Amy Boyer

Playing with Fire: A recent study shows that tending forests to reduce fire severity increases post-fire regeneration. Even having a few surviving trees after fire improves regeneration; the trees are not only sources of seed but also cool the ground near them, reducing stress on seedlings. Allowing lightning-caused fires to burn where possible produces patchier fires and reduces fuel loads. Yosemite National Park allows fires to burn in certain sections of the park and sees increased biodiversity and resilience to drought and fire. Carefully timed cultural burns, such as those formerly carried out throughout California by Tribes such as the Amah Mutsun Band and the Karuk Tribe, reduced fuel load and pests and invigorated culturally important plants; Tribes are bringing them back where possible. Prescribed fire even has net positive health impacts compared to wildfire, with less smoke and briefer periods of smoke exposure. After decades of suppressing fire, we have a brief window in which to learn to live with it so as to keep our forests and ourselves healthier.

 Benjamin Felser

Plenty of Fish in the Pond: A recent article explores small farmholders responding to Kenya’s worsening drought and food insecurity with small-scale fish farming. Japheth Nthiga is a farmer in central Kenya who found ecological and financial stability at the intersection of mixed crops, agroforestry, and a half-acre fish farm. He began cultivating tilapia in a rainwater catchment sourced pond in 2013, and since then has been kept busy by, well, business in addition to educators looking to study and spread his success. These systems incorporate shade from agroforestry to prevent water loss and contribute organic matter, in addition to food waste to feed fish ponds which in turn support honeybees, birds, wildlife, and local communities. With small farmholders composing 75% of Kenya's food production, small-scale freshwater fishing could significantly alleviate Kenya’s feared rise in food insecurity from their unabating drought.

 Claire Krummenacher

A pioneering collaboration for cement manufacturers: This past week, Block-Lite (a small, family-run concrete manufacturer based in Flagstaff, Arizona) announced a partnership with climate tech startups Aircapture and Carbonbuilt estimated to reduce its carbon emissions by 70%. The project relies on a two-fold approach: firstly, cement will be replaced with an alternative mixture consisting of locally-sourced industrial waste materials, which then will be cured with carbon dioxide pulled directly from the atmosphere. Notably, its launch was made possible largely due to funding and advocacy by local governments--specifically, members of the Four Corners Carbon Coalition, which combines resources and knowledge to finance decarbonization projects throughout the Southwest.

 Courtney White

Dry Farming Gets a Look: Farmers, researchers, and resource managers are scrutinizing a new way of growing food that’s not new at all: dry farming. As this article in Science News illustrates, dry farming can save water, produce flavorful fruits and vegetables, and reduce the need for tillage. According to the Dry Farming Institute, it’s a way of growing crops without irrigation, using only soil moisture and rain events. It’s low-input, highly localized, and can rely on ancient water conservation strategies (see this book by Gary Nabhan). Of course, there’s nothing new about dry farming. It’s been practiced by Indigenous and traditional farmers for centuries, including the Hopi in north-central Arizona on land that receives less than 10 inches of precipitation annually. Here is a profile of Michael Kototuwa Johnson, a young Hopi farmer and professor of Indigenous Resilience at the University of Arizona. Yields are smaller with dry farming than with irrigation which means profits are smaller as well. But in an era where water is becoming a scare resource, dry farming is getting a new look.

 Juliana Birnbaum

British Coal Burning Drops to 1757 Levels:  The decoupling of emissions and economic growth is a development worth celebrating, and UK emissions have now fallen in nine of the past 10 years, even as the economy has grown. The drop in 2022 puts black carbon and greenhouse gas 49% below 1990 levels, while the economy has grown 75% over the same period. The last time demand for coal was this low in the UK was more than half a century before Charles Dickens and Jane Austen were writing, when George II was king. In order to continue cutting their emissions, Britain will need to look beyond coal for savings by cutting gas-fired generation, even as they work to electrify everything and demand rises. In fact, the GHG emissions of most industrialized nations appear to have peaked already, though globally they still continue to rise. To keep it positive, in 2022, they jumped less than initially feared–less than one percent.

 Kate Furby

Your Dinner Plate Could Help the Climate: The Omnivore's Dilemma is real, and expanding with more and more environmental issues. However, fear not! This Washington Post guide to food and climate helps put different proteins and grains into perspective. While food can be deeply personal, cultural, and rigid, understanding how your meal choices impact the planet might help. Not to mention, help inspire some new menu ideas!

 Kavya Gopal

The Miraculous Mekong: In a world where it is increasingly common to hear about the waterways and rivers of the world disappearing into dust, I have been excited to read about the resilience of the Mekong River. Arguably the most important river in Southeast Asia, if not the world, it spans six countries and accounts for up to 25 percent of the global freshwater catch for tens of millions of people. In recent years, the river has been battered by dam building, overfishing, logging, plastic pollution, and the impacts of climate change, leading some scholars to predict it is reaching an ecological tipping point from which it cannot recover. The story in Cambodia seems to be different. Thanks to an abundant monsoon season and concerted effort to regulate illegal fishing, fishers along the Mekong have discovered giant fish that have long been thought to have disappeared. There are also plans to turn the portion of the river into a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in particular, to protect the few remaining Irrawaddy River dolphins. However, such progress will be temporary unless upstream countries like Laos and China continue to build more dams.

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