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Biodiversity

About This Collection

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. It is necessary for life to thrive on Earth.

Aldo Leopold, one of the great thinkers of conservation, observed more than half a century ago the importance of protecting species. "To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering," he wrote. Losing species is like throwing away one by one the engine parts of an airplane while flying.

Biodiversity is a major initiative of Conservation International.

Biodiversity conservation provides substantial benefits to meet immediate human needs, such as those for clean, consistent water flows; protection from floods and storms; and a stable climate. 

Curated by mokiethecat

Cows, Climate and Culture Wars: Putting Bad Policy Out to Pasture
There’s growing concern among scientists and the public about the environmental cost of the United States’ outsized appetite for beef. But there’s also a fierce political backlash against the suggestion that we reduce our beef consumption. These dynamics have everyone — from federal policymakers to local producers and big corporations — scrambling to broadcast new climate commitments on beef production, such as net-zero pledges.

In this conversation, food and climate experts will break down the climate science of beef and explore which solutions are most effective — and most needed — in climate policy and commitments. What’s the role for grass-fed and so-called regenerative beef in a climate-friendly food system? Where are the gaps in our ability to reduce climate emissions, and what are the limits and potentials of carbon sequestration, methane capture, carbon markets, consumer awareness and industry oversight? We’ll also discuss how culture wars shape the way we talk about, think about, study, and address climate impacts in beef production — and whether voluntary benchmarks can work under these conditions.

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Speakers:
Dr. Jonathan Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author, science communicator and public speaker. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the executive director of Project Drawdown and holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Matthew Hayek is an assistant professor of environmental sciences at New York University. He has presented and written numerous influential peer-reviewed papers on this topic broadly and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science, in addition to a degree in physics from Wesleyan.

Dr. Silvia Secchi is trained as a natural resource economist, geographer and transdisciplinary scholar. She is a professor at the University of Iowa in the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences and Public Policy Center. A thoroughly published scholar in food, agriculture and policy issues, she holds a Ph.D. in economics.

EarthSayers Dr. Jonathan Foley; Dr. Matthew Hayek; Dr. Silvia Secchi

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