Nov. 21-23, 2014
“Big conference coming up at Tufts on the potential of soils to hold carbon–important stuff!” – Bill McKibben
Restoring Ecosystems to
Reverse Global Warming
Bringing the Power of Biology into
the Forefront of the Climate Movement
http://bio4climate.org/conference-2014/
Nov. 21-23, 2014
Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
Organized and Sponsored by Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (BLC). Co-sponsored by Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE) and The Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) at the Fletcher School of Tufts University.
The land on the left is reversing global warming by capturing carbon dioxide and water by proper use of keystone animal species and land management; the land on the right is exacerbating it though soil degradation and loss of carbon to the atmosphere. Kroon Family photo.
“I urge students, colleagues, and the public to attend the Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (BLC) conference.” – Prof. William Moomaw, Tufts University, Founder, Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP)
Background and Hope
In order to address the destructive climate processes that are already under way, we need safe, low-tech, and inexpensive solutions to drawdown prodigious amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Fortunately, there is a way: the capacity of the natural world to store carbon in soils worldwide.
This conference highlights innovations in soil restoration for carbon capture, bringing together leaders from around the world in climate and soil science, restorative land management, and climate activism. It will explore the potential, the practices, and the policy implications.
Together we can open this essential “second front” in the climate movement, complementing emissions reductions, and offering hope for a livable future. There will be many opportunities for networking and audience participation.
Land Restoration in Mexico: 1963 – 2003. Identical views of a transformed landscape. Carbon is captured while enhancing food and water security. Guillermo Osuna photos.
“Why do we want to host a conference like this? Because harnessing biology represents a new paradigm for climate mitigation that gives us hope.” – Prof. Antje Danielson, Director, Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE)
“A large fraction of anthropogenic climate change resulting from CO2 emissions is irreversible on a multi-century to millennial time scale, except in the case of a large net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere over a sustained period.” – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fifth Assessment Report, 2013
“The potential for land to hold carbon and act as a sink for greenhouse gases is unparalleled.” – United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Speakers Overview
Speakers include leaders from science, land management, and climate activism.
Details below and on the speakers page. A breakdown by category is as follows (understanding that there are overlaps in all areas):
Science: Steven Apfelbaum, Applied Ecological Service; John Carroll, University of New Hampshire; Veronika Miranda Chase, Remineralize the Earth; Antje Danielson, Tufts University; Tom Goreau, Global Coral Reef Alliance; Mark Leighton, Harvard Extension School; Hugh McLaughlin, Alterna Biocarbon, Inc.; William Moomaw, Tufts University; Greg Retallack, University of Oregon; Richard Teague, Texas A&M
Land Management / Practitioner: Dorn Cox, Green Start; Candace Ducheneaux, Hohwoju Lakota Tribe; Dan Kittredge, Bionutrient Food Association; Charlotte O’Brien, Carbon Drawdown Solutions; Precious Phiri, Africa Center for Holistic Management, Zimbabwe; Ethan Roland, The Carbon Farming Course; Ridge Shinn, restorative grazing consultant
Activism: Gabrielle Bastien, Harvard Graduate School and Biodiversity for a Livable Climate; Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association; Diana Donlan, Center for Food Safety’s Cool Foods Campaign, Eli Gerzon, Better Future Project; Sue Harden, Restoration activist and high school biology teacher (retired); Seth Itzkan, Planet-TECH Associates & Biodiversity for a Livable Climate; Larry Kopald, The Carbon Underground; Jim Laurie, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate; Tom Newmark, The Carbon Underground; Gary Rucinski, Citizens Climate Lobby; Karl Thidemann, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate; Vanessa Rule, Mothers Out Front; Adam Sacks, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate; Judith Schwartz, Author & Journalist
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