#boreal climates

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Restoring Forests to Fight Climate Change

[canisalbus]

was just told that canada is basically discount finland so uh. how is it over there in og finland ig

also have you tried garlic stuffed olives they are SO GOOD

I tend to think it's other way around, Finland is like baby Canada. A fun-size Canada. Can we go to Canada? We have Canada at home.

[vox-anglosphere]

Fort Simpson being evacuated as fire season begins a month early.

[secattention]

Military Documents Reveal: Forest Fires as a Weapon of Climate Engineering.

[riseuptimes]

Chris Hedges: “Fire Weather”: Big Oil’s Climate Conflagration

[whimlen]

WAIT- HUH?!?!

well.. yup

[johniac]

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . . . . .Mar 2nd, 2025

[alyfoxxxen]

'Cutting the heck' out of Canada's boreal forest has put caribou at risk | CBC News

[trendynewsnow]

The Impact of Forest Fires on Global Carbon Emissions

The Crucial Role of Forests in Climate Stability Forests are not just serene escapes from the hustle and bustle of urban life; they are vital bastions in the battle against climate change. Acting as natural carbon sinks, forests have the remarkable ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing it in their roots, trunks, and leaves. This process plays a crucial role in mitigating…

[reasonsforhope]

"A century of gradual reforestation across the American East and Southeast has kept the region cooler than it otherwise would have become, a new study shows.

The pioneering study of progress shows how the last 25 years of accelerated reforestation around the world might significantly pay off in the second half of the 21st century.

Using a variety of calculative methods and estimations based on satellite and temperature data from weather stations, the authors determined that forests in the eastern United States cool the land surface by 1.8 – 3.6°F annually compared to nearby grasslands and croplands, with the strongest effect seen in summer, when cooling amounts to 3.6 – 9°F.

The younger the forest, the more this cooling effect was detected, with forest trees between 20 and 40 years old offering the coolest temperatures underneath.

“The reforestation has been remarkable and we have shown this has translated into the surrounding air temperature,” Mallory Barnes, an environmental scientist at Indiana University who led the research, told The Guardian.

“Moving forward, we need to think about tree planting not just as a way to absorb carbon dioxide but also the cooling effects in adapting for climate change, to help cities be resilient against these very hot temperatures.”

The cooling of the land surface affected the air near ground level as well, with a stepwise reduction in heat linked to reductions in near-surface air temps.

“Analyses of historical land cover and air temperature trends showed that the cooling benefits of reforestation extend across the landscape,” the authors write. “Locations surrounded by reforestation were up to 1.8°F cooler than neighboring locations that did not undergo land cover change, and areas dominated by regrowing forests were associated with cooling temperature trends in much of the Eastern United States.”

By the 1930s, forest cover loss in the eastern states like the Carolinas and Mississippi had stopped, as the descendants of European settlers moved in greater and greater numbers into cities and marginal agricultural land was abandoned.

The Civilian Conservation Corps undertook large replanting efforts of forests that had been cleared, and this is believed to be what is causing the lower average temperatures observed in the study data.

However, the authors note that other causes, like more sophisticated crop irrigation and increases in airborne pollutants that block incoming sunlight, may have also contributed to the lowering of temperatures over time. They also note that tree planting might not always produce this effect, such as in the boreal zone where increases in trees are linked with increases in humidity that way raise average temperatures."

-via Good News Network, February 20, 2024

[probablyasocialecologist]

Forests are the largest global above ground carbon sinks and managing them through forest-based agroforestry (FAF) can provide a myriad of benefits, a new study led by Yale School of the Environment scientists found. “We want to make sure that we clarify that forest-based agroforestry (FAF) can achieve similar climate benefits as tree planting in fields,” said Karam Sheban ’28 PhD, ’20 MF, who co-authored the study, which was published in Nature Climate Change. “The big takeaway is that human management of forests can result in better outcomes for forests, for people, and for the climate. It is not a zero-sum game.” Agroforestry is a management system that integrates trees with crops or pastures. Forest-based agroforestry, however, integrates crop production into existing forests. The study found that FAF can support forest health and biodiversity, enhance carbon sequestration and storage, generate economic benefits for local communities through sustainable harvesting of forest products (such as fruits, nuts, and medicinal plants), and aligns with Indigenous and traditional land stewardship practices. Despite the benefits and the large number of people practicing forest-based agroforestry, it is receiving proportionally less support and funding than tree planting agroforestry initiatives by NGOs, private companies, and nonprofit agroforestry and conservation organizations. Two common misconceptions often account for the exclusion of FAF from policy language and funding opportunities, the authors said. The first is that industrial agroforestry systems that are designed around global commodity crops (such as cacao, coffee, and palm oil) are often conflated with traditional Indigenous approaches. The second misconception is that outcomes of industrial agroforestry in tropical forests can be extrapolated to temperate and boreal forest systems. “There’s a narrative that human activity in forests causes degradation, and that we really should leave forests untouched to maximize climate benefits. But humans living in and around forests have been supporting forest health for thousands of years and continue to do so now, ” Sheban said.

2 April 2025

[potofsoup]

Happy July 4th, everyone, and good luck to the UK voters out there!

Wow it's Year 11 of doing these!! Here's the AO3 link to the past 10 years, and here's the tumblr link.

Reminder that this is a long game -- some of the judges making decisions were appointed back in the 80s. Many of the cases that were decided this round were from Trump's term. So it's going to take long-term, consistent voting over a decade to start tipping things in the other direction. (Which I talked about in 2018 re: Trump shenanigans and 2022 re: Dobbs).

A lot has been done by the Biden administration (I'm assuming most folks have seen this post by boreal-sea with their very helpful sources), and much of that will be overturned by Trump, especially if he gets the Senate, and especially now that he would have a blank check for anything "official". So let's make sure that doesn't happen.

And even if Trump does get elected, your decisions down-ballot might effect control of the House or Senate, or might make it easier to vote next time, plus the whole plethora of state and local issues. It's Republican state attorney generals who are challenging climate regulations, for example.

Plus, when you really get down to it, only one of the candidates plans on pardoning himself and all his friends if he wins, and attacking the government if he loses. Maybe that guy shouldn't be the President.

If you're new to voting, remember to check voter registration deadlines! I'm a permanent vote-by-mail voter and it's so nice. :)

Transcript under the readmore

Page 1: Sam and Bucky meet up with Steve for a picnic. Steve: Thought you guys were still in Sudan? Bucky: I’m forcing Sam to take a break.

Sam collapses onto the picnic blanket. Sam: Oof, it just never stops, does it? Steve: Nope.

Bucky hands Sam an orange popsicle. Bucky: Eat and relax for a bit, Sam. Sam: Thanks.

Page 2: Bucky asks Steve: How are things state-side? Steve responds: HORRIBLE. Bucky: I thought you’ve been tentatively hopeful about what Biden has been able to achieve? Steve: I was! Student loans, child care, climate regulations, infrastructure, labor, trans rights … he’s quietly done a lot through regulatory improvements and congress bills. But now all people will talk about is how he’s OLD. And then there’s the Supreme Court’s decisions … Chevron and immunity… Steve puts his head in his hands, while Sam and Bucky look on with some concern.

Page 3: Bucky hands Steve a blue/raspberry popsicle: Steve, take a deep breath, and a popsicle. Sam: Sounds like we missed a lot. What’s going on? How bad is it? Steve: Pretty bad. The Supreme Court has made some decisions that give the Court and the President A LOT of discretionary power. Sam: Yikes, that doesn’t sound good. Steve: Well, the Chevron thing means that judges with life-term appointments can override policies made by government agencies. And now it’ll be harder to hold a President accountable because he will have immunity for any “official” actions.

Page 4: Sam: So if the President tries to, say, overturn a democratic election result, he’ll be allowed to as long as it’s in his job description? Steve: I don’t think threatening state electors is “official” business, but that will be decided by federal judges. Who get their jobs by approval from both the President and the Senate. Bucky: Yeesh. No wonder you’re stressed. Any good news? Steve: Well, thanks the Biden and the razor-thin Senate majority, the newer bills don’t rely on the Chevron deference. Still not great but not catastrophic. Sam, squirting ketchup on his hot dog: So what I’m hearing is that it’s now more important than ever to have a President and a Senate who you can trust to appoint fair judges, pass bills, and not commit crimes.

Page 5: Steve: Plus all of the state level offices, now that more and more deciding power has been thrown back to the states — abortion, LGBTQ rights, voting access… Bucky: Hey, at least this is a big election year so we can actually do something! Steve, with his arms crossed, looking surly: Except that all people want to talk about is how Biden is “too old” and “not doing enough,” as if that is on par with Trump’s desire to dismantle basic rights! As if the candidate who doesn’t embody ALL their ideals is not worth voting for! Bucky interrupts with a smart and a loud “PFFT.”

Page 6: Bucky: Um, Steve. YOU were like that in 1940. Sam, nudging Bucky: “Oh, this I gotta hear. Spill, Barnes.” In sepia, Steve is pacing around their apartment while Bucky is sitting and reading a newspaper. Steve: I can’t believe he’s running for a 3rd term! we need a fresh candidate to vote for! This is hardly a choice at all! AND he refuses to engage in Europe! All of Europe under fascist control and we’re just twiddling our thumbs? He’s letting millions die through his inaction! Bucky: Most people don’t want another war, Steve. If he came out for it, he would lose. Steve, indignant: But Buck, it’s your Polish relative who are in danger! Bucky, closing his newspaper and looking at Steve: Yeah, and between FDR and Willkes, I trust FDR to help if he could.

Page 7: Steve, in sepia, looking away: Should he be encouraged to do more? Maybe I should vote for Browder. The Communists have historically be Anti-Fascist.

Sam interrupts off-screen: Waitaminute! STEVE was going to PROTEST-VOTE? Steve: We were in a Blue State, Sam! Sam: But what about the down ballot races?! Steve: RELAX, I did my due diligence down-ballot. I wanted a senate that’s more progressive than the President.Voted LaGuardia for Mayor, too. Steve hesitates: Then, when I got to the President… I realized that the Best case scenario would be that my vote did nothing, versus if it actually spoiled the election. And when I asked myself who I could trust to work with my Senator… well, FDR had a good record with Labor. (sepia shot of young Steve voting) Bucky interrupts: Hold on, Steve.

Page 8: Bucky, eating a cookie, arching an eyebrow: You didn’t vote for Browder? Why didn’t you tell me? Steve: And have you say “I told you so” for the next century? Bucky: Heh.

Steve, with hand on his chin: What’s weird was that, despite everything, I still felt HORRIBLE when I ticked that box. Sam: Sounds like you built up the meaning of that vote far too much in your head. Logically, we know that a single box can’t represent all of the complexity of a whole system, but the desperately WANT it to. Just look at how people have built up so much around the term “Zionis” that it’s made productive conversations difficult.

Page 9: Sam and Steve speak in the background while Bucky reaches into the cooler and pulls out a box. Steve: Sigh. And that’s something that goes beyond the election. Sam: Which is why we need to vote, AND do other things. Bucky, looking at Steve and Sam: Like how Steve works to push organizations on the local level? Or like all the work you do as Captain America? Sam: Exactly. Vote AND.

Sam looks at Bucky fondly: Like how you vote AND make me and Steve take breaks. Bucky, looking stern because he can’t handle compliments: Shush, Sam.

Bucky holds up a cake that has the number “107” on it: It’s time for cake. Happy Birthday, Steve.

[max1461]

The reason the Soviet Union lost the cold war is because Russia only has one or two climates. It's all steppe and boreal forest. America, with its steppes, woodlands, deserts, subtropics etc. was able to overwhelm the Soviets with superior force. This is one of the major reasons the US-China conflict will not be so simple.

[very-lost-hobbit]

I'm actually in tears laughing at these dumbfuck Republicans thinking we can CONTROL wildfire smoke (which, yes that IS what their letter implies). Gee, so sorry the climate-change fueled increase in the burning of millions of acres of boreal forest that has displaced MANY communities (thousands of people- most of them indigenous) is ruining YOUR nice sunny weather! If it bothers you so much why don't you send YOUR firefighting resources up here to help?

[naxalbari1967]

The Earth Does Not Need White Saviors. It Needs the Settler Gone.

The lie at the root of every liberal climate summit, every fake green corporation, every Euro-American environmental NGO and carbon credit scam is that all humans are equally to blame for climate collapse. That it’s just an issue of “population” or “modern life” or “overconsumption by everyone.” They will look a Maasai herder in the face, or a Quechua farmer, or a Yanomami child covered in river mud and leeches from fishing with their hands, and tell them that they are equally complicit in the destruction of the planet as the white men who built the World Bank and ExxonMobil. They will lump a Bengali shrimp fisher into the same moral category as a Dutch rubber baron or a Texan oil CEO. This isn’t ignorance. It is propaganda. The global ruling class needs to erase the difference between colonizer and colonized because the truth is lethal to their power. The truth is this: the vast majority of ecological destruction was, and still is, committed by settler colonies and the capitalist powers that prop them up. The native is not the problem. The settler is.

It was settler colonies that turned the earth into property. It was settlers who surveyed forests into square plots, who fenced rivers, who divided the skies into no-fly zones and the oceans into exclusive economic zones. It was not the Amazonian who drew borderlines across jungles. It was the Portuguese. It was not the Navajo who dammed the Colorado River and turned it into an energy source for Las Vegas. It was the Bureau of Reclamation. It was not the Adivasi who strip-mined the forests of Jharkhand. It was the Indian state acting as a comprador for Canadian and British corporations. Every major extinction event of the past five centuries is tied to settler expansion. North America saw its megafauna annihilated by white settlers’ agriculture, its bison herds wiped out by deliberate settler policy, not overhunting by the Plains tribes. Australia saw entire ecosystems collapsed under the boot of English sheep farming, its indigenous fire regimes suppressed, its rivers redirected. The settler did not just conquer people. He conquered the land, tortured it, and renamed his violation “development.”

Capitalism is settler logic extended globally. It sees land as dead material to be bought, owned, and turned into money. That is not the view of the original peoples. The Warlpiri see land as alive. The Lakota see it as sacred. The Munda see the forest as kin. These are not primitive metaphors. These are materialist truths developed over millennia. Indigenous land management created sustainable ecologies, fire farming in California preserved oak groves for thousands of years, Andean terrace farming built soil instead of depleting it. Compare that to the English and Dutch who turned fertile Bengal into famine land, who flooded rice paddies for jute, who cut forests to build plantation roads, who left nothing but cash crops and desert. Compare that to the Americans who drove pipelines through native lands in the Dakotas and bombed Vietnamese forests with Agent Orange. Compare that to Canada whose tar sands are the largest industrial project on Earth, ripping open boreal forests, poisoning entire Indigenous communities with cancer, and exporting death as liquid oil to the US military.

These aren’t historical abstractions. This is happening right now. Indigenous lands make up just 20 percent of the Earth’s surface but contain over 80 percent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. Wherever colonizers have not yet paved over the Earth, it is because the native resisted. It is because forest dwellers burned British tea plantations. Because Mi’kmaq and Mohawk blockades stopped fracking. Because the Zapatistas defended the Lacandon jungle with rifles and collective farms. Every tree still standing owes its life to a bullet fired at a settler. Every river still flowing freely owes its strength to a protest camp, a blockade, a sabotage team, a line of women refusing to move.

Climate change is not a universal failure. It is a class war. The richest 10 percent of the world emit more than half of global carbon. The poorest 50 percent emit barely 10 percent. And when you break it down by state, the divide becomes even clearer. The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, is responsible for over 25 percent of historical carbon emissions. Canada has the highest per capita emissions of any G7 country. Australia continues to subsidize coal. These are not “developing nations.” These are settler colonies whose entire wealth was built on genocide and environmental plunder. And when climate disaster hits, they blame the Global South. They tell Bangladeshis to stop having children. They tell Congolese miners to recycle. They lecture the Saami for hunting reindeer while flying private jets to COP summits. They hoard vaccines. They hoard water. They hoard food. And they build walls when the climate refugees come.

Settler colonialism is not a past event. It is an ongoing system. The US and Canada are still occupying native land. Australia is still built on aboriginal genocide. Palestine is still being stolen and paved over. The Israeli state uproots olive trees, poisons wells, dumps waste in Bedouin villages. The West Bank is being turned into a settler suburb. Gaza is bombed so often that its aquifer has collapsed. That is settler ecology. Wherever the settler goes, the land dies.

There is no green capitalism. There is no eco-friendly settlerism. Every lithium mine, every hydro dam, every wind turbine built on Indigenous land without consent is still settler plunder. Climate solutions that do not center decolonization are greenwashed genocide. This is why Indigenous nations from Turtle Island to Abya Yala to Africa to Southeast Asia have said again and again: no climate justice without land back. No just transition without the destruction of settler capitalism. This is not a metaphor. It is the only path forward. The Earth does not need more white saviors with NGOs. It needs the end of private property. It needs the return of stolen land. It needs the death of the settler state.

If you want to save the planet, pick a side. You can’t stand with the Earth and with Exxon. You can’t stand with biodiversity and with the police who guard the pipelines. You can’t claim to love nature while treating its defenders as criminals. Because they are being hunted. Indigenous environmental defenders are being assassinated in record numbers. In the Philippines. In Colombia. In Brazil. In Honduras. Killed for saying no to the settler. And the same people who cry over melting ice caps say nothing. The same people who perform liberal concern about the climate fund the NGOs that sell out the jungle to carbon offset companies. There is no neutral ground. There is no middle path. The Earth is burning. And the settler poured the gasoline.

This is the reality. The planet’s destruction is not a shared human project. It is a system imposed by a violent few onto the rest of us. It is a system enforced by bombs, banks, and borders. The solution is not moderation. The solution is not electric cars. The solution is not more technocrats with green ties. The solution is revolution. Land back. Water back. Forest back. Dismantle the settler colony. Abolish the system that rapes the Earth. The native is not the enemy. The native is the last defense. The settler must go.