Wednesday, January 23, 2019

(Advanced) Allan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change


“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. And it's happening to about two-thirds of the world’s grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos. Savory has devoted his life to stopping it. He now believes — and his work so far shows — that a surprising factor can protect grasslands and even reclaim degraded land that was once desert.

Pre-learn 12 terms:

12 terms

Watch:

Allan Savory


Vocab

arid
give off
run off
evaporation
blunder
plant litter
a proxy
methane
mimic
pastoralist
tackle     
for illustrative purposes    


1. What causes climate change besides fossil fuels?

2. Why is year-round humidity important in avoiding desertification?

3. Why does bare ground release carbon? Why is this bad?

4. How can we “store” carbon?

5. How much of the Earth is desertifying?

6. What do most people believe causes desertification?

7. What do you think “political dynamite” means?

10. How have the planet’s the “seasonal humidity environments” developed?

11. What prevents over-grazing in these environments?

12. What happens if dead grass doesn’t decay before the next growing season?

13. How do we justify burning large areas of grassland?

14. What does Savory believe is the only way we can avoid desertification and climate change?

15. What makes this such a challenging problem? What is the answer?

16. What does he mean by “predator friendly”?


Discuss:

1. What do you think of what Savory did in his younger years in making National Parks?

2. Is desertification happening in parts of your country?

3. Do you think Savory has the answer to climate change?


Quizlet:

Vocab quiz for after

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