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Today, DesignSafe Radio host Dan Zehner talks with Joe Fargione, science director with The Nature Conservancy. The largest non-governmental organization in the world, The Nature Conservancy is also one of the first land trusts. Fargione explains how, by purchasing land in need of protection, the group saves natural environments with a non-confrontational approach. The group is also active in protecting oceans and freshwater areas. As a researcher with TNC, Fargione focuses on zero-carbon energy release as a way to protect against global warming. He explains why preventing a two-degree temperature rise is so important. Fargione discusses the science behind research projects that keep carbon in the earth – for example protecting peat-based wetlands that, if drained, would emit carbon into the atmosphere. He and his diverse collaborators focus on natural methods of preventing climate change, often using remote sensing to analyze land characteristics and compare distributions, for example, of forests. He helps land owners and managers keep carbon emissions low. Tidal wetlands, he explains, are important to preserve because salt water, unlike encroaching freshwater, has no methane emissions. Similarly, for farmers, cover crops help keep carbon in the soil – and can also increase yields and retain nutrients. Fargione describes a successful project with the Soil Health Partnership and corn growers. Fargione says that efforts to retain carbon in the soil and water helps local environments, land owners and farmers, and helps keep global temperatures from rising. Follow TNC’s Cool Green Science blog for more stories about conservation science.