Learn more about Biodiversity for a Livable Climate: https://bio4climate.org/
Please donate to our ecosystem restoration work: https://bio4climate.org/donate/
Trees share a wealth of information to the willing listener, well beyond aesthetics, recreation or “natural resource.” They offer details about the connections above and below ground – from birds and insects, to parasites and fungi, to humans who have moved in and among them across generations. They can signal what was, what is now and what might be. And they’re very patient.
B. Lorraine Smith is a writer and sustainability consultant who writes literary non-fiction about humans’ relationships in nature and brings over 15 years’ experience working to shift business towards a regenerative economy. Her writing and corporate work help her listen to what trees past and present have been quietly signaling to anyone willing to hear.
Presented at Climate, Biodiversity, and Survival: Listening to the Voices of Nature conference at Harvard University on November 17-18, 2018
#trees #economy #sustainability
Tag: insect
David Rothenberg: The Rhythms and Songs of Bugs
Learn more about Biodiversity for a Livable Climate: https://bio4climate.org/
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David Rothenberg, author of Bug Music, is distinguished professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a musician and writer known for his many works finding music and beauty in birds, whales, and bugs.
Presented at Listening to the Voices of Nature conference at Harvard University on November 17-18, 2018
#bugs #insects #songs
Fred Magdoff: The Heart of Life- Soils, Microbes, Plants and Insects
Learn more about Biodiversity for a Livable Climate: https://bio4climate.org/
Please donate to our ecosystem restoration work: https://bio4climate.org/donate/
The diversity of soil organisms is stunning. Their interactions among themselves and with plants are at the center of healthy soils. Plants (as with humans and other animals) have associated microbiomes that can stimulate defenses against disease and help with obtaining needed nutrients. Plants also have a variety of ways of responding when being attacked by insects, including signaling beneficial insects the presence of their preferred prey or organisms in which they can inject their eggs and use and utilize for egg incubation. Any playwright would be challenged to match the living drama beneath our feet!
Fred Magdoff is Emeritus Professor of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont. His interests range from soil science to agriculture and food to the environment to the US economy.
Presented at Climate, Biodiversity, and Survival: Listening to the Voices of Nature conference at Harvard University on November 17-18, 2018
#plants #microbes #insects
Charles Chester: A Panorama of Bats
Learn more about Biodiversity for a Livable Climate: https://bio4climate.org/
Please donate to our ecosystem restoration work: https://bio4climate.org/donate/
Almost a quarter of all mammal species are bats. Some consume insects, others pollinate a wide range of plants, and some are highly effective seed dispersers in tropical rainforests. In sum, they provide people and the planet with key ecosystem services. But they also face a range of threats—a list that begins with fear and misconception, then scrolls down through habitat loss, disease, climate change, and too many more. The good news is that we have proven conservation solutions for most problems, and scientists are working on a host of innovative responses to some of the more perplexing challenges.
Charles C. Chester teaches global environmental politics at Brandeis University and at the Fletcher School of Tufts University. He serves on the board of Bat Conservation International and is Chair of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Council.
Presented at Climate, Biodiversity, and Survival: Listening to the Voices of Nature conference at Harvard University on November 17-18, 2018
#bats #mammals #ecosystemservices