Climate Resources
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Oregon has a lot of forests, and great conditions for growing long-lived trees, and those forests store a lot of carbon. Aggressive and unsustainable logging of those forests can contribute heavily to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Read more
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Check out this beautiful video, and learn more about biocarbon and the role it can play in helping solve the climate crisis. Read more
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Farmers, entrepreneurs, and scientists in the Pacific Northwest and beyond are delivering biocarbon results and demonstrating the pathways to a low carbon future. Read more -
Worldwide switch to clean power would save $1.8 trillion, rainforests store less carbon once they’re fragmented, WA carbon tax would pay steady dividends, and other stories of the week in clean energy solutions. Read more
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Turning organic materials into compost and applying it to rangelands on a larger scale could store a lot of carbon, repurpose organic waste, improve the health of rangelands, increase climate resilience, and help farmers’ bottom lines. Read more
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Banks predict transformation for electric utilities, blunt warnings ahead in the IPCC report, power companies and regulators look for new pricing schemes, and more news of the week in clean energy solutions. Read more
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Vermont breaks ground on a solar-powered microgrid, Oregon rejects Ambre Energy's coal export plan, acidic ocean waters get attention coast to coast, and more stories of the week in clean energy solutions. Read more
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The carbon-storage skills of ants and the biofuel potential of tobacco; energy efficiency financing surges, and Beijing bans coal. All that and more in this week's ClimateCast. Read more
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Economic risks of climate change, severe drought and forests on fire, Fortune 500 companies embracing renewable energy, electric vehicles and utilities; and much more. Read more
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Food waste in landfills creates methane as it decomposes – a potent greenhouse gas. An innovative program in Junction City, OR transforms this waste into clean, renewable energy. Read more
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California flooded with proposals for grid storage; narrow escape from oil-spill disaster in Seattle; climate change impacts our mental health; and much more. Read more
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Carbon pollution is once again free Down Under, Minnesota cuts coal use by more than a third, boreal fires in Canada add fuel to climate change, Appalachia looks to a future beyond coal, and more. Read more
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Pacific islanders secure a refuge from rising seas, compost boosts carbon storage in California ranchlands, Venetian-style canals floated for Manhattan, and much more. Read more
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In the Northwest Biocarbon Initiative’s second quarterly digest for 2014, we bring you the latest natural carbon storage news, research, and events. Read more
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The surprising role of deep-sea fishes in sequestering carbon, Tesla opens up its patents, Volkswagen brings a 260-mpg car to market, and much more. Read more
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Northwest forests are the focus of groundbreaking research into new sustainable biofuels and envigorated rural economies. Read more
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Renewables gain market share as prices drop, Royal Dutch Shell rebuffs 'stranded asset' worries, California cap-and-trade laid bare, and much more Read more -
Unfortunately, future success in natural infrastructure may be in real jeopardy if Portlanders pass Measure 26-156 on May 20. Read more
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The second episode of Years continues a storyline in which Harrison Ford travels to Indonesia to investigate massive slash and burn deforestation projects, which are making way for gigantic, illegal palm oil plantations. The destruction of Indonesia's peat lands - the burning of both the forests' trees and carbon rich soils - now accounts for 4% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions alone. Read more
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Royal Dutch Shell joins Trillion-Ton Communiqué calling for timetable to zero net carbon; Kitimat, B.C., rejects oil terminal; IPCC calls for climate-conserving measures to start ASAP, and more. Read more -
Our forests and coastal wetlands store more carbon than we thought. We bring you all of that good news and more in this first Northwest Biocarbon Initiative Digest of 2014. Read more -
With CO2 levels surpassing safe limits, carbon storage may be the most important life-supporting function Northwest forests provide the planet. Read more
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A new methodology enables emission reductions from biochar in the U.S., developed jointly by The Climate Trust in partnership with the International Biochar Initiative, Prasino Group, and Carbon Consulting. Read more -
If the Earth’s vegetation were not absorbing tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the climate would be much hotter and have already crossed highly dangerous thresholds. Read more -
Since forests absorb and store vast amounts of carbon, protecting forests, especially old growth forests like those in the Pacific Northwest, should be a key component of any plan to mitigate the effects of climate change. Read more
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Soaking carbon from the atmosphere into farm soils is a widely advocated climate solution. A new Australian study kicks dirt all over the idea. But digging in a little deeper uncovers a more favorable picture. Read more -
It’s happening in our urban and rural forests, in and around our buildings and streets, on our farmland, and in the seagrass meadows, salt marshes and mangroves along our coasts. Done right, it just might stem the tide of runaway climate change. Read more -
The health of forests and their owners are directly connected, an insight that has generated an innovative Oregon program to increase forest carbon. Read more -
Good-paying jobs that produce multiple products in rural communities where good jobs have been scarce – This is the restoration economy. In Oregon the restoration economy created 6,483 jobs, generated $977.5 million in economic activity from 2001–2010, a new report from Ecotrust says. Read more
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The Pacific Northwest possesses a singular regional identity, one of the strongest in North America. A large portion of the population is here by choice. But what draws the region together? What are the roots of this identity? Read more
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Do frightened grasshoppers increase carbon storage in grasslands? It appears the answer is yes, according to Yale Forestry School research. But the reason for this phenomenon might not be what you think. Read more
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Farm support programs that target only food production miss huge opportunities to generate natural benefits, a new British study documents. Read more
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The message is spreading that changing the way agriculture is done can draw heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere into farm soils to improve the viability of agriculture overall. Read more
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For the past 18 months, Rhys Roth, Climate Solutions' co-founder and Director of Strategic Innovation, has served as lead staff to the Northwest Biocarbon Initiative (NBI). After 15 extraordinary years at Climate Solutions, Rhys is heading out for new career adventures and exciting changes are in the works at NBI and Climate Solutions. Read more
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On August 1, the City of Portland graciously hosted the Northwest Biocarbon Initiative (NBI) along with our partners at Ecotrust and the Willamette Partnership to announce the release of NBI’s new report, Natural Infrastructure: A Climate-Smart Solution. Read more -
On August 1, the City of Portland graciously hosted the Northwest Biocarbon Initiative (NBI) along with our partners at Ecotrust and the Willamette Partnership to announce the release of NBI’s new report, Natural Infrastructure: A Climate-Smart Solution. Read more -
Outside of humans, beavers have more impact on landscapes than virtually any other species. Now a new study reveals those hardworking animals not only build dams but biocarbon storage as well. Read more
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The President’s groundbreaking speech on climate change was an historic step to follow up on his message to Congress that if they don’t take action on climate change, he will. But will he now follow suit by taking even bolder actions on forests? The President’s groundbreaking speech on climate change was as an historic step to follow up on his message to Congress that if they don’t take action on climate change, he will. But will he now follow suit by taking even bolder actions on forests? - See more at: http://www.climatesolutions.org/article/1407967734-president-obama-deliv... Read more
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A capacity crowd of 160 thought leaders and innovators gathered on June 10, 2013 at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle for the first-ever Northwest Biocarbon Summit. Read more -
One of the special highlights at the Northwest Biocarbon Summit–for me and many others–was a remarkable series of “Speed Talks” by real-world Northwest practitioners who brought to life the full portfolio of biocarbon solutions. Read more -
NBI Advisory Committee member Mitch Friedman, who leads Conservation Northwest, was the first out of the gate to offer his reflections on the 2013 Northwest Biocarbon Summit. Read more -
By preserving and expanding areas of coastal vegetation such as mangroves, sea grass beds, and marshes, we can mitigate some of the effects in burning fossil fuels and turn the tide on our rising greenhouse gas emission Read more -
What agricultural practices have the most immediate potential for making a significant contribution to protecting our climate? Think biocarbon. Read more -
For over a decade, scientists have argued that mycorrhizal fungi should be included in models of global carbon cycling, but they have struggled with exactly how to incorporate below-ground microbial processes into vegetation and carbon models. Read more -
The only way back to Target 350 is to stop putting so much carbon pollution in the air and at the same time to remove a lot of the accumulated carbon from the air. Read more -
A conversation between Chad Kruger, Director of WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Allan Savory, President and Co-Founder of the Savory Institute Fight climate change by adding more livestock to the land? Not surprisingly, that is a controversial proposition. Read more
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When you envision a forest, what do you picture? A lot of trees, right? But what you probably don’t picture is what’s under the forest floor: soil. In most forests, the amount of carbon stored in the soil is greater than the amount stored in the trees. But how does it get there? Read more -
Carbon dioxide levels hit 395 parts per million in 2012, the highest in four or five million years when sea levels were around 80 feet higher and temperatures up to 10° Fahrenheit hotter. If we sustain those CO2 levels, or go higher as we are doing, a completely different world will emerge. Read more -
Urban green infrastructure is increasingly seen as an effective way to meet regulatory obligations for control of polluted runoff or high stormwater flows, while also generating an array of ecosystem service co-benefits. Read more
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Why would 220 people come out on a rainy February night to Seattle’s Town Hall to discuss the well-known power of plants to absorb carbon? Read more -
Tidal wetlands provide great potential to sequester and store greenhouse gases. Restore Americas Estuaries and EarthCorps are investigating the carbon sequestration value of tidal wetlands. Read more -
Australia is launching one of the most ambitious ‘blue carbon’ mapping projects ever. ‘Blue carbon’ is the capture and storage of carbon pollution from the atmosphere in ocean plants and sediments on the seabed. Read more
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Dr. Nadkarni is a forest ecologist, sometimes known as “Queen of the Forest Canopy” for her pioneering work in understanding the ecological dynamics up in the treetops. She is also incredibly creative and committed to fostering public understanding of science and nature. Read more
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Global biodiversity avatar Thomas Lovejoy sees a climate endgame in sight, title of his recent New York Times op-ed. Lovejoy points to biocarbon, nature’s capacity to capture and store carbon through plant growth. Read more -
We know ‘green infrastructure’ can provide low-cost solutions for communities to better handle those big pulses of water gushing over roads and into pipes when the big rains come… and we know greening our cities is good for biocarbon and for the human spirit. Read more
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How a family-owned composting business transforms the Northwest garbage industry, captures carbon, changes consumer behavior and creates jobs. "Our program has really significantly impacted this community in developing a great carbon reduction story." - Steve Banchero, President, Cedar Grove Composting Read more -
How much carbon is stored in natural systems of the continental western US? How much will be stored in future decades? A new US Geological Service survey provides some sobering answers. Read more
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Imagine a world where we invest billions of dollars in improving ecosystem resilience to help combat climate change, all because doing so sucks up vast amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and provides pure oxygen in return. Read more
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This blog was originally posted Nov 20, 2012 by Chad Kruger here. Chad serves as Advisor to the Northwest Biocarbon Intiative and is the Director of Washington State University's Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources. Read more
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While the East Coast still struggled to recover from Superstorm Sandy, a Nov. 13th Climate Risk Roundtable convened in San Francisco to explore the challenges of keeping society’s vital systems running as the climate grows more turbulent. Read more
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The Soil Carbon Challenge is a “competition to see how fast land managers can turn atmospheric carbon into soil organic matter. If you want to find out how fast a human can run 100 meters, do you build a computer model, do a literature search, or convene a panel of experts on human physiology to make a prediction? No, you run a race. Or a series of them.” Read more
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On a marine wildlife cruise in Alaska recently I got to touch a sea otter pelt–it was so luxuriously soft my knees almost buckled with pleasure. A new study found that these critters are not only super-cuddly, they also play an outsized role in sucking up carbon from the atmosphere and storing it safely away in the sea. Read more
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In our three family-owned forests in the northern Oregon Coast Range, our work is guided by a simple belief: “If we take care of the land—the land will take care of us.” With climate change, we believe that “caring for the land” includes our playing a responsible role in maintaining the climate on which life—and the success of our tiny family business—depends. Read more -
Lost in the current debate over how best to control greenhouse gas emissions from combustion of fossil fuels is the simple fact that it won’t be enough. Already, concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere exceed 390 parts per million (ppm), some 40 ppm above what many climate scientists consider safe levels. Read more -
In a Huffington Post column on the presidential election, Bianca Jagger says it’s “time to put climate change at the top of the political agenda.” Bianca sets out a comprehensive approach to climate change that beats anything being said by either of the candidates. Read more
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Biochar has had an interesting run over the past several years. As with so many other emerging climate solutions, biochar burst into public awareness a few years back with a wave of grassroots enthusiasm. Read more
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The BioCycle Conference in Portland April 16-19 focused on the new economics of materials and natural services – harnessing organic wastes with processes that make valuable goods, and valuing ecological services to send the right signals on the use of nature in general. Read more -
What do yard trimmings, food waste, woody materials, biosolids, manure, municipal solid waste and other organic residues have to do with cooling our overheating climate? Read more
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Climate change can sometimes seem like the proliferation of bizarre ‘reality TV’, a problem so huge and entrenched only those with a Quixote complex would be crazy enough to tackle it. Read more -
In a world of ever increasing stress on our food and energy supplies, it makes little sense to pave farmland under sprawl, but that’s what we’ve been doing. Read more
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At Climate Solutions, we are delighted to see the term “biocarbon” gain increasing play. It’s a crucial concept for climate stabilization, and the BioCarbon Tracker will help spread the word. This cool, new map-based web tool illustrates biocarbon resources around the world. Read more -
Our country, America the Beautiful, boasts somewhere between 105 million and 2 billion parking spaces, according to a New York Times blog that caught my eye the other day. This boggles my mind on two levels: Read more -
Back in the late 1800s when John Wesley Powell was navigating the unknown Colorado River his agency, the US Geological Service, did vital work filling in many blank spaces on the map of the nation. USGS is now mapping the potential of natural ecosystems to absorb and store carbon released by human activities. Read more -
You suck: and I mean that in only the nicest way. It’s true. There are things you do that suck carbon out of the atmosphere - where it’s doing harm - and beneficially store it down here. We need to do much more such sucking to save our natural heritage. Read more
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RBI. I’m a baseball fanatic -- especially in playoff season -- and I was hoping that our new program could have that acronym. Read more -
The future of the Earth could well hinge on the future of earth, the soil beneath our feet. Read more
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Biofuels received a fresh surge of bad publicity with recent publication of two studies in Science that looked at the greenhouse gas releases caused by land use changes connected to biofuels production. Read more
