Drawdown

Trudging up Ithaca’s steep hills in the morning, I asked myself: what are the most effective climate actions I can take?

Then I came upon the drawdown.org website, which constantly updates the information in the book of the same name. Project Drawdown lists over 80 climate “solutions” ranked in terms of their effectiveness in drawing down greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Among the top five most effective are reducing food waste, plant-rich diet, and health and education—solutions that can be realized in one’s daily life, by donating money, or through volunteering for an advocacy organization.

By applying research in the… show more.

Edited by Paul Hawken, and written by a team of writers, researchers, and scientists from around the world, this book includes 80 game-changers—things that, if everyone got on them now, could create a dent in global warming for good.

From solutions like offshore wind farms to minimizing food waste, Drawdown takes initiatives that are world-large in scope and puts them into easily conceptualizable material. Includes information on how much carbon any given solution would reduce in the atmosphere if certain changes were made, to how much money it would cost (& save!) to do so.

If you're overwhelmed by global… show more.

The “yes, we can” of the climate crisis. If I’m going to start out with the most optimistic book on what we can do, this is the way to go. It’s not pie-in-the-sky stuff. It’s not super expensive. Some of it is common sense and expected: alternative types of energy, LED lighting, composting. Some of it is less expected. There’s a section titled “Women and Girls,” part of which is about simply educating girls. (I first heard of that as a solution to many problems in a great, if slow, movie called Mindwalk that talks about systems thinking. The book… show more.

So many have decried the current state of our planet. But in this Anthropocene Age, we’re not in a fight to save the planet—we’re in a fight to maintain the delicate balance of the life on it, including our own. Project Drawdown takes on this uniquely human struggle, offering ammunition and courage. This book is chock full of ideas about what our future can and should look like—in areas such as energy, agriculture and land use, transport, architecture, and equity for women. A great reference for those like me who are looking to realize a future world full of hope.

If you’re looking for the most comprehensive plan to combat climate change – this is it. I love how Paul Hawken shows us a future when levels of greenhouse gases don’t just stop climbing, they start declining. He shows us exactly how we can get there safely, quickly, and equitably. This book always leaves me feeling optimistic about our future because I know the solutions are out there as Paul Hawken so kindly outlined for us. But it's up to all of us to make it happen.

Multiple friends have given me this book as a gift and, after reading it, I understand why. A collaborative, inclusive group assembled by editor Paul Hawken scanned the world for the best approaches to cut harmful carbon pollution. The book answers the essential question of “What is possible?” to reverse the buildup of human-caused emissions in the atmosphere. This inspirational volume provides the answers by identifying the one hundred most promising solutions to combat global warming.

The essays in this remarkable book offer ideas and potential solutions that are sometimes breathtakingly simple but always forward-looking. This book describes 100 solutions for drawing down greenhouse gasses. Eighty percent of them are already in use. He urges us to concentrate on solutions rather than describing the problems.