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1-Page Summary of Drawdown

Overview

The gravity and scope of the climate crisis can be overwhelming, especially when people in power continue to deny it. It may seem like one person’s actions won’t make a difference, but that’s not true because many individual actions over time will add up to something significant. If you start recycling or biking instead of driving now, you’ll feel better about yourself while also making an impact on the environment.

Global warming is a serious problem. There are many signs that show this, such as record heat waves and melting ice caps. Scientists have been warning about it for years, but the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere keeps increasing every year.

Project Drawdown is a coalition of scientists and researchers who are trying to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. They have analyzed the best ways to do this, which include renewable energy and protecting indigenous people’s rights. These solutions will help save the planet while also benefiting communities, health, wallets, etc.

The author will also discuss how a vegetarian diet can help save the planet, which common household appliance is one of the world’s biggest contributors to global warming, and why cows and trees should be together.

Big Idea #1: Global warming is real, but it can be reversed if we stop human carbon emissions.

Alexander von Humboldt was shocked when he crossed the Baraba Steppe of Russia. The agriculture in that area had depleted the land, desiccating its beautiful lakes and swamps.

A German scientist named Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first to realize that humans could negatively impact their environment. He identified deforestation and industrial processes as two major problems caused by humans.

One and a half centuries ago, Wallace Broecker first used the term global warming. It describes the rise in earth’s surface temperature. Today we know this phenomenon is real, as scientists predict that temperatures will rise by 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The consequences include wildfires, droughts and sea level rises which will lead to conflicts and mass migration.

Global warming is essentially caused by human activity. Humans release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which leads to a greenhouse effect and global warming. Despite this clear connection between carbon emissions and global warming, humans are still releasing more CO2 in 2016 than ever before. The amount of CO2 released annually is equivalent to filling an Olympic-size swimming pool 400,000 times over!

If we don’t do something drastic, such as cutting or slowing carbon emissions, then global warming will continue. We need to find a way to start reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and bring them down to zero.

If we want to change the world and decrease CO2 in the atmosphere, we need to do two things: reduce our emissions and promote natural processes that get rid of CO2.

There are many ways to reverse global warming, but we need to take advantage of the ones that will save us money and improve our health. We can do this by using renewable energy, saving forests and farming sustainably. Some newer ideas include electric cars, ocean farms and carbon air capture.

In this section, we’ll explore how to cut carbon emissions and achieve drawdown.

Big Idea #2: Renewable energy is a must because it’s better for the environment than fossil fuels.

If you turn on the lights in your home, where does the electricity come from? Most likely, it was generated by burning fossil fuels. Nearly 80 percent of the world’s electricity comes from fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, all of which contain massive amounts of carbon. But if we’re serious about reversing global warming, we need to radically change this. Luckily there are other ways to generate energy that don’t produce carbon emissions; they’re called renewable energies because they can be replenished quickly by natural processes. These include solar and wind power—and both are becoming increasingly efficient at producing energy for us to use every day without harming our environment. Let’s take a closer look at these two sources of clean energy: