Over the last year, I spent a good portion of my free time in nature photographing wildlife. I wanted to spur creative thinking in determining my path for the next decade (I am also an engineer and businessman). I always loved being outside in the wild. I have a great appreciation for our natural environment and find it inspirational. However, viewing wildlife through the lens gave me a deeper connection not previously experienced. In order to photograph wildlife, I needed to become like the animals knowing their behaviors and habitats. Soon I began seeing more rare wildlife all around me because I knew where to look.

Then one day, something clicked. I was out photographing bald eagles that made a nest 15 minutes from my home. I noticed the water level of the lake near the nest was considerably lower. We were suffering from a drought that had lasted several months. I began to get concerned for the eagles and their ability to survive. I wanted to do something. But what could a single person do?

Over the past decade I have been monitoring the climate change debate. I listened to both sides and considered the data from a scientific perspective. I will be completely frank, I was skeptical. Here we are on this rock in the middle of a huge galaxy with so many other forces at play than just humans and concrete evidence exists that climate change has been around well before the industrial age. In addition, not all the scientific data added up. I always cared for the environment but I wasn’t convinced we could influence the weather on a grand scale. Then I started putting pieces of the puzzle together.

Water is the most essential natural resource we have. Fresh water in the form of rain propagates inland from the oceans from wind. Research has shown that dense rain forests can increase rain 48% through evapotranspiration (moisture is transferred from land to the atmosphere through evaporation by soil and transpiration from trees) sending water vapor into the atmosphere that then condenses at the higher attitudes and forms precipitation (Salati and Vose 1984). Since energy from the sun is used in evapotranspiration, there is a local cooling effect from this process (similar to sweating) and the resulting increased cloud cover also reflects more of the sun’s energy away from earth cooling a larger area as well causing a reduction in global warming (Ban-Weiss et al. 2011). Furthermore trees and other native vegetation (grasses, shrubs, etc.) have many other benefits including absorbing storm water thus reducing flooding, removing pollutants from the air (particularly carbon) and ground, acting as stream side buffers removing sediment and preventing erosion and providing habitat for 80% of wildlife that depend on it for survival. Hence trees and native vegetation can increase the abundance of water, reduce global warming, provide habitat for wildlife, manage water flows and reduce pollution. Here is the catch. In the last 250 years and even more so recently, deforestation as accelerated at an alarming pace. Let’s consider Australia as can example. From 1920 – 1980’s the southwest region had significant deforestation over 50% (Bradshaw 2012, Deo 2007). Over this same period a decrease in precipitation was observed of ~14% in that region (Gallant et al. 2007).

So what could I do as only a single individual? Recent research has shown that sensor technology (my core expertise in engineering) can improve yields, taste, nutrition and preservation of food. Farms make up 40% of the US with federal land comprising an additional 30% (totaling 70%). If we could use sensing technology to improve yields and quality of foods produced from agroforestry (intergration of trees and farms), we could increase the number of trees on our land. In addition, we can influence government to increase trees and native vegetation on federal lands and improve water absorption, stream and river buffers. Lastly we can educate private land owners of the benefits of trees / native vegetation (prevent flooding / errosion, reduce pollution, reduce global warming, improve wildlife conservation, etc.) and provide guidance on incorporating trees and native vegetation into the design of landscapes. This combined effort will greatly increase tree canopy coverage across the US and it bring more rain; our most important resource. Better absorption into the ground will also fill underground caverns and raise the water table for continued use.

This is where you and Story in Art can play a role. With every purchase made from StoryinArt.com, 20% of profits are directly contributed to research and development of sensor technology that will improve and validate agroforestry as a viable means to provide food for our country and the world. In addition, these funds will go towards research and education of wildlife, forest and sea conservation, improving water management and incorporating more trees / native vegetation into landscapes.