Beth Kaplin

SHIFT

I am SO EXCITED about this!

Many folks want to take personal action on climate change, but many resources treat people like monoliths.

Enter SHIFT -- a collaboration between Dr. Kim Nicholas and Project Drawdown -- that tailors advice for YOU, using your climate superpowers.

jointheshift.earth

Great story of positive change -

Global forestry recognition 2025 marks FAO’s 80th anniversary, celebrating eight decades of contributing to global food security and sustainable development. To commemorate FAO@80 and ...

Nominate an organization or inst for best practices in sust forest prod & protection DEADLINE 31 May www.fao.org/forestry/hom... Nominations invited that highlight achievements in forest mgmt, policy, innovation, comm org, restoration or related area.

The 25 Gardens You Must See

For some plant happiness: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/t...

Heat extremes in southern Africa might continue even if net-zero emissions are achieved Cutting carbon dioxide emissions to zero by 2050 will reduce global warming, but climate modelling shows that some regions may still experience extreme heat.

I suspect this is not just South Africa - we really need leadership to prepare our communities, cities, children, elderly, etc. theconversation.com/heat-extreme...

AI can be a danger to students – 3 things universities must do Universities should teach AI literacy, emphasise why developing knowledge is important and teach students why being an expert matters.

Mainstreaming AI literacy into our classes across disciplines and courses to ensure AI does not take over student learning. Instructors may need help to develop such content. I think this is a critical step to ensure we do not produce dumbed down graduates. theconversation.com/ai-can-be-a-...

A screen capture of the home page of this course.

Want to learn how to help tackle the climate crisis and contribute to a sustainable, just world via impactful climate solutions (which begin by using your voice to call for change)? This 4-week course by @universityofleeds.bsky.social is free! Sign up now ⬇️

www.futurelearn.com/courses/clim...

I just came across this today -stories and games for kid-friendly travel, and its an interesting collaboration that is creating this. Will be interesting to see if it can have some positive impacts on understanding climate change, maybe others know more about it? #climatechange dodo4kids.com

Farmers Sued Over Deleted Climate Data. So the Government Will Put It Back.

Good to have farmers on the side of science and data!

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/c...

Time for adults to finally act like adults on climate change A report detailing how climate inaction will consign people born today to a lifetime of weather extremes must awaken a sense of responsibility.

This should be a wake up call, but I fear many people won't take it seriously; people who can make policy chge to reduce emissions, innovative alts to energy & emissions, invest in res & interventions to make a difference. We can't keep saying this is not happening. Our children depend on us.

YouTube video by Halton Environmental Network Dr.Katharine Hayhoe - How to Talk About Climate Change

Great pointers for talking about climate change from Katherine Hayhoe www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP2D...

YouTube video by TED The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it | Katharine Hayhoe

This is always great to listen to, it is from 2019 but of course remains relevant - why we need to talk about climate change www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bvc...

I am grateful for people with integrity.

Rethinking carbon: The climate movement needs to be a human one, says Paul Hawken Celebrated author, thinker and entrepreneur Paul Hawken joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his new book, Carbon: The Book of Life, and argues that the jargon and fear-based terms broadly used by the ...

This is a good reframing of the climate change crisis - its about us humans and the crisis we are in with our relationship to nature, to our Earth news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025...

When Will Spring Bird Migration Hit Its Peak? BirdCast Has Answers Spring migration timing varies across the U.S. and even within regions, according to radar data analyzed by BirdCast.

If you are feeling down about things, let nature bring you up: w/ a little techn, look at the wave of migratory birds as they move up north w/ spring, then go outside & try to see birds coming back after winter to our beautiful landscapes www.allaboutbirds.org/news/when-wi...

Cool forests: Nature’s air conditioning system - CIFOR-ICRAF Forests News As we confront the sobering reality that 2024 marked the first year global temperatures exceeded the 1.5 °C threshold established by the Paris Agreement, recognizing the vital role of forests and tree...

I great essay about the importance of forests as climate warms: forestsnews.cifor.org/91559/cool-f...

It’s a fire sale…

We have a cool research prjct in the Center of Exc in Biodiv & NRM Rwanda w/ colleagues @ Leuphana Universität Lüneburg & other German unis to study social-ecol restoration in Rwanda: what farmers want in restoration, native spp use & this living labs model ecosystemrestoration.net/2025/03/26/k...

Our study is simpler than this one reported in Science article, but with some of the authors assisting, and I am very excited that we have a young Rwandan scientists doing his masters on this topic, the study is in tropical forest in Rwanda.

Shocker: This tropical tree thrives after being struck by lightning The almendro withstands thunderbolts that blast away parasitic vines

Very happy to read this article - we have started a study in tropical montane forest on this topic, which is a high ligtening strike area. Still much to learn about tropical forest dynamics!This tropical tree thrives after being struck by lightning | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Editorial: Biotropica Announces a New Paper Category: Synthesis Click on the article title to read more.

A new category in @biotropica.bsky.social for synthesis papers onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... They can be solicited by invitation, referral, or self-referral & will be "deep in time and site-specific, celebrating the insights that emerge from local, place-based ecology..."

World’s largely unprotected peatlands are ticking ‘carbon bomb’, warns study Bogs and swamps are a colossal carbon store but their continued destruction would blow climate change targets

New study | Peatlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests—but they’re dangerously underprotected.

Despite covering just 3% of land, their destruction is releasing CO₂ at levels that could make them the 4th largest emitter globally. @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Supercell, Nebraska, 2012 by Camille Seaman

Dana Fisher on LinkedIn:
How climate shocks lead to a change in opinions+political positions for conservatives. New paper, based on data from Florida, documents how Republican positions change…🧵

Full article here: lnkd.in/eutBxHQz

Africa’s elephants have been in dramatic decline for 50 years. What can be done to save them – new study Maintaining current elephant numbers, let alone reversing declines, requires new thinking and conservation innovation.

This is an interesting article, using existing census data sets. It shows African elephant popns in a dramatic decline for 50 yrs and suggests what can be done. Bldg capacity to protect eles is one of them theconversation.com/africas-elep...

Perceptions and knowledge about the use of biological indicators in freshwater ecosystem monitoring in Rwanda The use of biological monitoring (biomonitoring) to assess water quality is recognised alongside the use of chemical and physicochemical parameters due to its ability and efficiency in providing in...

I just remembered I have some free eprints for this article my PhD student did, for those of you interested in freshwater ecosystems and monitoring using biological indicators www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ZG8F2...