The New Climate. New(s)letter #7
It was a long March — but to freedom?
I can think of a thousand reasons for taking climate action. And (warning: dodgy segue alert) The New Climate followers clearly agree, because we have almost hit 1,000 Followers! (I did warn you). At the time of writing we’re at 973 — so, action number one: pass this newsletter on to anyone you think might be interested, and ask them to follow The New Climate. We’re creating a community for climate action here, and after planting this as a tiny acorn in early 2023, it’s beautiful to watch its first leaves begin to bud in spring 2024. (Look, it’s been a long weekend/month, ok).
March also came with reminders of just how long and drawn-out this year is going to be. As you may have noticed, it’s quite a big election year — with significant/devastating climate consequences resting on our decisions made at the ballot box. George Dillard reminds us that the US, and global climate action, has a lot to thank Joe Biden for — we must not take our eyes off the prize of effective environmental policy. Ricky Lanusse also adds his thoughts on the recurring nightmare that is a Trump election year— but also puts it into context, both historical (ie. the history of the planet— yes, he goes that deep) and global. This is a big election year for many other countries too.
One of those countries may be Australia. The political use of carbon offsets there, and the potential to corrupt NGOs desperate for the funding, is the focus of a particularly hard hitting piece ‘Carbon Upsets’ by Rohit Rao, AKA Notes from the Understory. Rohit quotes industry insiders who have criticised the integrity of Australia’s carbon credit scheme: 70–80% of the credits issued, particularly those under the ‘human-induced forest regeneration scheme’ are low in integrity, issued for areas where forests will never be sustained. Having personally worked on such ‘replanting schemes’, Rohit writes, “I saw with my own eyes how many of the plants we painstakingly planted in Namarag died.”
But while clear-eyed analyses of the effectiveness and consequences of the actions we take are crucial, we also need hope to galvanise action. And that is exactly what’s offered in the articles by Cris Scribes, PhD ‘A Promising Climate: Glimpses of Hope for a Sustainable Future’, Matt Traverso ‘I Use Half as Much Electricity as the Average American. Join Me (Part 1)’, and Anthony Signorelli’s ‘Low Carbon Chic — Let’s Go Loud!’.
One action Cris touches on is one of my favourites: compost. I can’t claim that composting is going to ‘save the planet’, or anything like it. But there’s something grounding — literally — in the process of making it. I spent part of my Easter weekend sieving the output of my compost bin, all biodegraded vegetable peelings and cardboard packaging from the previous year, ready to use to plant this year’s vegetables. In fact, let me jump outside and I’ll take a picture of it for you:
It’s an annual ritual in tune with the cycles of the seasons, and indeed the carbon cycle itself. Which, as much as some might try to forget it, we all ultimately are. Unsurprisingly then, my favourite article of the month was Sílvia PM, PhD 🍂’s The Compost Creatures Helping Us Battle Climate Change. The role of tiny decomposers within the soil food web, and the link between climate change and species extinction, makes for a fascinatingly earthy read.
And finally one from the archive — while we’re on a gardening theme — in 2022 I asked Is Home-Grown Food a Danger to Our Health? As great as grow-your-own is, check your soil — you never know what the previous owners/tenants may have disposed of in there. But don’t let that put you off — a simply test can sort it out — as will replenishing old soil with new, like the stuff from last year’s compost pile.
Happy Spring (or Autumn for Southern Hemisphere readers and writers), and happy Easter/Eostrae to all who celebrate.
Tim Smedley, Editor, The New Climate.
[Addendum, dated 10th April, 2024. We are soooo close:
