DRAWDOWN, Part 2
Paul Hawken is the editor of the New York Times Bestseller, DRAWDOWN: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, published in 2017. “In atmospheric terms, drawdown is that point in time at which greenhouse gases peak and begin to decline on a year-to-year basis.”1 Paul and scientists from all over the world gathered lists of climate solutions—mapping, modelling and measuring their “potential to reduce emissions or sequester carbon from the atmosphere.”2 The results were reviewed by “experts who evaluated the inputs, sources, and calculations.”3 They are solutions that also benefit society and the environment in many ways.
While the Drawdown movement gained momentum in the U.S. and Canada—we have three non-profit organizations in Canada: Drawdown Toronto, Drawdown Alberta and Drawdown BC—Paul had a concern that there was more to reversing global warming than the 100 solutions and the statistics they showcased. Then, during 2020 and 2021, the climate crisis went from conceptual to experiential. It hit home! We’re being home-schooled by Mother Earth. The climate crisis is a complex problem that we believe only experts can solve. But that’s not true. “We unintentionally give our power over to technocrats, international leaders or scientists, and hope they do something and get it right.”4 But that’s not right.
As Jane Goodall wrote in the Forward of Regeneration, “How bizarre that we, the most intellectual of all species, should be destroying our only home.”
This year, Paul wrote Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. As he explains it, “to reverse global warming, we need to reverse global degeneration.”5 It harms life. Regeneration means two things: of the earth’s life and of a new generation of humanity. Where do we start? How can we make a difference? We need to take responsibility for the harm done and to talk to one another. By connecting and taking action at every level: personally, with other people, in our homes, groups, companies, communities, cities and even countries, we can create more life.
In communities, what unites you is more important than what divides you. One inspiring example in Regeneration is The Fifteen-Minute City. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, is restricting cars on some streets and planning to take away 60,000 parking spots, adding 1,000 km of bike paths, even on the Champs-Élysées. The goal is to increase options for walking, cycling and people-first economic development all over the city. The Fifteen-Minute City was a concept developed by Carlos Moreno, a professor at the Sorbonne in Paris. The idea is that everything you need can be accessed within a 15-minute trip, walking, biking or by transit. Office buildings have apartments or public space; schools are used for other purposes after hours; retail and essential goods and services are nearby; reliable public transit is accessible. All this, to better connect people, to develop awareness and solutions at the local level. Paul believes this is the best way to make a difference. Visit Regeneration.org.
Fiona
- Drawdown, p.x
- Drawdown, p.x
- Drawdown, p.x
- Regeneration, p.249
- Regeneration, p.9