This amazing book, subtitled “The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming” gives an optimistic program for getting out of our current mess.
It outlines the top 100 solutions that the world can implement, starting now, to fight the causes of the climate crisis. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air.
It uses common language avoiding the use of jargon. Here’s an example. “Addressing, slowing, or arresting emissions is necessary but insufficient. If you are travelling down the wrong road, you are still on the wrong road if you slow down. The only goal that makes sense for humanity is to reverse global warming…”
What’s different about this book is that every solution includes an accounting of its cost, its savings, and total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that can be avoided by 2050. The book is not one that you will read cover to cover – instead you will pick it up from time to time and browse to another of its solutions.
Most of the content is also available on the drawdown web site drawdown.org, a good source if you are looking for details of a particular solution.
I do not believe that it is possible for humans to reverse the process of global warming that is underway. There are forces at work that are beyond our control. However I do think we must make every effort to understand what is happening, and do everything we can to slow down the process, remove or “draw down” greenhouse gases, stop burning fossil fuels, switch to clean energy sources, and get ready to adapt to a changing climate.
We like the 4RG idea. At the September Earth Strike march in Toronto, we carried signs saying simply: Because Grandkids. We got lots of comments, so I think lots of people are thinking the same way.
I also like your “wrong road” image. I would say to our current governments that, if you are on the wrong road, you do not accelerate! Case in point: no pipelines to export oil.