100 Solutions for Reducing Carbon and Living in a Cleaner World
Finally there is an optimistic new compilation of current and future technologies to reduce greenhouse gas carbon emissions. In the book "DRAWDOWN: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Produced to Reverse Global Warming." Published by Penguin Random House and edited by Paul Hawkin, I found this book at the library on the new book shelf last month.
Project DRAWDOWN included 70 research fellows from 22 countries and 120 person advisory board. The introduction states:
"Almost all of the solutions compiled and analyzed here lead to regenerative economic outcomes that create security, produce jobs, improve health, save money, facilitate mobility, eliminate hunger, prevent pollution, restore soil, clean rivers, and more."
Worldwide about 36 billion gigatons of carbon dioxide (including equivalent greenhouse gases) were emitted in 2016. To visualize one "gigaton," imagine 400,000 Olympic sized swimming pools; so 36 gigatons is about 14.4 million pools.
The DRAWDOWN approach is to evaluate 100 possible solutions and provide a ranking for the gigatons of carbon dioxide reduced over the next 30 years as a function of cost. Here are the top 10 solutions:
1. Refrigerant Management (replace hydrofluorocarbons with other chemicals)
2. Wind Turbine (Onshore)
3. Reduced Food Waste
4. Plant-Rich Diet
5. Tropical Forests (Restore over one billion acres of forests)
6. Educating Girls results in smaller families
7. Family Planning
8. Solar Farms
9. Silvopasture (integrating forests with pasture for cattle grazing)
10. Rooftop Solar
Implementing these 10 solutions is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 750 gigatons and many other exciting solutions are described to improve our lives for a cleaner environment.