategorized

What a Great Day at Tufts: Regenerating Life Together
Our Boston Premiere of Regenerating Life at Tufts University was a tremendous success! It was exciting to see about 100 people come together to experience how John Feldman wove the many threads of the importance of nature to climate stability together in film. Conversation was lively during the lunch break, as people talked with exhibitors…

A Film that Affirms the Power of Life to Heal Our Planet
To a climate conversation long dominated by computer models and technological jargon, Regenerating Life: How to Cool the Planet, Feed the World and Live Happily Ever After brings some badly needed rain, along with dung beetles, sweating trees, fungal mycelia, cloud-making forests, beavers, worms, soil microbes, cow patties and whales. As more and more people…

Art for Nature
The first memories of my childhood that I can recall is that of me sitting on my bed with a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons, making lines and circles and shapes of all kinds as the warm sunlight flooded in through the windows of the apartment. Painting was something I was…

Biodiversity Field Day at Gladney Farm
Bio4Climate friends Tim Jones and Chie Morizuka manage a regenerative farm called Gladney Farm in Hokkaido, Japan. As the name suggests, there’s a lot to be glad about on the newly restored land! Tim and Chie share the love by hosting groups eager to learn from the farm animals and plants. Students of all ages…

Gaia Songs: Seeking Equilibrium
Here are the writings and paintings that made up my exhibit, “Gaia Songs: Seeking Equilibrium.” The exhibit included my essay, “Earth is a Person” and my article “Building Climate Stability” and six paintings with Artist’s Statements. The Artist Statements include two paragraphs for each painting about how they relate to the conference “The Uses and…

Millan Millan and the Mystery of the Missing Mediterranean Storms
I’d like to introduce this piece with a scenario. Suppose someone pointed out that you’d been looking at the climate through a pair of glasses with only one lens? Lifting them off your nose, they then provide you a new pair of glasses with two lenses. Suddenly, parts of the climate you couldn’t see before…

The NS wildfires are not ‘natural’ disasters: climate change, forest management, and human folly are all to blame
Four forestry specialists offer their views on how to reduce the wildfire risks. The Wildfire story that no one is talking about. The media is full of stories about the causes and cures for the massive forest fires raging around the world. Those fires have finally hit close to the Bio4Climate home in New England…

Life Saves the Planet
Life Saves the Planet The Bio4Climate Blog “Life Saves the Planet” is more than just a blog—it’s our philosophy and a partnership with GBH public television’s Lowell Lecture Series. In the search for answers to climate change, we look to the interconnected living systems that sustain our planet. These biodiverse systems shape our atmosphere, regulate temperature,…

Report from the Conference of the Parties
United Nations, New York CityMarch 23-24, 2023 Biodiversity for a Livable Climate was in New York meeting with attendees of the Conference of Parties (COP) on Water. Board member Sue Butler and Assistant Director of Regenerative Projects Maya Dutta, working with Jon Schull from EcoRestoration Alliance, had meetings with several exciting global Water Advocates. Meeting…

Check out the January 2022 Issue of the Compendium
This March (apologies for being behind schedule), we released the tenth edition of our Compendium of Scientific and Practical Findings Supporting Eco-Restoration to Address Global Warming. In this issue we focus on the relationship between vegetation and temperature, and the ecological role of animals. We welcome your interest and comments – please contact us at staff@bio4climate.org.

Featured Creature: Horseshoe Crab
What creature far older than dinosaurs has survived on earth for 480 million years, loves going to the beach, has enough vision for a Nobel Prize, is very much ‘for the birds’ and deeply treasured for its blue-blooded ‘aristocratic’ character? The horseshoe crab, or limulus polyphemus, of course! So how old are these creatures? Horseshoe crabs are “living fossils” dating…

Featured Creature: Brook Trout
What might well be considered the most beautiful freshwater fish, beloved by anglers and everyone else, especially when dressed up in its fall spawning colors? The ‘brook trout,’ of course, or salvelinus fontinalis, which is actually a char! Where do we find this beauteous creature? Brook trout, otherwise known as brookies, eastern brook trout, speckled trout, brook char, squaretail, or even mud trout (though I’ve never heard them…

Jim Laurie’s Fall 2021 Class
Biodiversity V, which takes a deeper dive into forest ecosystems, is starting on October 6, 2021. The course will focus on maximizing photosynthesis and balancing the carbon cycle to cool the climate. It will run for twelve consecutive Wednesdays, with choice of afternoon (1-3 pm EST) or evening classes (7-9 pm EST). It builds his on…

Check out the July 2021 Issue of the Compendium
This July, we released the ninth edition of our Compendium of Scientific and Practical Findings Supporting Eco-Restoration to Address Global Warming. In this issue we focused on the ecological roles of native plants, and as well as including discussions of symbiosis, biophilia, and an Okanagan worldview of society.

Jim Laurie’s Summer 2021 Class
Biodiversity IV: Fungi & Forests begins on June 16, 2021 and runs for twelve consecutive Wednesdays through September 1st, with choice of afternoon (12-2 pm EST) or evening classes (7-9 pm EST). You are welcome to join at any time during the course. Jim will send you class notes and home study opportunities every week.…

Videos to learn from
Take a look at our Introductory Video Playlist. Great collections of videos are available on our Conference Pages. And don’t miss our Life Saves the Planet lecture series on the GBH Forum Network.
Jim Laurie’s Spring 2021 Class
Biodiversity III: Mastering the Water Cycle begins on February 3, 2021 and runs for twelve consecutive Wednesdays through April 21st, with choice of afternoon (1-3 pm EST) or evening classes (7-9 pm EST). Jim will send you class notes and home study opportunities every week. A certificate of completion will be available for those who…