I couldn’t detect Vaughan Woodruff’s Maine accent–perhaps because I grew up in Maine myself or perhaps because of the highway noises crackling over the phone. But he speaks of central Maine with such fondness that there’s little doubt where his heart lies. 

Vaughan was kind enough to squeeze in our interview during a Friday evening drive from a solar installation site in Brunswick back to his home in Pittsfield, ME.

Solar energy has been booming in Maine for the past few years. Since 2019, installation  of solar generation in Maine has grown tenfold per year, and since 2015, the cost of installation has fallen 11%. 

Vaughan has been deeply committed to making sure this boom is benefiting more than just wealthy coastal areas. In addition to starting InSource Renewables in 2008, Vaughan has become one of the Maine solar industry’s foremost social justice champions, focusing his business on serving rural and economically struggling communities and dedicating valuable time to training the next generation of Maine energy workers. 

Vaughan grew up in Pittsfield—an old mill town in central Maine—and identifies with its struggles. “If I’m going to raise my kids here, there better be a town for them to be connected with,” Vaughan said of his decision to base his company locally. Maine’s aging population, lack of solar experts, and small workforce make the challenges of running a solar company in a sparsely populated and poorer part of Maine especially acute.

Investing in community has been a central part of Vaughan’s business philosophy. In 2016, InSource became a worker-owned cooperative and was awarded B Corp certification, a designation that shows the company is focused on balancing “purpose and profit.” To Vaughan, this means empowering his employees and involving them in the decision-making process. 

“I’m a very wary capitalist,” he said. “Solar companies make their money by selling the hours of their laborers. Responsibility and reward need to go together.” 

In early 2021, Vaughan decided to merge his company with ReVision Energy because of mounting challenges posed by the pandemic. But he made sure his new partner was compatible with his employees-first model. 

There are many renewable energy companies in Maine and when I asked about competition, Vaughan laughed. “Solar competes for customers day in and day out,” he said, but “in order for our industry to grow the pie, it’s taken tremendous collaboration.”

By “collaboration” he means the unending hours volunteering on various committees to push for better solar policy. He said he spends twenty to thirty percent of his time working on policy issues–a nearly unmanageable burden for a small business owner and still a significant stretch now that he works for ReVision. 

Paid positions would exist for policy work in a more mature market–one with bigger businesses and greater depth of trained employees. Instead, the day-to-day running of companies, educating communities about why solar is important, and fighting for policies fall mainly on the shoulders of local solar entrepreneurs like Vaughan. Fortunately, other organizations including the Environmental Policy Coalition often work with solar leaders on policy and education issues. But Vaughan feels they only provide limited support and can hold conflicting interests. 

And there is a lot of work to be done to improve the policy landscape for solar in Maine. The two biggest tasks on Maine’s renewable energy front are creating more consumer-owned utilities and updating the grid. 

Consumer-owned utilities would help take down CMP, Maine’s biggest energy provider which Vaughan describes as “imperialistic,” and provide lower rates, higher reliability, and a faster shift to renewables for Mainers. “There’s a lot of momentum right now to shift from utility-owned to consumer-owned utilities,” Vaughan said. Instead of benefiting shareholders, utilities would focus on benefiting consumers.  

Updating the grid could prove harder. “What we need to figure out as a society is grid planning,” he said. To successfully transition to a renewable-based system we need a grid that can handle the two-way traffic of small- and large-scale solar and wind projects. Private industry currently carries the burden of updating the grid, but government on both the state and federal level needs to step up its involvement to hasten the process. More progressive states, Vaughan explained, are already successfully organizing this shift on the state level. 

Near the end of our interview I expressed gratitude for his optimism and the tireless energy he pours into his work. But he wanted to end our conversation on a different note.  

“I have deep pessimism in the world that we’re leaving for the next generation,” he explained. “If you engage in this work there’s a lot of hardship. But the work must go on. We have no choice.”

Solar Project in Pittsfield, Maine

Image Source: Unsplash

One in six Massachusetts homes could be running on wind power as soon as 2023.

Vineyard Wind will be the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, providing wind energy for Massachusetts residents. Despite previously failed attempts to build a wind farm off the Massachusetts coast, this revolutionary wind farm—scheduled to come on line in 2023—will effectively transition residents away from fossil fuels, combat climate change, and promote energy independence.

Located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the coast of Cape Cod, Vineyard Wind will reside in the United States federal waters of Nantucket Sound. It will host 62 wind turbines, each producing 13 megawatts of power. In total, the whole wind farm can produce enough energy to power more than 400,000 homes.

Massachusetts has the largest potential for offshore wind of any state in the country: offshore wind could supply eight times the amount of the state’s estimated energy demand. Tapping into this resource would massively increase the sustainability of not just the state’s energy grid, but all of New England’s

Offshore wind serves as a powerful ocean climate solution. It creates jobs, lowers energy costs, and provides clean energy to tackle climate change.

Not everyone, however, is thrilled about Vineyard Wind. 

Despite the comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), fishing advocacy groups are worried about the turbines limiting access to and depleting fishing stocks.

There were also concerns about potential threats to the North Atlantic right whale. Nantucket Sound is a critical habitat for these endangered mammals. To address these issues, in 2019, Vineyard Wind—along with other organizations—committed to the protection of right whales throughout their construction process and operating procedures.

Such pushback may sound familiar.  In the early 2000s, such concerns derailed another large-scale offshore wind project: Cape Wind. The project would have turbines built in Nantucket Sound only five miles from the southern coast of Cape Cod. The original permit application was submitted in 2001. But, after an almost 20 year battle, the project ultimately surrendered its lease in 2017.

I grew up on Cape Cod and—though I was young at the time—remember the red and blue signs on front lawns that were seemingly everywhere: “Nantucket Sound is NOT For Sale.” People were concerned that the turbines would mar the beauty of Nantucket Sound, piercing the endless  blue horizon with industrial, brutish force. Some claimed that property values would depreciate. Others remained convinced that there were unknown “environmental impacts” from having large turbines installed on the ocean floor.

Despite the support of many Cape Cod residents, such concerns were the project’s downfall.

With this complex history of offshore wind in the area, it may seem unlikely that Vineyard Wind could succeed. And yet, it’s set to do just that.

Several reasons explain why Vineyard Wind is poised to succeed where Cape Wind failed.

The turbines will be located much further offshore than the Cape Wind project proposed, posing no obstruction to the visible horizon. 

The offshore wind industry has also developed over the past twenty years. Projects on the scale of Vineyard Wind may be new for the United States, however, The technology is now proven, and the growth of the European market has driven down costs of offshore wind globally.

Because of climate change, now more than ever is the time for the United States to employ and embrace offshore wind.

The project will create approximately 3,600 jobs in Massachusetts. An agreement between Vineyard Wind and the Biden administration promises that at least 1,000 of these jobs will go to union workers. Construction jobs and other opportunities will help expand Massachusetts’ middle class, while also providing them with cleaner, cheaper energy.

Wind power is also cheap. Despite the upfront costs of building new infrastructure, wind farms are much less expensive to operate and maintain than their fossil fuel counterparts. Thus, it costs consumers less to purchase offshore wind energy than the fossil fuel sources that have been historically used to power the grid. The project will ultimately cut the collective cost to all ratepayers by $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of the project. 

Vineyard Wind has a wide variety of environmental advantages too. The amount of energy the wind farm is expected to produce will offset 1.68 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. That’s comparable to taking 325,000 vehicles off the road. The project would be a staggering increase in clean energy usage within Massachusetts’ energy grid.

Vineyard Wind is just the kind of project we need in the face of the climate crisis.

Projections show that offshore wind could meet 90% of the electricity demand of the United States by 2050. 

This project has the potential to serve as a model for offshore wind farms across the country, laying the foundation for a thriving new ocean-based industry in the United States.

A Degrowther’s Take on Neoliberalism

Antonio Ferreira knows that scaling back the economy doesn’t have the flashy appeal of a new Lamborghini, a Canada Goose jacket, or a beach house on the Jersey Shore. Degrowth, or downsizing of the scale of the global economy, would curb fossil fuel emissions as well as the intensity of anthropogenic climate change. 

So how do we convince a nation of consumers to rethink the foundation of the modern economy?  How do we urge people to appreciate the value in de-centering materiality, lobbying for large-scale change in government, and centering their relationships instead of their purchases? 

Less just doesn’t carry the flashy intrigue of More. 

On a sunlit November morning, I met with Dr. Antonio Ferreira — otherwise known as Anton. By day, he is a Principal Researcher at CITTA, the Center for Research on Territory, Transports, and Environment at the University of Porto, Portugal. As for side hobbies, he’s also a yoga teacher, meditation instructor, and a personal trainer who enjoys carpentry. Anton’s red scarf filled the blurry Zoom square with a flash of color, a pixelated image bringing a piece of Western Europe to my dorm room in suburban Massachusetts. 

Anton has conducted extensive research related to degrowth, specifically focusing on challenging urban growth and rethinking social systems to make them more sustainable and inclusive. His scholarship centers around an eclectic blend of topics related to degrowth, cities, and accessibility, and he critically engages with the way mindfulness — or engagement with one’s emotions — factors into a developer’s plan for growth. His research has further cemented his (strong) disliking of the ever-nebulous concept of neoliberalism, as well as his espousal of economic degrowth in lieu of consumerist fervor. 

In 2014, he read Tim Jackson’s book Prosperity without Growth, which planted the seeds of his skepticism: He found the economist’s text riveting, persuading him that the idea of infinite capitalist expansion is “absurd.” 

If we’re living in a world bound by finite resources, then amassing wealth as a means of personal fulfillment must be folly.

As a consumer living in modern-day society, Anton found this revelation to be a “horrible surprise.” His worldview began to change as he recognized the way money dominates virtually every facet of our lives. In his view, the root of the problem is entangled with neoliberalism. 

“What is neoliberalism?” Anton asked me, chuckling to himself. I balked, afraid he wanted an answer, ready to spew something about private property, deregulation, and the reduced availability of food stamps. Luckily, Anton’s question was rhetorical, and he briefly outlined neoliberalism’s connection to capitalism, a better known beast: “Who really knows. But essentially [neoliberalism] pits individuals against each other so that they can outperform each other so they can grab more of what’s available. Which is growth.” 

This is the sad reality espoused by the Bureaucratic Powers That Be. “Everything should be managed according to… a set of targets. Management is universal, and everything is a sausage factory,” Anton explains. “You can apply this to healthcare, education, military, or whatever.” 

Anton’s sausage factory metaphor references the homogeneity of those within the 1% who wield power over the little people, as well as the homogeneity of their values. Spurting from the end of the industrial sausage maker, everything comes out looking like bland, colorless meat. The goals of our economy are similarly un-nuanced, flavorless, trenched in a desire to pump out as much product as possible. At the core of the Donald Trump-esque corporate entities lie one driving desire: the acquisition of more/more/more material wealth. And you can’t even put that in a breakfast casserole! 

Anton sighed before continuing, adjusting the sleeves of his tweed jacket. “GDP is just another neat indicators of performance, but it says something very stupid, because it doesn’t say anything.” 

Why, then, do those languishing in castles of material wealth place so much value on a nothing number? Why do we categorize countries and quality of life and even happiness on something that’s merely another output from the economy’s sausage factory production line? 

We’re in love with numbers, and we’re in love with ranking: consider the multifarious lists detailing which colleges have the most hipster students, the most prestigious reputations, or the most aesthetically pleasing campuses. If everything can be boiled down to a statistic on a page, then we as members of society feel more in control. 

But what if — as Anton suggests — numbers don’t tell the whole story? This skepticism is a core tenant of a degrowth mindset. During our interview, Anton offered me a scenario: “When you start working, you’re going to receive a salary, and that’s going to be the salary you receive for the rest of your life; you never experience a raise. Will you stay motivated to work in a condition like this?” 

I shook my head, and Anton smiled.“You say no. Most people would say no. But I say that is how it should be, because you should love your work. Why should you do something that makes you constantly unsatisfied with your reality?” 

Tilting his bald head, thrown into shadow by the 5 PM Portuguese sunset, he delivered his most startling statement. “The way to promote degrowth is to not promote degrowth.” 

If we’re focusing on monetary success, constantly striving to make a bit more or have a bit more or do a bit more, then what’s the point? The ideal way to turn heads towards the degrowth movement is to promote institutions rooted in utilitarian principles — organizations that support well-being rather than political dominance or monetary gain. Recognizing the beauty of humility, as well as the depth of self that exists outside of numerical value judgments, will necessitate spending less on egotistical pursuits centered around insular success. 

Anton’s own espousal of degrowth doesn’t entail moving off-the-grid to a rural mountainside: he lives in the red-roofed city of Porto with his family. Since he began studying the evolving degrowth movement in 2014, he hasn’t abandoned modern  technology, nor has his relationship to modern-day commodities drastically changed. The primary difference in his life has been a newfound awareness surrounding the dangers of inflated egos. 

“You love being invited to expensive events,” quips Anton. “It gives you a sense of importance. But that’s not where solutions come from.” 

The maintenance of massive egos necessitates massive growth. Yes, degrowth on an economic level will happen on the bureaucratic level, but it’s equally important to shift consciousness away from ego-centric mentalities. A change of human soul won’t come from policies or government oversight. 

We don’t need more bold statements that are merely paper-thin  — particularly from political leaders who wish to cultivate a following. We need bold action paired with bold follow-through. Movement towards degrowth won’t come from choices made by the Average Joe, but rather from corporations and bureaucratic entities who wield influence over the market as a whole. But a scaling back of global consumption still starts with individual mindsets. 

Degrowth means recognizing why you’re googling vacation get aways with 16 skylights, room service, and a built-in jacuzzi on the Cape. In the modern day, society normalizes the pursuit of individuality — encouraging the Average Joe to strive for personal success in lieu of communal wealth — is rooted in social and environmental exploitation. 

Anton isn’t saying that sitting in silence will curb widespread ecological degradation. But it might just improve your psychological well-being, lending a bit of perspective to the way you yourself are complicit in the sausage factory. Don’t become a piece of bland, flavorless meat within a neoliberal world rigged toward those who already have power. Anton stressed the danger of striving for superficial accolades: “We don’t need more leaders of tomorrow. Embracing economic degrowth should come from a place of compassion, clarity, humility.” 

So, if you want to reckon with the Neoliberal Tyrants at large — both the Trumps and the Hillarys alike — consider breaking up with numbers. It’s just not a healthy relationship. Consider taking up yoga in lieu of stock trading and vegetable gardening in lieu of Saturday morning shopping sprees. And —  if you’d like to take a meditation class and find yourself in Portugal —  consider contacting Anton: perhaps you can bond over a shared dislike of neoliberalism on a warm afternoon in Western Europe. 

When Yvonne Taylor first heard about Greenidge Generation’s plan to reopen a closed coal-fired powerplant as a natural gas-powered plant, she didn’t even know what Bitcoin was. But pollution from the Greenidge’s facility increased tenfold as it expanded electricity generation to power newly installed Bitcoin mining machines.  Taylor knew from experience that the pollution would be just one of many potential problems for her community. Now she’s at the forefront of a battle that could set the standard for sustainable cryptocurrency mining across the United States.

Yvonne Taylor, Seneca Lake Guardian.

Yvonne is the Vice-President of Seneca Lake Guardian, an all-volunteer grassroots organization dedicated to protecting New York’s Finger Lakes and its residents from environmentally destructive projects. She started Seneca Lake Guardian, then called Gas Free Seneca, with two friends in 2009 when an oil and gas company bought an abandoned salt cavern, with plans to use it to store liquified propane gas underground. The problem: even the company acknowledged that the cavern may have leaks, risking the health of Seneca Lake and nearby residents.

“It started with three people sitting around a kitchen table saying, ‘somebody has got to do something about this. Who’s doing something about this?’” Yvonne said. “And it turned out it would have to be us.” 

Yvonne’s connection to Seneca Lake goes back seven generations. She learned to swim in its waters before she even learned to walk. Now, as a full-time speech-language therapist, Yvonne works for young people with disabilities in the community that has always been her home. More recently though, she has become one of Seneca Lake’s fiercest advocates.

She didn’t seek to become an environmental activist. Environmental activism found her.

This is why Yvonne refers to herself as an “accidental activist.” 

In a “true David and Goliath battle” against the oil company, she rallied locals, businesses, and even former Governor Andrew Cuomo against the project. Eight years of activism helped bring the project to a halt.

But, Yvonne didn’t rest.  She knew that there would be more threats to the “Heart of the Finger Lakes.”

And so she continued to organize, transitioning Gas Free Seneca to Seneca Lake Guardian and making it a local affiliate of the national Waterkeeper Alliance. This connected Gas Free Seneca to a larger and faster-growing nonprofit focused on clean water nationally, helping her build up the organization and expands its mission

All of this led Yvonne to the current fight against Greenidge’s Bitcoin mining facility. This mining facility, located on the shores of Seneca Lake, was supposed to supply extra power for the NY electrical grid for New Yorkers. But in 2020, instead of selling electricity onto the local electrical grid, Greenidge installed thousands of Bitcoin mining machines, hoping to turn that electricity into virtual currency.

Greenidge Generation Facility.

Yvonne stressed that she’s not anti-cryptocurrency, she just wants it to be more environmentally conscious. She stresses Bitcoin should adopt a different mining model.  Some new cryptocurrencies use less computationally intensive mining practices that can reduce energy demand by 99.9%.  At Greenidge, that could substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions.  If you want to know more about the specifics of the different mining strategies, Blockgeeks has a helpful video explaining the difference here.

Transitioning the less computationally intense mining would be a huge improvement. Once Greenidge installs the remaining machines, it will produce nearly 1 million tons of CO2 per year powering them. New York’s ambitious climate plan directs the state to reduce all of its greenhouse gas emissions to at least 35.43 million tons per year by 2050. This Bitcoin mining facility and the nearly 30 potential others in upstate NY alone could tank NY’s climate goals.

It’s not just cryptocurrency’s carbon footprint that Yvonne and other locals are worried about. Greenidge also poses a threat to aquatic life in the lake. The power plant depends on Seneca Lake for cooling water, but it lacks the filters needed to keep aquatic life out of the plant. As Yvonne puts it, “it’s acting like a giant fish blender.” There are also noise pollution and electronic waste concerns if this facility expands. These problems would only get worse in different communities if more facilities were to be built.

Yvonne Taylor in front of NY DEC, Kelly Marciniak.

What is happening at Seneca Lake has implications that go far beyond this one natural-gas power plant.

Yvonne has been working hard to stop this facility so that those other 30 power plants cannot follow the Greenidge model. She’s attended public hearings, reached out to NY Senators Gillibrand and Schumer, and created networks across the country, to advance this fight. She even rescheduled our initial interview because she was called to testify on cryptocurrency in front of the New York State Assembly. 

Her immediate goal is to stop Greenidge from getting a required air pollution permit renewed, but her broader goal is a statewide temporary ban on Bitcoin mining pending a complete study of its environmental impacts. Yvonne calls it the top environmental issue facing NY.

Greenidge knows she’s a threat. The company sent its first intimidation letter in June 2021. When she didn’t stop after the first, it sent her another, threatening to sue her if she continued to speak out.

This type of SLAPP Suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) isn’t uncommon. Corporations will file lawsuits against groups or activists they deem a threat. Yvonne felt intimidated and scared for her family’s and her own safety. But, she “already poked the bear” and feels it is her duty to continue speaking out.

Yvonne Taylor in front of DEC, Kelly Marciniak.

This issue is deeply personal to Yvonne. It’s bigger than her. It’s for the next generation.

“I’m a school teacher. I spend my days trying to help young people become successful,” she explained. “But, what’s the point of that if they won’t have a liveable planet in their future?” 

Yvonne wants to connect with people of all ages, especially young people to educate them on the environmental problems caused by Bitcoin mining. She also wants to expand on the network she’s established so that it’s not just a town-by-town fight, especially as Greenidge seeks to open an identical facility in South Carolina. 

As Yvonne sees it, if Greenidge gets its air permit renewed for Seneca Lake, it sends the message that this model is viable. But if they’re unsuccessful, it could stop many other copycat projects.

It’s a precedent-setting case and a lot of pressure for a grassroots organizer. When Yvonne looks at the road ahead, she thinks back to the youth she works with.

“I don’t have children, they’re my children and I will fight tooth and nail to provide a liveable place for my kids in the future.”

Seneca Lake Guardian logo.

You can keep up with Yvonne Taylor and the Seneca Lake Guardian by checking out their website and their Twitter! And, keep an eye out for news about Greenidge Generation’s Title V Air permit renewal status!

Tracking down a corn farmer in October is tough. It’s peak harvest season and if they aren’t in a tractor harvesting corn, they’re likely sleeping. That is, unless it rains.  Then the harvest stops and the chances of catching them are pretty good. This is exactly how I was able to schedule a meeting with Richard Syverson, a grain farmer in a small town in western Minnesota. 

Heavy rain in the forecast meant Richard and his harvesting team had to pull an all-nighter to finish their last cornfield, but he was happy to talk with me the next morning. Although we spoke over the phone, I could hear the bustling sounds of a kitchen preparing breakfast and the clink of his coffee cup on the table. From what I could hear, his home seemed warm and welcoming. And, as I would learn, if you add a splash of Midwest passive-aggressiveness, you’d get Richard. 

Richard’s been a farmer his entire life. He started as a dairy farmer and milked cows until the dairy market crashed in 2003. Now, he farms 1,200 acres of corn and soybeans, along with raising 150 sheep. 

Lambs on Richard’s farm

There are not mountains or many lakes where Richard farms, but there is the occasional rainbow

Richard’s passion for farming is still strong.  “I’m 65 years old,” exclaimed Richard, “and I’m still fired up about it!” The “it” Richard is most excited about is ethanol, a biofuel made from corn. It’s a major industry in the Midwest and a big source of revenue for many grain farmers. Ethanol also has social and environmental benefits. It provides stability for small farmers and reduces our dependence on fossil fuels. 

***

Richard serves as a representative for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, a position he’s been honored to hold for nearly 20 years. Minnesota Corn Growers Association advocates on behalf of corn farmers across Minnesota. Although that means spending a lot of time in conference rooms, Richard also gets to meet with farmers from across the country. 

“What I really really enjoy is the people that I’ve met through corn growers,” Richard told me. “They are some of the greatest people in the world. They absolutely believe that there’s something significant that happens after the product leaves their farm.”

 Richard is extremely knowledgeable about what happens “after the product leaves the farm.” And, as I learned, the harvest is only the beginning.   

Corn has two potential markets: the grain market and the fuel market.  Richard sells about half of his corn into the fuel market via a local ethanol plant, the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC). Having two potential markets is helpful since grain and fuel prices fluctuate annually. 

Corn from Richard’s farm: “What we work hard for all year long!”

Having multiple markets for corn helps farmers stay afloat. This is the “best investment we’ve ever made,” Richard said. “When [grain] prices suck, we’re gonna be okay…Gives our farm business more stability.”  Ethanol provides an alternative source of income. 

Ethanol is a fuel additive, meaning it is blended with gasoline. Most cars already run on a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. Yet, there is an ongoing debate about whether or not we should continue blending ethanol into our fuel. The question is whether it is environmentally sustainable.

Corn plants do sequester carbon, but some (the ethanol opponents) argue that growing corn and producing ethanol – because they are so energy-intensive – actually increases greenhouse gas emissions, even though corn is a renewable resource. Over the last decade, many scientists, environmentalists, and even some politicians have strongly supported removing it from our fuel system entirely. 

This point of view doesn’t sit well with Richard or the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.  Richard thinks cars should use more ethanol as a way to transition away from fossil fuels. He firmly believes that ethanol does have environmental benefits and can play a key role in mitigating the consequences of climate change. 

 “I call them ‘solar cars’” he said. I was a bit confused by what he meant. My mind rushed to flying cars or even solar panels on top of cars, but I was certain that wasn’t where he was going. 

Cars that run on ethanol are, in Richard’s view, running on sunshine captured by the corn. He imagines a world where hybrid cars run on a combination of electricity and ethanol — largely eliminating gasoline consumption.

Ethanol is a controversial topic but ethanol opponents are lacking one key thing. “What they [the ethanol opponents] don’t have are advocates, farmers, [and] small retailers that believe in ethanol…and telling our story directly to our representatives.” The product may make a profit but the people give it meaning. 

Richard’s story is just one of many that get pushed to the sidelines of the ethanol debate. These are the rich narratives that signify the importance of ethanol beyond federal policy, market pricing, or environmental debate. These are the types of stories, and people, that deserve more attention. 

And as Richard told me, ethanol is just one area of agriculture that is pretty exciting to know about first-hand. Even after decades of farming, it still makes him excited every single day.

Richard and his grandchildren, the sixth generation on their farm.

Trees have always been an important part of Rose Tileston’s life. Growing up in the hills of Pittsburgh, some trees stand out in her memory. A pine tree in her backyard once towered over her childhood home, until it succumbed to a strong gust of wind one morning before school. The earth shook and the sunlight shining through her window changed, no longer obstructed by pine branches. Rose’s wistful description of this fallen tree sounded like she was mourning the loss of a childhood friend.

Rose Tileston is the Senior Manager of Urban Forestry at American Forests. Image courtesy of Rose Tileston.

Now, Rose is the Senior Manager of Urban Forestry at American Forests. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington, D.C., and their mission is to conserve and restore healthy forests–including those in cities. She works with communities to achieve “tree equity,” bringing the benefits of urban forests to everyone.

I had the opportunity to chat with Rose over Zoom a few weeks ago about her role at American Forests, her professional journey, and why she does this work.

She’s come a long way from her roots in Pittsburgh, but her work in the city has played a big role in who she is today. Rose got her start in urban forestry with local organization Tree Pittsburgh while majoring in Environmental Science at Chatham University. She got her hands dirty learning about coordinating tree plantings, how to plant and prune trees, and the ins and outs of community-based nonprofit work.

Rose recalls, “I got to experience firsthand the positive impact that planting trees can have on a community.” Her work doing community tree planting events strengthened her connection with her city’s neighborhoods and helped spark her passion for urban forestry.

“I don’t know how to explain the feeling of being on a street that has no trees, that looks blighted, it’s just concrete and asphalt and buildings.” But once her tree planting team worked its magic, the impact on the neighborhood was incredible. “It’s just instant, the transformation. Instant! In just one day.” Even though I’m not physically on the street, the enthusiasm with which she talks about this event makes it so that I can almost smell the scent of sweet mulch and feel the cool of newly established shade.

Pittsburgh, PA, Rose’s hometown, is working on its urban forestry master plan with the help of community organization Tree Pittsburgh. Image courtesy of John Marino on Wikimedia.

Tree planting events like these are central to many US cities’ urban forest plans, including Pittsburgh. Like many cities in the US, urban development has put Pittsburgh’s trees at risk.

You can’t go into a community and say, ‘You need this.’

But these initiatives can’t succeed without community. “You can’t go into a community and say, ‘You need this,’” Rose emphasizes. “It’s not sustainable if the community doesn’t want what you’re offering.”

Serving as a Pittsburgh Public Ally with the public service organization AmeriCorps taught Rose the importance of fostering community buy-in. “It really taught me how to connect with all the stakeholders within a community.”

Though she enjoys working at American Forests, Rose does miss the feeling of being a part of communities she works with. Now she does her work from afar in Washington instead of being on the ground in different neighborhoods. “I don’t have a personal connection to the community that I am supporting, and so even though I am supporting other communities, I don’t get the same sense of satisfaction as when I was supporting my community.”

Even though Rose gave up working in Pittsburgh, what she gained was the chance to support communities across the country through American Forests’ Community Re-Leaf program. She gushes to me about the team of urban forestry colleagues she works with, who do everything from organizing tree planting events, to writing urban forest master plans, to doing tree inventory assessments, to creating college curriculum, to increasing diversity in the urban forestry field.

Tree equity is bringing the benefits of trees to all people.

Their goal is to help US cities reduce tree inequity through community-based urban forestry. Tree cover distribution in cities tends to mirror distribution of racial and class privilege: low-income communities of color have far fewer trees than wealthy and white communities do. Historical and ongoing oppression is responsible for environmental injustices like the treeless street Rose described so clearly. Achieving tree equity through urban forestry means creating better environments for everyone. Rose explains, “Tree equity is bringing the benefits of trees to all people.”

You can tell Rose is excited by the topic.  Her voice rises as she rattles off said benefits of urban trees: “Air purification! The reduction of the urban heat island effect! Shading buildings! Bringing wildlife to urban communities!” Rose and I proceed to geek out for a while over the myriad of benefits that urban trees bring us, and one thing is clear: achieving tree equity is good for everyone.

Watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth as a teenager was a turning point for Rose. Afterwards, she asked, “Why aren’t we doing more about this? Why aren’t we taking action on climate change?” Her bubbly tone belies the anxieties that many people in her generation and mine can relate to as we witness governments failing to do anything meaningful to address climate change.

Planting trees means nothing for climate change without also cutting carbon emissions–but they’re still a valuable tool to keep communities safe. “Forests are not the be all solution, we know that. Collectively, globally, as a collective global community we need to cut our carbon emissions.”

Trees can help every community across the country.

It’s true. Planting trees won’t save us. But that work still matters. Rose explains, “Forests are the best nature-based solution to mitigating and adapting to climate change.” Most importantly, “Trees can help every community across the country.”  And, as Rose’s work at American Forests shows, urban forestry is a solution every community in the nation can benefit from.

Forest carbon credit is one of the most popular forms of nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate change. Essentially, countries pay other countries to leave their forests untouched, and the protected trees reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide biodiversity benefits. In theory, it’s a win-win for all.

But implementing it?

“We have this issue of how to monitor what’s happening,” Jon Pierre says. How do we know what’s actually taking place? Are we taking [landowners’] word for it?”

Luckily, Jon has the solution.

Jon is the Chief Business Officer (CBO) of Mantle Labs, a London-based start-up using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor agricultural conditions like soil moisture and human activities. By closely monitoring the land, Mantle Labs’ clients—from banks to tech companies—can get a head’s up on projected crop yields and soil conditions.

As global agricultural vegetation is closely monitored, any changes to the land are detected. Information about land use shifts can be used to ensure that NbS commitments are being met. Satellite imagery presents an innovative solution to the monitoring and verification issues that NbS projects traditionally face.

Jon hasn’t always been working in the tech and climate space. A native of Trinidad, Jon pursued his interest in development through the Master’s program in Economics for Development at the University of Oxford. He then spent a decade in finance working for banks and hedge funds as an agricultural crop commodities trader.

Working with a group using AI for crop modeling piqued his interest in technology’s role in agriculture. A contact recommended he reach out to Mantle Labs. Though he had originally reached out to the startup as a customer, he ended up joining the team.

Mantle Labs’ clients receive information about the condition of their land based on satellite imagery. This information can be used by landowners to make informed decisions. Source: Mantle Labs

Another big issue for NbS projects is funding. From Google’s reforestation efforts in the U.S. and Australia to Apple’s partnerships with environmental organizations to manage over 1 million acres of forests, it’s easy to see that the corporate world is catching on to the potential of NbS. While Jon couldn’t disclose specific client names, big tech companies that need to meet their sustainability commitments are approaching Mantle Labs looking for ways to integrate NbS into their operations. Satellite imagery opens the door for any company to leverage its private finance in support of NbS

Farmers especially benefit from satellite imagery. Satellite imagery plays a role in precision agriculture, the practice of using data related to weather, soil, and water conditions to make informed decisions. Working with Mantle Labs, farmers can access a digital platform with reports and charts of all sorts of land condition indicators, such as crop stress conditions. Access to this knowledge allows farmers to make more better, more informed decisions.

Though Mantle Labs’ service can have a high up-front cost, Jon believes it’s all worth it. “Being more targeted with irrigation and different interventions—thereby being more efficient with your resource usage, being less wasteful, and incurring less cost as a farmer—that’s a huge component where satellite imagery plays a role,” Jon says.

Helping farmers adopt sustainable farming practices supports progress towards addressing climate change and promoting biodiversity. It also promotes economic development – something that’s important to Jon given his Trinidadian roots and background in economics.

With his background in finance and developmental ecoomics, Jon couldn’t have anticipated that he’d be working in agritech. But oddly enough, working with a tech company on its NbS projects has allowed Jon’s interests to come full circle. Much of development work today involves engaging with farmers, who make up more than a quarter of the world’s population. It’s important that more people are finding this link between smallholder agriculture, addressing climate change, and achieving sustainable development goals, Jon says.