Longtime environmentalist and entrepreneur Paul Hawken has recently looked at lots of ways to solve the problem of global warming. He has compiled the results of his research in a new book: Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.
The book is the result of Project Drawdown, which Hawken had founded to research solutions to climate change. The book ranks, in order of effectiveness, different methods of solving the climate conundrum. As he tells Yale Environment 360, many of the solutions were surprising and counterintuitive. For example, the most effective climate solution right now is proper management of refrigerants. Other surprising results were education for girls and access to family planning for women, which wound up being ranked as sixth and seventh. The fourth ranked solution was adopting a plant-rich diet, which, as Hawkin goes on to say, does not necessarily mean having a strict vegetarian or vegan diet. At number three was reducing food waste, which may wind up being ranked higher as Project Drawdown researches the problem further. Reducing driving, solar panels, and other strategies are important still, but having this research confirms my belief that we at South Park Climate Solutions are on the right track to make South Park a climate leader.
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It was only yesterday that I ran across this new term, reductarianism. This is one of those things that is so simple, you wonder why anybody had to think it up.
Reductarianism is simply reducing the amount of meat and dairy in one's diet "regardless of degree or motivation." It is the concept of Brian Kateman, who has founded an organization and edited a book around the dietary concept. Admitting that veganism and vegetarianism are dietary guidelines that are not meant for everyone, Kateman offers this less stringent idea. OK, now that there is a word for it, I might describe myself as reductarian, eating a vegetarian diet for my home meals and eating meat sometimes when dining out. This can be a good idea as we work on bringing down our carbon footprint. A lot of folks, including me, think that going vegetarian, despite its health and environmental benefits, can be difficult and sometimes undesirable. Out to dinner, sometimes the rack of lamb is impossible to turn down. This concept also dovetails perfectly with Meatless Monday, which South Park Climate Solutions has committed to promoting. You don't have to eat tofu and beans every day, just a day or two a week. What do you think? Is this a move in the right direction? is it not going far enough? It's easy to leave a comment if you like. I was just in a conversation this week with someone, and the topic turned to transportation issues in San Diego in relation to climate change. Part of the city's Climate Action Plan is getting more people to walk and bike instead of getting around by car.
That's a really great idea, and my hope is that we all can run errands, visit friends and family, and get to work on our bikes. It is, however, discouraging to run across the news that ridership for DecoBike, our bike-sharing system since 2015, has been flagging and actually has never really gotten off the ground very well. Despite having one of the largest bike-sharing systems, with 95 stations, ridership in San Diego is a fraction of what it is or other cities. DecoBike did not establish sufficient density for their stations, as they did elsewhere. But it is also difficult, and actually a bit dangerous, to cycle in San Diego. The city has not done much to establish cycling infrastructure. And, as an avid cyclist, I can tell you some parts of the city are pretty hilly. This is a real shame. If there is a city that can really support cycling, it is San Diego. We can hit the road with our bikes year-round. What to do? What could be done in the short-term? Long term? Do you know of a particularly difficult or dangerous road or intersection? Leave your comments below. Yesterday I posted about Kitchens For Good, folks here in San Diego who are fighting hunger and food waste--and fighting climate change as well.
While I've got the topic of saving things from going into the landfill on my mind, I thought that I would mention some other folks here in San Diego County who are keeping downed trees from going into our landfills. Dan Herbst and Jessica Van Arsdale are the couple at the helm of San Diego Urban Timber. These folks harvest trees that are cut down in folks' yards, in city parks, and along the roadway and turn them into beautiful furniture, one of a kind works of art. I wrote about them a few months back for Edible San Diego. The link to the profile is here. Apparently, when they published the piece on the web, they cut off the beginning of the text; so the beginning is below. San Diego Urban Timber is yet another example of folks increasing our abundance and fighting climate change. Here is the beginning of the profile: There are logs. Lots of them. Grey from being out in the weather, they stretch from one end of the parking lot to the other. Some are as big around as oil drums. Dan Herbst stands by some recently cut planks, his feet planted in plenty of sawdust. “This would all be going to the landfill,” he says. Also standing in sawdust is Jessica Van Arsdale, who together with Herbst helms San Diego Urban Timber, their company that creates high quality furniture and other household items from locally sourced trees. Instead of the landfill, these large, weathered logs will be crafted into chairs, benches, tables, and other household items. |
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorPaul Hormick is the founder of South Park Climate Solutions. He sees climate change as one of our central concerns, for ecologies as well as societies. He holds a master's degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University |