Water & Climate Change: Suggested Resources

If you were as inspired by Judith D. Schwartz’s story as we were, we suspect you’re looking for something you can do about it: groups you can join, conferences you might attend, websites with more information, or where to find her book, “Water in Plain Sight.” Here are our top suggestions. If you do nothing else, treat yourself to our second link, to watch Allan Savory’s 2013 TED Talk:

• Biodiversity for a Livable Climate’s Conference on Restoring Water Cycles to Reverse Global Warming: This 2015 conference, held at Tufts University, brought together water experts from around the world to share insights on how better water management can address climate change.
• Allan Savory’s influential 2013 TED Talk: This video brought Savory’s message to a wide global audience. He highlighted the ecological and economic importance of grasslands, how they’re turning to desert, and how appropriately managed livestock can reverse this process and ensure these landscapes are lush and productive again.
• Regeneration International: This new network, a project of the Organic Consumers Association, has become a go-to place for news, connections, and opportunities in regenerative agriculture.
• Soil Carbon Coalition: This group has been pivotal in raising awareness of the carbon cycle as a whole and the force inherent in biological processes. Founder Peter Donovan is also at the forefront new approaches to science that stress open participation and shared evidence, as seen in the recently launched Atlas of Biological Work.
• The Savory Institute: Home base for research and tools related to holistic land practices as well as the international network of training hubs. One current project is a “Consumer Revolution” that enables people to choose food and clothing produced through regenerative practices.
• Healthy Soils Australia: An Australia-based NGO focused on the importance of soil human and ecological health and the role of innovative farmers and grazers in educating the public and devising solutions. Their projects reflect a bold, creative, scientifically-astute approach.
• The New Water Paradigm: A booklet by a group of Eastern European scientists that describes how we can work with the water cycle to address climate change. Guaranteed to upend how you regard water.
• The Ecosystem Restoration Cooperatives: A growing movement to build ecosystem restoration camps across the globe, placing an emphasis on education and training.
• For Judith D. Schwartz’s book, “Water in Plain Sight,” and her other work, please visit her website.