Kara Stiff

Leading Climate Researchers: We Are in a Climate Emergency, Facing Existential Risks

by

Last week a new paper in Nature caused a stir and world-wide headlines, and for good reason.

“Climate tipping points – too risky to bet against” by Lenton, Rockstrom, Gaffney, Rahmstrof, Richardson, Steffen and Schellnhuber look at the “evidence on the threat of exceeding (climate system) tipping points, and whether we still have any control over them” because this “helps to define that we are in a climate emergency.”

California Cotton Fields: Can Cotton be Climate Beneficial?

by

Looking across the landscape, we see at least six key approaches to increasing soil carbon and so much more: integrating animals, rotating crops, building biodiversity with plantings like hedgerows, conserving soil with cover cropping, boosting soil fertility with fungal-dominated compost, and eventually finding methods for no-till cotton that do not depend on synthetic chemistry.

The Elephant in the Room

by

Discussion about climate disruption and mass extinction rarely mention human population as a significant factor in exacerbating those problems.  In the last ~100 years, the human population has increased dramatically as shown in Figures 1 and 2.  The global human population, as of 2019, was 7.7 billion and climbing.  At this point, experts are estimating a global human population of ~10 billion by 2050.

Catabolism: Capitalism’s Frightening Future

by

Movement organizers must help people anticipate, adapt to, and survive these hardships—but social movements cannot stop there.  They must help people mount the kind of political resistance that can strip the fossil fuel industry of its power and leverage their own growing influence to demand that society’s remaining resources be re-directed toward a Green transition.

Daring to Hope at the Cliff’s Edge: Excerpt

by

I believe the portal to this new way lies partly in our DNA. On a cellular level, we all hold memories of living in harmony with the natural world. We can activate these memories in many ways: through our imaginations; through time spent quietly in wild places; through the study of ancient, land-based wisdom; through wholehearted, community-driven, research-based exploration rooted in respect for the living world.

Three Knowledge Mobilization Strategies

by

How can we engage in effective knowledge mobilization in wider processes of change working towards greater social justice and sustainability? To what extent can researchers play a role in co-producing and mobilizing knowledge in these processes of change with social movements and communities?

Peak Oil Review 2 December 2019

by

US crude futures fell 5.1 percent to $55.17 a barrel in New York last Friday, paring most of their November rebound and logging their biggest drop since mid-September.  Prices are 17 percent below their April peaks.  Brent dropped 2.3 percent to $63.43 a barrel on Friday after edging lower on Thursday when US markets were closed for Thanksgiving.

The Battle of Seattle: Shutting Empire Down and Planting the Seeds of Change

by

Now we were planting the seeds of a different kind of trade. A different kind of economy. One built on the mutual trust of nature and human. An interdependent relationship woven with seeds and soil, water and sweat. One founded on the ecological processes of life, not the profit margins of an economic system of death. We built gardens and we healed the land that week. We sang and linked arms and we shut down empire together. We cried, we planted, and we stood our ground for a thriving world; and the seeds of change took root.