One of the most hopeful things I have seen in recent weeks comes from a Ted Talk by Chad Frishmann.

He was speaking on behalf of Project Drawdown. This project has examined in minute detail the top 100 solutions to global warming. 80 of those solutions currently exist. The other 20 are in development. Surprisingly 12 of the top 20 solutions are related to food systems and land management. Thus of interest to gardeners.

He says that the solution to global warming is the same as the solution to food insecurity. We have to move beyond sustainability and towards regeneration. We can produce enough food on the current farmland to feed the growing population well beyond 2050. Reducing food waste, moving toward a plant rich diet, protecting tropical forests, and use of silvopasture are in the top 10 ways of moving forward.

The best news is that they have calculated in great detail the costs and benefits of each of the solutions. Over 30 years the cost of implementing all 80 solutions would be $29 trillion or nearly 1 trillion a year. But the savings would amount to $74 trillion in the same timeframe.

He says these solutions would be desirable even if there was no global warming crisis.
Who would’ve thought that our food system could be so critical to improving our climate and solving our global warming problems.

For more information go to Project Drawdown http://drawdown.org. It is actually fun reading.
The solutions are addressed in detail, with references and a technical summary which itemize the methodology that is used to do the calculations.

Submitted by Don Farwell