Tag: legislation

Regenerating Life Film Premiere – Panel Discussion

Panel: Dr. Anastassia Makarieva, Tom Goreau, Dan Kittredge, Judith D. Schwartz Moderator: Didi Pershouse

We are excited to share with you the panel discussion from the Boston Premiere of the film Regenerating Life!  It was such a full day with three parts to the film, interesting exhibitors, and reconnecting with friends, that it was difficult to take it all in at once.  

You can share some of that excitement from our great panel of speakers, featuring:

  • Moderator Didi Pershouse (Land and Leadership Institute), with panelists
  • Tom Goreau (Marine biologist,Global Coral Reef Alliance),
  • Dr. Anastassia Makarieva (Atmospheric Physicist, biotic pump co-formulator), 
  • Dan Kittredge (Farmer, Founder, Bionutrient Food Association) and 
  • Judith D.Schwartz (Environmental journalist and author).

Realizing that there were many topics in the film that could be their own 3 hour film, Didi started the conversation by asking the panelists: What would you like a little more time to talk about from the film?  Didi also asked the panelists to share their long view of the situation and what they are focusing on looking forward.

One of the most interesting parts of the discussion to me (and they were all interesting) was hearing from the audience their questions and reflections. Over 25 participants had the chance to speak their questions for all of us to reflect on as the event wrapped up.

I hope you enjoy the panel discussion, and please feel free to add your questions in the blog comments and share resources you think are important.

Thank you for being a part of the most important climate conversation of our time!

Regenerating life together,

Beck

P.S. Connect with Bio4Climate and friends from OR this Saturday at the Redesigning our Communities conference featuring Richard Heinberg.

P.P.S. Yes, the film is available for purchase!! Follow the links from our film page.

Aligning natural and human laws for global wellbeing: Legislative Action

Dr. Makarieva explains why protecting existing forests is one of the most important things we can do to stabilize the climate. Pending legislation in MA (USA) serves as a model for policy protections needed around the world. Learn more about taking action here, and find out more at Save Mass Forests.

Our climate system is incredibly complex. Much of it depends on clouds. Clouds will either cool or warm the Earth depending on their type, because they reflect sunlight (cooling) but absorb thermal radiation (warming).

The natural forest can be compared to a skilled tightrope walker whose equilibrium (producing warming and cooling clouds) keeps the climate in balance. This dynamic has emerged throughout the evolution of the planet. It requires coordination between all species in the forest community. (Some cloud-seeding particles are produced by forest bacteria!) When we log or burn the forest, we introduce a disturbance. When the disturbance goes beyond the threshold, the system collapses. The tightrope walker cannot keep balance and crashes. Climate destabilization commences.

The less disturbed the balance of the system, the more efficient climate regulation will be. After a disturbance, the forest ecosystem has the capacity to recover through the process of ecological succession. Consortia of different species (starting from lichens and mosses and proceeding to herbs, shrubs and trees) replace each other in a non-random order — restoring the ecosystem’s environment and capacity to regulate climatic conditions. Such a recovery is not guaranteed — if disturbed beyond a threshold, the ecosystem can totally degrade. With the beginning of the era of industrialization, North American forests suffered a dramatic devastation. Today those forests show signs of self-sustainability, are recovering with a full suite of biodiversity and are exceptionally valuable. These are recovering mechanisms maintaining climate stability.

Life is governed by the universal laws of nature. These laws are not dependent on imaginary lines drawn on human maps. We have learned so much about natural ecosystems in recent decades. The sooner we align our laws with the newly discovered evidence of how important natural forests are for climate and water cycle stabilization, the better chance we have to secure favorable conditions for ourselves and our children.

A unique effort is currently underway in Massachusetts, including bills to protect natural self-sustainable climate-regulating forests from logging. Let us champion the legal recognition of the climate-regulating function of natural forests!

Take Action Now
Dr. Anastassia Makarieva