![]() So this plan could remove a massive amount of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere while creating nine and one-half billion tons of food that otherwise wouldn’t exist. And of course carbon contributes to soil productivity. ![]() Drawdown believes 424 million acres could be brought back by 2050, resulting in billions of tons of CO2 being re-sequestered in the soil. If it were restored – for example by setting up tree plantations or reintroducing native plants – it could again serve as a carbon sink. World-wide, about one billion acres of this land is now degraded and abandoned. We need to convince the public that “ugly” produce won’t hurt us and institute laws, such as those in France and Italy, stipulating that unsold food must go to charities, be fed to animals or be composted.Īnother solution which addresses hunger is restoration of farmland. What causes this tragic situation? In rich countries, grocery store owners believe that bruised fruit won’t sell and consumers believe that a product isn’t safe to eat after the “best before” date. Food waste contributes to climate change while potentially denying sustenance to the poor. The book reminds us that while 800 millions people on the planet go hungry, an astounding one-third of the food we produce does not end up in our stomachs, sending the equivalent of 4.4 billion tons of C02 into the atmosphere annually, including methane from landfill. In Bangladesh, for example, they’ve led to 165,000 direct and indirect jobs.Įven if one cares nothing about climate, one can see the value, for example, of renewable energy’s contribution to employment.Ī lesser-known – but crucially important – climate solution is reducing food waste. Rooftop solar systems can also fight poverty through job creation. A beautiful symbol of hope is the plan to build a massive one-gigawatt solar farm on the site of the former Chernobyl nuclear plant. The book estimates that, between 20, solar farms alone could bring five trillion (USD) in net savings compared to other forms of generation. The carbon reduction is immense and – because the “fuel” is free – the savings in operational costs are enormous. Windmills also have a lesser-known benefit, one especially important in a warming world: they use “98 to 99 percent less water than fossil fuel-generated electricity.”Īnother obvious solution is ramping up solar power, both utility-scale “farms” and smaller rooftop arrays. This is renewable energy going mainstream. ![]() No wonder that in Denmark, for instance, wind provides over 40 percent of the nation’s power. Drawdown quotes Bloomberg, and suggests that, by 2030, wind will be the cheapest of all electricity sources. ![]() The result: a staggering 84.6 gigatons of C02 are avoided because of reduced reliance on fossil fuels. The book models a plausible scenario in which onshore wind goes from providing about three percent of global electricity today to 21.6 percent in 2050. One of the most important – the second most effective overall – is expansion of wind turbines. Even if one cares nothing about climate, one can see the value, for example, of renewable energy’s contribution to employment. It has the potential to be much larger because he emphasizes the solutions’ ancillary benefits. If he spoke only about GHG-reduction his readership would be narrow. If the goal is movement-building, Hawken’s approach is smart. We know we can’t avoid the cataclysmic impacts of global warming by only focusing on achieving zero net carbon emissions we must also rapidly re-sequester carbon. The climate solutions generate good jobs, save trillions of dollars, empower women and create beauty. Hawken sees global warming “not as an inevitability but as an invitation to build, innovate, and effect change, a pathway that awakens creativity, compassion, and genius.” Mindful of the dangers, he nevertheless finds great opportunities for human advancement – moral and intellectual. Toward this end, the book outlines 100 climate solutions – 80 of which we can embark upon right away and 20 of which are “coming attractions” that will be available soon.ĭrawdown has a wonderful embedded optimism. Drawdown’s foreword states the thesis succinctly: “We know we can’t avoid the cataclysmic impacts of global warming by only focusing on achieving zero net carbon emissions we must also rapidly re-sequester carbon.” At this moment in history we also need to remove from the atmosphere – and safely store – carbon that already exists. Editor Paul Hawken, who made his name with such environmental classics as Natural Capitalism and The Ecology of Commerce, says reducing or even halting new greenhouse gas emissions is not enough. Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming is a book that addresses the climate crisis at its very roots.
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