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Today our economy is utterly dependent on fossil fuels. They are essential to transportation, manufacturing, farming, electricity, and to make fertilizers, cement, steel, roads, cars, and half a million other products. This discussion with Alice Friedemann is a reality check on where energy will come from in the future. One day soon, fossil fuels will no longer be abundant and affordable. That time may be nearer than we realize. Some experts predict oil shortages as soon as 2022 to 2030. What will our options be for replacing the fossil fuels that turn the great wheel of civilization? Alice Friedemann's book, "Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy," surveys the arsenal of alternatives – wind, solar, hydrogen, geothermal, nuclear, batteries, catenary systems, fusion, methane hydrates, power2gas, wave, tidal power and biomass – and examines whether they can replace or supplement fossil fuels. Taking off the rose-colored glasses, author Friedemann will join Bio4Climate Executive Director Adam Sacks in conversation to consider our options.

Native American and Indigenous people model economic and social exchanges on reciprocity and relationships in all systems. Centering this and other Indigenous wisdom has led to significant and meaningful contributions to the advancement of conservation, protection, and environmental justice, especially in the lives of youth. Dawn Knickerbocker belongs to the Anishinaabe people, is a citizen of White Earth Nation/gaa waabaabiganikaag, and a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe from the Ottertail Pillager Band of Indians. Juan D. Martinez Pineda is a Senior Program Manager at the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and proud descendant of the Be'ena' Za' Zapotec people. Together they will explore how centering culture, reciprocity, and relationship can fulfill this country's promise to lift up all people. This talk is part of the Life Saves the Planet lecture series. More info: https://bio4climate.org/ ### RESOURCES Learn more about the land you are on and the peoples who have walked there: https://native-land.ca/ Learn more about The power of cultures, igniting futures with Fresh Tracks https://aspencommunitysolutions.org/f... Learn more about Native Americans in Philanthropy https://nativephilanthropy.org/

We are last minute arrivals to the region of the Earth where life can be found and thrives: the biosphere. The 3.8 billion year history of the Earth shows to this day that life — particularly microbial — has been the consistent major contributor to building features of the biosphere, giving us rocky landscapes, myriad ecosystems, healthy soils, oxygenated air, and the cyclic flow of key elements. Ecologists Doug Zook and David Morimoto examine how the biosphere is the story of connections and reciprocating systems over extraordinary long distances. Doug will share examples from the science known as "global ecology" and David will moderate the discussion. Photo: Doug Zook ### Resources from our speakers National Geographic, [a definition of the biosphere](https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/biosphere/) NASA [Earth Observatory](https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/7279/bodele-depression-dust-feeds-amazon) Nature, [“African dust keeps Amazon blooming”](https://www.nature.com/news/2010/100809/full/news.2010.396.html) University of Maryland and Geophysical Research, [“Massive Amounts of Saharan Dust Fertilize the Amazon RainforestMassive Amounts of Saharan Dust Fertilize the Amazon Rainforest”](https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/features/2822) US Geological Survey, [“Iron oxide minerals in dust-source sediments from the Bodélé Depression, Chad: Implications for radiative properties and Fe bioavailability of dust plumes from the Sahara”](https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70185032) Stetson University Geology Research Dept., [“Florida Formations: Shifting Sea and Sediment”](https://www.stetson.edu/other/gillespie-museum/media/Florida%20Formations%20EXHIBIT%20TEXT-FULL%20for%20website.pdf) Science Director: [Coccolithophore](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/coccolithophore)

Grass-fed beef producers in the U.S. have begun a movement to restore soils and stabilize the climate with a fundamentally different approach called regenerative grazing. This method builds on nature’s own system of pulling carbon from the air and storing it in the soil. Sixty million buffalo lived on the Great Plains at one time. The prairie had deep, productive soils, 8 to 10 feet down, thanks to the symbiosis of the large herbivore, plants, photosynthesis and soil microbes. In more recent times, poor farming methods have sent this stored carbon back up into the atmosphere as C02. Current scientific research helps us understand the mechanisms and methods by which grazing can foster carbon sequestration, protect against droughts and floods, and increase crop yields many-fold to feed growing populations. Ridge Shinn founded Big Picture Beef in 2015. Its mission is to establish an environmentally sustainable and economically viable model of producing beef through managed grazing—no feedlots and no grain, ever. His vision is a system that produces healthy animals, healthy food, healthy soils, and fair wages for farmers.

The Inga Foundation's founder and director Mike Hands has been working to halt the destruction of rainforests from slash and burn agriculture for over 20 years. An experienced tropical ecologist and scientific researcher, Mike divides his time between his farm in Cornwall, UK, and the Inga Foundation’s [Land for Life](http://www.ingafoundation.org/land-for-life/) program in Honduras. Now in year 10, the locally-led program has exceeded all expectations (100% organic food security, protecting wildlife and marine habitats, enriching and improving soil, and preserving water sources) and been recognized as a game changer for people and the planet with 2,600 acres of highly degraded land regenerated, and 284,000 tons of CO2 sequestered/avoided. The program is replicable to the entire humid tropics with native Inga. The "Guama Model" of Inga Alley Cropping with the nitrogen-fixing Inga has transformed the lives of 300+ rural, subsistence farming families who have planted over 4 million trees. The resilient, fast-growing Inga tree alleys provide annual, renewable firewood and survived 7 months of drought and the recent back-to-back hurricanes. Distinguished professor Rattan Lal talks with Mike Hands about the program's success and promise.

Learn about a movement that grew from over 40,000 farmers in 2016 to almost 800,000 farmers in 2020 in one of the driest states in India. This work has been successful in part because of a community supported approach where women-run self help groups are in charge of operations. Vijay Kumar, advisor to the government of Andhra Pradesh, presents this program, and the impact of Walter Jehne's ideas for increasing drought resilience. Didi Pershouse, who accompanied Jehne on his trip to India, moderates the conversation. However, before you begin, Vijay invites you to enjoy this musical video, "[**One Earth Song," by Ricky Kej,**](https://youtu.be/3-_Rq8t_eA0) a tribute to farmers in India, to bring you in to his country for this conversation.     ## Resources Learn more about Didi Pershouse’s work and find out more about her book, “The Ecology of Care”: https://www.didipershouse.com/ Government of Andhra Pradesh, Department of Agriculture’s ‘Zero-Budget’ Natural Farming Programme: http://apzbnf.in/ Follow their work on [Youtube,](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCusizWOkz5Q0-F_TX0vKiPA) on [Twitter,](https://twitter.com/APZBNF) and [Facebook.](https://www.facebook.com/APZBNF/) Fact sheets and articles related to [the reasons behind 365 days green cover, and the intersection of soil, water, climate, and health.](https://www.landandleadership.org/fact-sheets.html) List of upcoming courses that Didi’s group will be delving into [the successes in India and how similar projects can get off the ground around the world.](https://lali.teachable.com/ ) In particular this course, ["Regenerating Landscapes for Community and Climate Resilience,"](https://lali.teachable.com/p/regenerating-landscapes-for-community-and-climate-resilience) (for which there is financial assistance as needed, particularly for people in the global south.) Here is a free [150 page manual Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function](https://www.landandleadership.org/soil-health-manual.htm) (used in 60 countries). Jan. 2020 International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, [“Towards redesign at scale through zero budget natural farming in Andhra Pradesh, India.”](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338546247_Towards_redesign_at_scale_through_zero_budget_natural_farming_in_Andhra_Pradesh_India) National Geographic article on farming in Andhra Pradesh: [“Getting Back to Nature.”](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/03/partner-content-getting-back-to-nature/)   Photo Credit: Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming

Globally, oyster habitats are the most degraded habitats among coastal systems, with the loss of 99% in the last 150 years. These 350 million years old keystone species and their habitats are at the brink of total collapse from industrial harvesting and pollution of coastal areas. Today scientists understand the ecological value of oyster habitats and their importance to coastal health. Re-establishing oyster populations improves water quality, biodiversity, seafood safety, and can be a buffer to rising sea levels. Dr. Anamarija Frankic explains the [biomimicry](https://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/) approach for oyster habitat restoration to recover marine health and resiliency. Looking at the work of the Green Harbors Project (GHP), we can examine several successful oyster reef restorations in urban areas that had lost this essential habitat and its related ecological functions, as well as ask what we can learn from this success for restoring our planet. This talk is part of the Life Saves the Planet lecture series. More info: https://bio4climate.org/ ## Resources mentioned in this talk: Download the [handbook](https://noraeurope.eu/download/3493/) from the [Native Oyster Restoration Alliance](https://noraeurope.eu) [Oyster Grandpa in Japan](https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/05/558352-feature-grandpa-oyster-offers-example-sustainable-ocean-business) Anamarija's work at the [Green Harbors Project](https://www.umb.edu/ghp) VIDEO: [Deepwater- Norri Project](https://youtu.be/trRkAzOL1G0) Rick Van Noy article in Yes Magazine (2019) ["As entire islands disappear in Chesapeake Bay, the oyster is enlisted as a first line of climate defense"](https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/03/19/oyster-mollusk-can-save-shorelines-from-rising-seas/) Abstract from Dr. Antonio Rodriguez, ["Oyster reefs can outpace sea-level rise"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262068157_Oyster_reefs_can_outpace_sea-level_rise ) Trailer: [Shell Shocked](https://www.shellshockedmovie.com/)

Didi Pershouse is the founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine and has developed a practice and theoretical framework for systems-based ecological medicine—restoring health to people as well as the social and ecological systems around them. In her work she connects the dots between soil health and public health, and the role of beneficial microorganisms in maintaining a healthy climate both inside and outside the body. This talk about her work is moderated by Katharine Zywert, who researches social-ecological systems change and health at the University of Waterloo in Canada and is the co-editor of a new book, Health in the Anthropocene. This talk is part of the Life Saves the Planet lecture series. More info: https://bio4climate.org/

Tim LaSalle, a depth psychologist and former CEO of the Rodale Institute, has long followed the innovative work in the regenerative agriculture movement, a farming practice based on greatly improving the soil's biome to achieve a healthy biodiversity and greater food nutrient density while eliminating the need for soil augmentation, artificial or otherwise. As writer and environmental activist Wendell Berry once said, "Eating is an agricultural act." In this talk, Tim will address the barriers to a paradigm change that creates a radical shift in culture, education, policies and consumer patterns created from the way we have farmed for nearly 10,000 years. Photo courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Our natural systems are under great stress. However, nature’s inclination is toward healing, and we can work with the logic of ecology to restore landscapes and waterways. Biodiversity for a Livable Climate hosts authors Judith D. Schwartz and Ben Goldfarb as they talk about regenerating landscapes—and the pivotal role of animals in earth healing. Judith’s new book, “The Reindeer Chronicles and Other Inspiring Stories of Working With Nature to Heal the Earth”, is published by [Chelsea Green](https://www.chelseagreen.com/?s=reindeer). This talk is part of the Life Saves the Planet lecture series. More info: https://bio4climate.org/