Conference on Restoring Ecosystems to Reverse Global Warming Is Stunning Success - More Soon

LEXINGTON, Mass. - Nov. 29, 2014 - PRLog -- Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (BLC) today announced that video presentations from its conference, "Restoring Ecosystems to Reverse Global Warming,” can now be viewed online at no cost. The conference, held at Tufts University on November 21-23, 2014, was co-sponsored by the Tufts Institute for the Environment and the Tufts Center for International Environment and Resource Policy.

With excitement and enthusiasm among participants running strong, planning for future events at various locations is now underway, including Southeastern Massachusetts; Washington, DC; Columbia, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts; and even the Netherlands.

Adam Sacks, Executive Director of BLC, said, "It was gratifying to see the groundswell of support, as nearly 350 people registered to attend this, our first conference on root-cause climate solutions: restoring ecosystems and capturing massive quantities of carbon in soils worldwide. Ecological restoration offers a hopeful future of natural carbon sinks, restored biodiversity, and enhanced food security.” Sacks continued, “We are delighted to make the conference presentations available to anyone worldwide wishing to hear about this essential component of an all-of-the-above global warming reversal strategy directly from leading scientists and researchers, practitioners, and activists.”

Unsolicited testimonials from conference participants reflected the optimistic, galvanizing atmosphere of the event. One attendee described “how rich, inspiring and supportive of directed, purposeful action the conference was.” Another commented, “I learned so much and feel so much more hopeful about the future of our planet.  I look forward to seeing the talks I missed on your website.” Frequently heard among the sentiments expressed was gratitude for having given this topic the attention warranted: “Let me again thank you for … stimulating a broad community about the carbon sequestration opportunity. … There are too many highlights to mention here – it was a strong and deep roster.”

Leading conference sponsors included the 11th Hour Project, EPIC Grass-Fed Meat Bars, the Savory Institute, and the Virgin Earth Challenge.  Other sponsors were Dr. Mercola’s, Applied Ecological Services, the Bionutrient Food Association, the Institute for Sustainability and Post-Carbon Education at Bristol Community College, Cambridge Naturals, Carbon Drawdown Solutions, Flag Hill Farm, Friends of the Alewife Reservation, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, and Wright-Locke Farm. Conference partners included the 2015 International Year of Soils program of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, Better Future Project, the Carbon Farming Course at the Resilience Foundation, The Carbon Underground, Chelsea Green Publishing, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions, the Ecological Landscape Alliance, Edible Landscapes, Food Tank, Gardens for Health International, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Green Cambridge, Healthy Soils Australia, the International Biochar Initiative, Kiss the Ground, Marion Institute, the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions, the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, Mni Rainwater Harvesting, the Organic Consumers Association, Planetary Emissions Management Forest Legacy Carbon Initiative, Polyface Farm, the Port Orford Community Stewardship Area, Project Drawdown, Quincy Climate Action Network, Remineralize the Earth, the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, Shared Harvest CSA, Somerville Climate Action, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Sustainable Milton, Sustainable World Media, and Tree of Life Sustainable Development Consulting.

Says leading scientist Thomas Goreau, “We know how to grow our way out of the carbon crisis if we only use what we know and put the carbon back into the ground.” Another prominent climate scientist, William Moomaw, who served as a lead author in IPCC climate studies, said in his presentation "the only thing to do is to increase the rate of uptake by plants and soils, which is the topic of this conference."

Full conference information, including links for viewing conference sessions, is at http://bio4climate.org/conference-2014/program/ . Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 2013 to promote maximizing nature's potential to remove excess carbon from the atmosphere.