NAL 2021 - Climate Change Solutions

by Kaija Gibbs

​On February 23-25, over 1,700 garden club members virtually attended the 2021 GCA NAL Conference.  While we missed out on our conversations over cocktails, our tours of the national monuments and our museum visits, what we didn’t miss were nationally renowned speakers passionately sharing their research and ideas for solving the world’s climate change crisis.

GCA Supported Legislation of 2021 - Every year the NAL and Conservation Committees of the GCA work diligently researching proposed legislation to pick a few bills which they feel have a reasonably good chance of bipartisan passage, are pragmatic approaches and address our conference’s focus.   In 2020, the GCA supported 6 bills, 3 of which became law.  These included the most important National Parks legislation in decades, The Great American Outdoors Act, and Save Our Seas 2.0, providing funds to address plastics and trash in our oceans and waterways.  The five bills supported this year are:

1. The American Transportation and Infrastructure Act/Moving Forward Act – these bills will drive the transition to a clean energy economy and significantly reduce carbon pollution.  The goals are to build a green fuel vehicle fueling infrastructure, protect vulnerable coastal areas and require the use of native plants in federal transportation projects.

2. The Growing Climate Solutions Act – bipartisan legislation in both the House and Senate which serves to protect our nation’s farmlands, forest and ranches as they have vast potential for removing harmful emissions from the air. The focus is on carbon sequestration and private-sector capital usage to provide relief from the economic impacts of climate change.

3. The Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act – Oceans have borne the brunt of climate change and this bill recognizes the ocean’s importance and seeks to promote offshore renewable energy, protect blue carbon, support climate-ready fisheries and expand marine protected areas.

4. Trillion Trees and Natural Carbon Storage Act – Trees, forests and natural habitats are critical to the health of the planet and this bill encourages the planting of a trillion trees globally and expands the US Forest Service’s “carbon accounting” to ensure global forests, wetlands, grasslands and coastal habitats are valued for their climate mitigation properties when valued.

5. Native Plant Species Pilot Project – We all know that native plants are the building blocks of a healthy ecosystem.  This bill supports a  pilot project to test the effectiveness of native plants in our National Parks.

The speakers this year were exceptional as always.  They included: author Katharine Wilkinson (one of Time Magazine’s 15 Women Who Will Save The World); Lynn Scarlett of the Nature Conservancy (former Deputy Secretary of the Interior); Julie Packard, CEO and Founder of the Monterey Bay Aquarium; John Podesta, Founder, Center for American Progress (Chief of Staff to President Clinton, 1998-2001); and numerous U.S. Senators and Representatives. 

New Technology to Combat Climate Change - In keeping with the theme of Climate Change Solutions, we had presentations on five new technologies currently in various stages of development.  Google them if you have an interest in seeing the future of conservation technology.

1. Solar-Powered Airplanes – Made of lighter/stronger materials.  Heart Aerospace

2. Clean Hydrogen Power – A process utilizing less expensive materials than prior attempts.  Ecolectro

3. Wind Powered Cargo Ships – A takeoff on traditional sailboat technology adapted.  Bound4Blue

4. Hydrofoil Cargo Ships – Will be 50% cheaper than air freight and only a bit slower.  Boundary Layer Technologies

5. Clean Fuel From Solar – Turns CO2 and water into clean fuel using solar power.  Synhelion

International Efforts - This is a busy time in the realm of climate solutions.  Two big campaigns are being rolled out internationally and you most likely will begin hearing these buzz words.

1.  Net Zero by 2050 – This is an international campaign which began with the Paris Agreement of 2015.  The overall idea is to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees by doing away with fossil fuels and other sources of President Biden has endorsed this concept.

2.30 x 30 – This campaign is attempting to have 30% of the world’s land and seas protected in its natural state by 2030.  The idea is that this land and water will provide a regenerative buffer and will help address climate change and biodiversity loss.

You may ask, “What Can I Do?”

1.  Recycle – What happens is 30 million people throw away “just one” plastic bottle?

2. Eat more lentils and beans – The cultivation of these products puts more nitrogen into the soil and renourishes it.

3. Eat beef farmed using regenerative agriculture practices that sequesters more carbon than it produces.  Look for Grass-Fed on the label.

4. Compost

5. Buy local – less fuels used to get to you

6. Download the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch App and use it to buy sustainable seafood.  When in doubt, buy wild fish caught in U.S. waters.

Amazing Facts I learned this week:

1. 1/3 of food produced is not used.   Do not overbuy at the grocery store.  

2. Indigenous peoples make up 5% of the world’s population and manage 25% of the world’s land which supports 80% of the world’s biodiversity.

3. 73% of Americans believe global warming is happening but only 42% think it will affect them.

4. Air pollution is responsible for 9 million deaths a year directly or indirectly.

5. Louisiana has lost land the size of Rhode Island to climate change.

6. In America, we lose a football field’s worth of natural area every 30 seconds to human development.

 #GCASolutions

 “The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” Ernest Hemingway