Saving Earth Magazine Spring 2021

A world in transition: climate change solutions

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SAVINGEARTH

FOREWORD Texas is frozen. At least it was as this edition of Saving

Teena Clipston Editor-in-Chief & Publisher Saving Earth Magazine

“This edition is dedicated to climate change solutions and celebrates the passion, dedication, and enthusiasm of climate activists around the world.”

Earth was headed to print. In February of 2021, a polar vortex brought an unprecedented winter storm to places that have not seen this type of cold in decades.

With the temperatures dropping as low as -22 degrees Celsius in the city of Amarillo, a new record, the icy weather not only wreaked havoc on roadways, but also left over two million people in the state of Texas in the dark. Power outages due to outpaced demand for energy and equipment malfunctions created chaos.

Tragically, people have also died.

Extreme weather events continue to grab our attention with the unequivocal punch that lets us know that climate change isn’t coming, it’s here. Extreme weather events are escalating and being felt around the globe, from fires, droughts, floods, and cyclones to hurricanes, snowstorms, and even plagues of locusts. Still, what some people fail to understand is that extreme weather is the result of rising global temperatures. The more the global temperature rises, the more frequent and more intense weather events will become.

I am completely dumbfounded when I see some adults not understanding the basic science behind climate change. It is especially astounding when said adults are in government positions and are responsible for the lives of other people. Just because it is cold out doesn’t mean that global warming is not happening. The echoing of “we could use some of that global warming in Texas right now” could be heard across social media as the snowstorm raged. But more importantly, US conservatives, people in power, falsely blamed wind energy for the power outages suggesting that the Green New Deal (legislation that aims to address climate change and economic inequality in the US) would cause greater suffering.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Sean Hannity on Fox News that the power outages showed how “the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal” for the US. The state’s agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, also chimed in. “We should never build another wind turbine in Texas,” read his social media post on the Texas power outages. “The experiment failed big time. Governor Abbott's Public Utility Commission appointees need to be fired and more gas, coal, and oil infrastructure built. To heck with green energy or climate change.

They are overhyped and scientifically challenged.”

The absolute irony of suggesting that more fossil fuels are needed to produce energy in extreme weather events, which are most likely caused by fossil fuels, is beyond absurd. Who put these people in charge?

The truth is that wind turbines in Texas were responsible for less than 13 percent of power shortages.

They were also ill-equipped for cold weather, unlike wind turbines in cold countries, such as Sweden, who offered advice to Texas on how to keep ice off their turbines. In reality, 80 to 90 percent of the energy used in Texas comes from fossil fuels. This disaster is also exceptional because unlike the rest of the US, Texas is the only state that has its own electricity grid, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). ERCOT is not subject to federal oversight and is not connected to other grids, so it is unable to draw power from other states during a crisis.

Where do we go from here? While most of us are waiting for things to get back to normal because of the pandemic, I had to remind myself there is no going back to normal. The next extreme weather event is just around the corner, and where it will hit is unknown. Climate change education must be a priority on every country’s list for both old and young. We can’t continue to have leaders denying science—our lives depend on it.

This takes me back to 2015 when Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe brought a snowball to the Senate floor to prove that global warming did not exist.

“Do you know what this is? It's a snowball,” Inhofe said, holding the snowball in the air. "It's just from outside here, so it's very, very cold out... very unseasonable.”

Since 2015, we have witnessed some of the worst weather events imaginable, from shocking fires to relentless hurricanes. The US has not been exempted from catastrophe. Have these climate deniers learned nothing since then?

This edition of Saving Earth Magazine is dedicated to climate change solutions and celebrates the passion, dedication, and enthusiasm of climate activists around the world. While not every activist is a Climate Reality Leader, many of the contributors in this edition have completed the training course provided by former US Vice-President Al Gore, including myself and our Senior Editor, Cassie Pearse. We hope that this special edition can bring some hope to those who feel helpless when it comes to climate issues. I know from meeting, talking, and researching with other climate-savvy individuals that we have the power to make the changes we need to fight for our Earth. What will you do to make a difference?

Join me in Saving Earth, Teena Clipston, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of Saving Earth Magazine

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SAVING EARTH MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY SAVING EARTH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Teena Clipston

GEARTH GEARTH GE RTH

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jessica Kirby SENIOR EDITOR Cassie Pearse EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Dean Unger GRAPHIC DESIGN Cassandra Redding ADVERTISING Anne-Marie Freeman CONTRIBUTORS Teena Clipston, Cassie Pearse, Sergio Izquierdo, Ingrith León, Jan Lee, Erin Bremmer-Mitchell, Dean Unger, David Suzuki, Minto Roy, Cordelia Newlin de Rojas, Anika Molesworth, Deb Morris, Tom Bowman, Jeff Scharf, Alex Fullerton, Kayla Bruce, Shayne Meechan, and Peter Carter.

PRINTING Royal Printers DISTRIBUTION Magazines Canada & Royal Printers COVER PHOTO Sergio Izquierdo Saving Earth Magazine has made every effort to make sure that its content is accurate on the date of publication. The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher or editor. Information contained in the magazine has been obtained by the authors from sources believed to be reliable. You may email us at Saving Earth Magazine for source information. Saving Earth Magazine, its publisher, editor, and its authors are not responsible for any errors, omissions, or claims for damages, and accept no liability for any loss or damage of any kind. The published material, advertising, advertorials, editorials, and all other content is published in good faith. ©Copyright 2021 Saving Earth. All rights reserved.

Saving Earth Magazine is fully protected by copyright law and nothing herein can be reproduced wholly or in part without written consent.

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ISSUE #4 - Spring 2021

ABOUT US Saving Earth Magazine focuses on environmental issues, green businesses, conservation, human rights, and climate science. It inspires readers to change how they interact with the planet and offers solutions to global environmental challenges that we face. Some of these solutions include directing readers to organizations and businesses that are making a difference, giving them the ability to support and follow the issues they care most deeply about.

Across the world, we see a groundswell of people engaging to protect their environment, from governments banning plastic bags to individuals inventing exciting new green technologies, and Saving Earth Magazine is becoming a part of this step-change. There has never been a more crucial time for this magazine. We don’t just want to report the conversation, we plan to create the conversation!

MISSION STATEMENT At Saving Earth Magazine, we strive to create and bring together ideas that have the power to transform the way we interact with the planet—to devise, communicate, educate, share, and help implement strategies and new technologies that reduce pollution, reduce greenhouse gases, nurture and protect flora and fauna, and protect the waterways.

With contributions from experts and fieldworkers from around the globe, we seek to inspire individuals and organizations to become motivated to protect the planet. We cover stories of success in pioneering fields of ecology and environmental sciences; stories from communities that have faced challenges and found equitable, sustainable solutions that the world should replicate; and inspirational human interest stories and biographies that serve to inspire our lives and help us reconnect to the Earth.

By sharing ideas about how we can make a better world, we will help to heal communities and support those who are at the forefront of ecological and environmental research. Saving Earth Magazine is a manual that can be referenced globally and will provide an evolving canvas of themes, information, and ideas, which will inspire a new era of human interaction with the planet. It is a public forum where ideas and dialogue help to shape our thinking in these emerging fields. It will help us rethink the way we interact with the planet as we seek to find solutions in the transition from fossil fuels and into new vistas of renewable energy and resources.

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CONTENTS 6 a world in transition

48 Q & A with business leaders

teena clipston

minto roy

12 inspirational environmental faces

50 how ignoring climate change will enable future pandemics

cassie pearse

cordelia newlin de rojas

18 antarcticA expedition Sergio Izquierdo

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26 climate & rethinking energy

deb morrison & tom bowman

30 kelp forests

64 regenerative agriculture and the fight against climate change

jan lee

36 the unexpected beacon of hope 40 the architecture of energy

anika molesworth

60 engaging the people in just climate action

ingrith león

erin bremner-mitchell

56 dust storm of determination

jeff scharf

70 hemp & other carbon dioxide removal strategies

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alex fullerton

dean unger

74 pillars of sustainable development

46 net zero offers affordable path to climate stability

kayla bruce & Shayne Meehan

78

david suzuki

the climate emergency

40

peter carter

Photo Credit: iStock/Jcomp

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A World in Transition

By Teena Clipston

Finding Climate Change Solutions in the Hearts of Humanity

W

hen I first started my research into climate change, the solutions, I thought, were straightforward and obvious. If CO₂ is a problem, the obvious answer is to cut emissions.

If deforestation is a problem, then all we need to do is find alternatives to wood and stop cutting forests for pasture. If industrial farming is destroying our soil, then let’s change the way we grow our food. If our oceans are polluted with plastic, then let’s change the way we produce and manage our waste. We certainly have enough available new technology and the know-how to change old habits. The good news is that most governments around the world, communities, and individuals are making sustainable changes. The bad news is that we are too slow when it comes to implementing changes and that many people still believe climate change isn’t a real problem, at least not for them in their lifetime. savingearthmagazine.com | 7

A 2018 Gallup poll revealed that 54 percent of Americans are among these people. Many of these people also fear that green initiatives will destroy their livelihood.

This is a very real fear for those working in logging and the oil and gas industry, and we must acknowledge it, but are the implications of hanging on to the old way of doing things understood? People are afraid because they don’t know how the transition from fossil fuels to green energy will affect them, and they don’t know how to make the transition.

The fear of job loss has once again made headlines. Newly elected US President Biden, on his first day in office, signed an executive order to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. The controversial oil and gas project had planned to transfer roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Alberta’s Premier, Jason Kenney, was quick to react. "We are deeply disturbed that one of President Biden's first actions in office has been to rescind the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline border crossing," the Premier said. "This is a gut punch for the Canadian and Alberta economies. Sadly, it is an insult directed at the United States’ most important ally and trading partner on day one of a new administration."

The pipeline is owned by TC Energy and the Government of Alberta. The system was planned in phases. Keystone XL failed to receive approval by the United States government under former President Obama in 2015. However, this was rescinded by former President Trump in 2017. Soon after President Biden’s removal of the permit, TC Energy announced the elimination of 1,000 construction jobs.

Social media quickly lit up with posts claiming that 11,000 jobs would be lost.

The 11,000 cited in the clamour was from a Keystone XL press release in October 2020.

PolitiFact, a fact checking website, clarifies that these jobs are seasonal construction jobs that could be created over a period of several years in four-to-eight-month contracts.

“The State Department forecasted that no more than 50 jobs, some of which could be located in Canada, would be required to maintain the pipeline. Thirty-five of them would be permanent, while 15 would be temporary contractors.” - PolitiFact.

The confusion and panic over fossil fuel job numbers drives fear and opposition against climate action, possibly by design.

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Photo Credit: iStock/Claudiad

However, the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline should not come as a surprise to anyone; in fact, the company knowingly took a risk by investing in the controversial project.

The debate over the environmental damage it would cause and protests against it have been ongoing since 2010.

Indigenous people have been leading the fight. “The victory ending the KXL pipeline is an act of courage and restorative justice by the Biden administration. It gives tribes and Mother Earth a serious message of hope for future generations as we face the threat of climate change. It aligns Indigenous environmental knowledge with presidential priorities that benefit everyone,” said Faith Spotted Eagle, founder of Brave Heart Society and a member of the Ihanktonwan Dakota nation, in an interview with The Guardian.

Instead of focusing on temporary jobs that could be created through fossil fuels, ideas such as building more pipelines and bringing back coal jobs need to take a back seat to focus on what can be created through green energy and green jobs.

In 2019, the United Nations reported that adopting sustainable practices in the energy sector could result in 24 million new jobs globally by 2030. Unfortunately, during this transition period, the same study found an estimated six million global jobs in petroleum extraction and refinery, including coal mining, would be lost. However, if climate change is not addressed, rising temperatures are expected to contribute to a loss of 80 million jobs by the year 2030.

At a certain point, we need to pull our heads out of the tar sands and accept that whether we like it or not, we need to transition away from fossil fuels to save the planet. It's the way of the future. It's coming. So let’s make the transition as painless as possible. Some people will lose their jobs, but the next generation will survive because of it. We need to find a way to help make the transition away from fossil fuels easier on those who work in the oil and gas industry. We need to provide tangible solutions rather than lofty soundbites. Dr. Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank, declared at a recent press conference in Luxembourg, “To put it mildly, gas is over.”

FIVE FUNDAMENTAL ACTIONS THAT ARE NEEDED Climate change solutions aren’t only about lowering emissions, but also about protecting the natural systems of our Earth that sequester carbon and produce oxygen. Five obvious

solutions are: using clean energy with a lower carbon footprint, keeping our forests intact, keeping our oceans thriving, keeping our soil healthy, and adopting more of a plant-based diet. But these are not the five solutions I want to bring to your attention.

Social media has made it blatantly obvious that there are many angry people ready to comment on anything green by posting attacks, conspiracy theories, and misinformation. I have seen it firsthand on our Saving Earth Magazine Facebook posts.

In fact, moderating social media posts can be a full-time job. While we don’t see this as an insult, we have been accused of being financed by George Soros. As the publisher and owner of Saving Earth Magazine, I can assure everyone that Soros pays not one dollar towards the magazine. The cost of producing it falls on my shoulders alone.

Saving anything is not easy. Look at Greta Thunberg and how she was attacked. Vicious comments were made against the teenager by adults. Not unlike the anti-mask movement during the COVID pandemic, climate deniers do have an impact on the global movement towards climate solutions. And when these climate deniers become leaders in government or gain influence, they increase skepticism and destroy progress.

What the world needs to perpetuate a smoother transition in its solutions against climate change is in the hearts and in the healing of people, through: • climate and environmental education • the prioritization of planet over egoism • compassion for all life • personal responsibility for the Earth • the eradication of poverty These five objectives must be at the foundation of climate solutions in order to make the transition into a greener world more viable. Otherwise, it is just a fight between two split fractions of society. Fears must be addressed. Education must be rampant.

Personal responsibility rewarded. Compassion celebrated. And selfishness and greed frowned upon.

These are not new ideas.

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION For almost 200 years scientists have known about greenhouse gases. But only in the 1970s did this knowledge reach the masses.

The First World Climate Conference was held in 1979 in Geneva and the global alarm was sounded, leading to the creation of the

World Climate Programme and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

However, while scientists mobilized to save the world, in 1981, with President Ronald Reagan at the helm in the USA, global warming became a political issue. Plans were made to stop all environmental research into climate related CO₂. And from 1989 onwards, the idea of global warming as a conspiracy theory was developed, funded by organizations such as the Global Climate Coalition (a group of businesses that opposed action to reduce greenhouse gas) and the George C. Marshall Institute (a conservative think tank in the US that receives financial support from the fossil fuel industry), using the same strategies already developed and used by the tobacco industry.

It was not until 2006, when former US Vice-President Al Gore released An Inconvenient Truth, featuring research from prominent glaciologist Lonnie Thompson, that public education and activism truly took root, sparking a revolution of climate justice leaders and organizations around the world.

And now, as predicted, with extreme and catastrophic weather episodes occurring around the world, climate deniers, for the most part, have fallen silent. In a recent interview, Richard Schiffman of Scientific American spoke with Michael Mann, reaffirming that fossil fuel interests are the reason for the divide on climate. Mann, climatologist and author of The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet, believes that deniers have recently changed their tactics.

“The plutocrats who are tied to the fossil fuel industry are engaging in a new climate war—this time to prevent meaningful action. Over the past few years, you’ve seen a lot of conservative groups pulling their money out of the climate change denial industry and putting it instead into efforts by ALEC [the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying group], for example, to fund legislative efforts blocking clean-energy policies.”

Furthermore, Mann also points out that “deflection” in responsibility is being put on consumers instead of the fossil fuel industry.

History shows that we will continue down the path of division right until the very end if science-backed education on climate is not made a priority. In my view, most people believe in what they hope to be true when the alternative is too much to bear. In our consumerist society, people often choose im-

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Photo Credit: iStock/jacoblund

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mediate satisfaction over long-term gain for society, which leads to my second solution to climate change, planet over egoism.

PLANET OVER EGOISM Materialism should no longer be celebrated. How grand it is to surround ourselves with luxury and riches and mountains of stuff. This ideal has been planted in the heads of most people as the route to happiness. It has been stuffed down the throats of our youth through music videos, movies, and advertising. The fantasy of extreme wealth equalling happiness continues into adulthood where we are persuaded to work hard, spend hard, covet ‘stuff’, play the lottery, and ‘manifest yourself into riches’. Let’s be honest, we (as a human race) often admire people who are exceedingly rich (regardless of their intelligence or decency) and, essentially, we give them our power through this idolization.

Egoism is defined as the pursuit of self-interest and self-centeredness.

This conflicts with what we need to do to put the planet first. We need to work together. I am not suggesting that having money is bad; certainly a lot of great things can be done with money. I simply believe that hoarding money, overindulgence, and greed are not attractive attributes.

When an individual puts profit over the planet, well, it just doesn’t make sense. As the old Native American saying goes, “When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money”. We need to realize that the true path to happiness is love and compassion.

COMPASSION FOR ALL LIFE The Dalai Lama speaks about compassion in Our Only Home, A Climate Appeal to the World: “We need a revolution of compassion based on warmheartedness that will contribute to a more compassionate world with a sense of oneness of humanity. The entire human family must unite and cooperate to protect our common home.”

How can we teach compassion? Peter Salovey, President of Yale University, recently spoke to the Yale class of 2024. He stated that the social conflicts arising out of the pandemic and racial inequality in the US need to be faced with compassion and cooperation for change.

“Whether fighting a global pandemic or the scourge of racism, global climate change, or economic recession, we must be willing to be honest about our own motivations and open to changing our minds.

Efforts to solve pressing problems will not be effective if they are led by individuals who cannot feel compassion nor learn to cooperate, nor by those who try to achieve change through manipulation, coercion, or brute force.”

When we learn to see the world through the eyes of another, we will begin to have empathy and show compassion for others.

With compassion comes personal responsibility.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Saving the Earth is not someone else’s job. Each individual must realize his or her part in the grand scheme of things, and how he or she can make changes that affect the world and all in it. Doing so removes the feeling of hopelessness and puts the individual in the driver’s seat.

It might start small with actions, such as recycling, making responsible food choices, purchasing green products, and voting on green policies, but it can evolve into protesting and taking a stand, educating others, supporting a movement for change, or even leading on climate in your community.

In a BBC article titled, Who is really to blame for climate change?, written by Jocelyn Timperley ( June 2020), Timperley explains that some people may not have the opportunity of making a sustainable choice: “… ultimately what is important is understanding who holds the power over the choices available to everyone else.

By challenging how, and for whom, that power is gained and used, perhaps we can begin to shed light on how to truly turn things around on climate.”

As average consumers, we may not feel personal responsibility to find climate solutions. We know that just 20 fossil fuel companies create one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions (Revealed: the 20 firms behind a third of all carbon emissions by Matthew Taylor and Jonathan Watts, The Guardian). It is common knowledge that the richest ten percent of people consume around 20 times more energy than the poorest ten percent. And while these are both true, we all have the power to influence governments into changing policies and direction.

Vote.

ERADICATION OF POVERTY Think about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If a person is in survival mode, hungry, worried, sick, or stressed, how can they put the needs of the planet before their own? They can’t. Poverty often prevents sustainable choices.

And of course, there are degrees of poverty. Climate change will increase the number of people suffering from extreme poverty, especially in developing countries, making things worse on those people just fighting to survive.

“Impoverished families in developing countries are often the least to blame for man-made climate change. Yet they typically bear the worst of the impact.” – World Vision.

Climate change will destroy families living in developing countries through prolonged droughts that will devastate food and water sources. Extreme weather will destroy homes. People will wage wars over land. And climate refugees will ensue as people look for better places to live or work.

Although the gravity of extreme poverty in developing nations may not be something the average person can solve, everyone can look at the needs of their own community and start trying to make the world a better, safer, more equal place.

LOOKING FORWARD Science must, and will, absolutely play its part in finding long-term climate solutions. But that doesn’t let us as individuals off the hook.

Part of the solution lies within every individual. It isn’t simply a story of carbon reduction or carbon sequestration, of protecting the forests, mangroves and sea kelp (though, of course, they are of vital importance), of eating less meat or reducing our plastic waste. It’s about changing our attitudes, our relationships with one another and with our environment.

We need to start living with nature and not against it.

As I finish this article and get ready to send it to print, President Biden has just signed an executive order creating the Civilian Climate Corps to help put Americans to work in conserving and restoring nature and addressing climate change. As a proud and hopeful Canadian, I ask now, “what will Canada do to help make the transition away from fossil fuels less painful and to quell the fear in the hearts of Alberta’s fossil fuel workers?” u

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BY CASSIE PEARSE

Inspirational Environmental Faces T

he Climate Reality Project, founded by former US Vice-President Al Gore, works with passionate individuals around the world, offering skills, facts, and training to those who want to learn how to inspire action for climate solutions in their communities. As of early 2021 over 27,000 climate leaders between the ages of 12 - 87 from 154 countries have been trained. Nearly 90,000 acts of leadership have been recorded by these leaders thus far—just imagine the number if we included their unlogged acts.

Climate Reality Leaders around the world are working with their communities to find solutions to the greatest challenge of our time.

Of course, you don’t have to be a Climate Reality Leader to be passionate about saving our planet. Around the world, there are people quietly doing incredible things in the race to save Earth from human greed and laziness. We’ve all heard of Greta Thunberg, the incredible young activist from Sweden, but what about the other activists around the world who are doing amazing acts of service for our planet, for us, on a daily basis?

There are myriad ways in which we can all play our part and of course, every single one of the contributors to Saving Earth Magazine is passionate about our planet and playing their role in making it a better, cleaner place.

Left: Ratika Khandelwal (Left) and Avi Aggarwal (right), 21-day low carbon living challenge in india.

Photo courtesy of avi aggarwal.

Thankfully, we aren’t alone. We’re part of a massive groundswell of individuals, groups, schools, and businesses all around the world. Some people establish organizations, work with youth, and challenge our leaders. Some, like our publisher, Teena Clipston, go big and decide to start a magazine dedicated to highlighting environmental issues, believing that education is a vital part of the multi-pronged approach needed to solve our planet’s problems. Some are hard at work in research centers and others in the forests and oceans. Others stop eating meat, start making their own cleaning and hygiene products, or persuade their workplaces to make sustainable changes to their business models.

I asked the regional branches of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps to tell me about some of their inspiring individuals.

AVI AGGARWAL AND RATIKA KHANDELWAL - INDIA In 2020, Avi Aggarwal and Ratika Khandelwal initiated the 21-day low carbon living challenge for the Global Shapers Network.

The idea behind the challenge is that repetition breeds habit, so if they could challenge people to keep up sustainable behaviours for three weeks, by the end of it the change would have ‘stuck’. Challengers were scored on sustainability tasks they completed, such as composting and growing their own vegetables. In December 2020, 34 participants in 20 cities across India were inspired to complete 547 sustainable tasks.

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Avi and Ratika’s dedication and work are admirable. With colleagues, they have plans to inspire sustainable construction and climate education in schools, and to challenge more people to make everyday changes to their lives.

You can follow the challenge here: https://globalshapersjaipur.com/greenliving

PRECIOUS KALOMBWANA - ZAMBIA Precious is the founder of Citizen’s Network for Community Development Zambia. She was inspired to establish the organization to advocate for climate change and to raise awareness through campaigns and find local solutions to climate change problems.

She trained as a climate reality leader in order to meet others from around the world who were working on the same issues. Her organization’s aim is to connect with young people and educate them to engage in local political processes. It is the only local Zambian organization educating young people about community development and the environment.

Precious’s personal aim is to make young people more aware of the human impact on the environment and of the impact of the degraded environment on their lives. One project she has implemented has children planting fruit trees in their schools. www.facebook.com/citizenclimatelobby

XIMENA LORÍA - COSTA RICA Ximena is a biologist with a masters’ degree in Natural Resources and Peace. In 2016, she became a Climate Reality Leader, and in 2020 she won the Alfredo Sirkis Memorial award, recognizing the most outstanding leaders in the organization. In 2018, Ximena founded the first Youth Network for Climate, Santa Ana, and in 2019, the first Youth Parliament of the Environment in alliance with the Department of Citizen Participation of the Congress of Costa Rica, empowering young people to promote and lead both in their communities and at a national level, working towards a culture of sustainable development and climate resilience.

She also founded a non-profit organization called Misión 2 Grados that works on three main areas: 1. education and social mobilization around climate change 2. citizen participation in policy renewals 3. training young leaders in climate change and environmental issues

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Ximena told me that she sees fighting climate change as her responsibility. She understands that we have all been part of the problem of greenhouse gas production and now we have to change course. For Ximena, the fight against climate change is also a fight for equity, justice, and the protection of the most vulnerable, especially it is a fight for our children and their right to a safe, healthy, and just future. http://mision2grados.org/

KARLA CARRILLO - MEXICO Karla is a sustainability and climate change educator who works with people of all ages in different educational contexts and places, but mainly with teachers, children, and their parents. For the past six years, her efforts have been largely focused on coordinating the transformation of her school into a sustainable school including the creation of an edible school garden and support for young climate leaders who wish to make noise about climate change.

Left: Precious Kalombwana from ZAMBIA. top: Ximena Loría from COSTA RICA. Bottom: Karla Carrillo from Mexico.

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Karla told me that she watched An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s documentary, as a teenager but didn’t then see climate change as such an urgent problem. As an adult, working with students she then realized that climate change really is a terrible truth and that doing nothing was no longer an option for her.

In 2019, she attended life-changing [Climate Reality Leadership] training in Atlanta where she discovered a great community of people united towards just energy transitions around the world, addressing injustices to mitigate climate change. Climate Reality leaders are communicating and organizing to push their countries’ authorities to act. Today, she is working with colleagues in a network of education professionals who have begun to educate themselves on climate change issues, because they believe that education is the main tool that changes the people who currently change and who will change the world.

KEHKASHAN BASU - CANADA Kehkashan is on a mission to change our world by empowering young people as protectors of our planet. She takes this mission very seriously. Not only is she a Climate Reality Mentor, she’s also the founder and president of Green Hope Foundation. She established the foundation when she was just 12 years old to provide children and youth with sustainability education so they could become the guardians of their own environments. Kehkashan tells me that the foundation has helped over 130,000 children in 25 countries to focus on biodiversity conservation, climate justice, and social inclusion.

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She is also the youngest ever Global Coordinator of the United Nations Environment Program for their Major Group of Children and Youth and has spoken at over 200 United Nations and global fora.

Kehkashan’s work has not gone unnoticed: she was recently featured as one of the Top 100 SDG Leaders in the world and was listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30. Among other awards and accolades, she is a United Nations Human Rights Champion and was awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize. Did we mention that she’s only 20?

BRINGING ACTIVISM HOME I know I said you don’t need to be a Climate Reality Leader to fight for our planet but why wouldn’t you sign up to learn more about the reality that we are, as a global community, facing together? Why wouldn’t you take the opportunity to learn from the best and empower yourself? Just imagine what you could do for your own community and your local ecosystem with a little support and direction.

We are absolutely going to need governmental interventions and global treaties if we are to find sustainable, long-term climate solutions, but our governments need to see that their citizens care. Our communities also need to see that every small action counts, and more importantly, our ecosystems need us to take action, today and every day, for the rest of our lives. u Bottom: Kehkashan Basu from CANADA. Photo courtesy of Kehkashan Basu.

Do you know or are you a young person who wants to make a difference in your city?

Are you interested in being part of the #FridaysForFuture movement, organizing rallies, and pushing for global climate action?

Join your local climate action group and have a say in what happens to your future.

To get connected with your local climate action group: > message us on instagram at @ourearthourfuturevic > or email us at ourearthourfuturevictoria@gmail.com We’ll do our best to get you in touch with your local climate activist organization.

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Illustration by Emily Thiessen

PHOTOS & STORY BY SERGIO IZQUIERDO

ANTARCTIC

Expedition MOSS, KRILL, PENGUINS, AND CLIMATE CHANGE

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S

ince I began my photography career, one of my bucket list destinations was Antarctica because I wanted to visit the most remote and inhospitable place on Earth. I recently had the opportunity to document a scientific expedition to Antarctica led by INACH (the Chilean Antarctic National Institute) with the support of the Chilean Navy. On this expedition I joined scientists as they conducted various studies, most of them directly or indirectly related to climate change, and what I learned only served to highlight the necessity I see for all of us to take action, now.

Antarctica does not belong to any country, and mining operations there are prohibited. According to the Antarctic Treaty initially signed in 1959, Antarctica shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.

The treaty also establishes freedom of scientific research on that continent and cooperation towards that end. There are 48 nations that have already signed this treaty.

Antarctica is the largest open-air laboratory in the world. It has become a laboratory to investigate climate change due to the consequences of global warming on various areas of the continent and due to its function as a regulator of the planet's climate. According to Ricardo Jaña, an expert in glaciology and climate change at INACH, “In the last century, the planet has warmed about 0.74°C. In the Antarctic Peninsula, in just 60 years it has increased by almost 3°C.” But why is Antarctica so important? This white continent has two unique world reserves: the largest freshwater reserve (more than 70 percent of the world’s fresh water is frozen here) and the largest reserve of krill. All animals living in Antarctica depend on krill. Some species eat krill while others eat species that feed on krill. According to many scientists, this is the engine of the southern ocean species’ distribution all the way up the trophic chain. If the krill disappear, we would lose, for example, whales that feed their young during the austral summer, causing a domino effect with so many other species.

In Antarctica, there are about 26.5 million cubic meters of “white” ice. If Antarctica were not white, the energy that comes from the sun would be absorbed by the Earth. Here is where the albedo effect occurs, due to the important white colour of the ice. Most of the energy, and particularly heat, reflects, making the temperature lower, conserving the qualities of its climate. In addition, the melting of these waters over time will raise the sea level, affecting many marine-coastal communities around the world.

This expedition left from Punta Arenas Airport in southern Chile. We landed at the Chilean base of Escudero (on King George Island) on the Antarctic Peninsula. We arrived with several scientists, all full of joy at stepping onto the coldest continent in the world. After the euphoria of our arrival, we took refuge in the Chilean base for a cup of coffee. I didn’t want to waste my time, though, I was in Antarctica! I wanted to take as much time as possible photographing what was happening out there. Before entering the base I was approached by Dr. Angélica Casanova (a Chilean scientist) who told me that near the base she had part of a study on Antarctic moss.

According to Casanova, approximately 100 species of mosses are found in Antarctica, particularly on islands of the Antarctic Peninsula where they provide a certain greenish colour to the plains near the sea. They are generally seen in the form of cushions, grass, or in carpets. Mosses share territory with lichens (the most adapted to the rigours of the climate), fungi, algae, grass (Deschampsia antarctica), and a flowering plant (Colobanthus quitensis).

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Casanova, her assistant Hanna Prather, and I went to see her experiment (in this case with the Polytrichastrum alpinumendo moss species). She has been studying Antarctic mosses for many years and has written several papers about them. She told me that these mosses reproduce only asexually in Antarctica, a clear disadvantage for their species as it prevents genetic diversity (each new moss is a genetic replica of their predecessor). This specific study had been running for ten years, and what they wanted to prove was that these mosses could reproduce sexually, through spores, generating a sporophyte, at 1.5 / 2°C warmer than the outside temperature. To achieve this they built small greenhouses, monitoring the internal and external temperature.

I had the great fortune to arrive at the exact moment when the scientists found the first sporophyte inside a greenhouse. Capturing their joy was extremely special as we aren’t generally privy to the human emotion behind the science. above left: Expedition Antarctica led by INACH (the Chilean Antarctic National Institute) with the support of the Chilean Navy. above right: Dr. Angélica Casanova studying Antarctic mosses. Bottom right: Antarctica shrinking ice cover.

Photography: Sergio Izquierdo.

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In one of Casanova’s papers written after the expedition, she concludes that “the lack of sexual reproduction in these Antarctic mosses is not adaptive but is constrained by current environmental conditions and that ameliorating conditions, such as increased temperature, may affect sexual reproduction in many Antarctic mosses, altering moss population genetics and dispersal patterns.” This leads me to think that following global warming the melting of the ice in Antarctica is going to expose more land; therefore it will allow more moss to grow, the moss will be more resistant because it will begin to reproduce sexually and interchange genetics, improving their adaptability, which will lead to a greener Antarctica that will change over time.

Normally when we think about Antarctica, we think of penguins, leopard seals, and icebergs (taking into account that more than 99 percent of the continent is covered with an ice layer of 1.6 km thick). But this study I documented, focusing on something you wouldn't normally think about (moss in Antarctica), made me think even more about human impact. It made me analyze how the modern lifestyle, from what we consume and what we use to how we transport ourselves, has a direct impact on how moss will populate and conquer Antarctica.

Eight hours later, we went with zodiacs to the Achilles vessel, a large Chilean Navy vessel with a helipad in the back, two helicopters, and several zodiacs to transport scientists, food, and equipment to different spots on each destination. This would be our floating base for the rest of the expedition.

On my first mission in a Zodiac, I joined scientists studying different penguin species. Upon reaching the first penguin colony, while still on the boat, the scientists spotted one leucistic penguin, totally white among thousands of penguins. It was estimated that the colony had more than 40,000 gentoo penguins. As soon as we hit land, the scientists jumped out of the boat and ran to catch the penguin before it could escape into the water. They caught him and took blood and feces samples. When the leucistic gentoo penguin was released, he returned, grumbling, to his nest. Capturing this penguin’s angry expression on camera was my favourite moment of the expedition.

The difference between an albino and a leucistic animal is that an albino animal has an absence of melanin (melanin is what gives skin, feathers, hair, and eyes their colour), while a leucistic animal has a partial loss of pigmentation, but the pigment cells in the eyes are not affected by the condition.

These scientists were conducting two studies, one with the aim of collecting samples of gentoo and chinstrap penguins infected with an avian virus (a type of virus only present in Antarctica), and the other study was to conduct a genetic study comparing penguins from different colonies. In this second study, Dr. Juliana de Abreu, a Brazilian scientist, was a co-author of the paper entitled: Cryptic speciation in gentoo penguins is driven by geographic isolation and regional marine conditions: Unforeseen vulnerabilities to global change.

This paper, published in 2020, offers interesting facts about the gentoo penguin. This species is considered to be a near-threatened species (IUCN, 2013) due to significant declines in numbers. There were only two gentoo subspecies detected in the Antarctic and subAntarctic regions in the past, but quoting their results they made an awesome finding: “Analyses of our genomic data supports the

top: inach scientist capturing penguins for blood and feces samples. Bottom right and left: rare leucistic gentoo penguin. Photography: sergio izquierdo.

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above: Gentoo penguin in antarctica. "Climate change will force penguin colonies to migrate or they will simply disappear over time." Photography: Sergio Izquierdo.

existence of four major lineages of gentoo penguin: (i) spanning the sub-Antarctic archipelagos north of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF); (ii) Kerguelen Island; (iii) South America; and (iv) across maritime Antarctic and the Scotia Arc archipelagos.”

This study also concludes that “recognition of regional genetic lineages as discrete evolutionary entities that occupy distinct ecological niches and also differ morphologically should be considered a priority for conservation. Gentoo penguins provide a good example of how conservation policy can be directly impacted by new insights obtained through the integration of larger genomic datasets with novel approaches to ecological modelling. This is particularly pertinent to polar environments that are among the most rapidly changing environments on earth.”

During the expedition, I had the opportunity to join these scientists several times on different parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. At each stop, they had from three to six hours (including transportation by zodiac or helicopter) to take as many samples as possible. There were only two people who had permission to catch penguins (you have to obtain special permissions for every scientific activity). From each penguin, they took stool and blood samples. After that, they marked the penguin with a blue marker on the chest to avoid catching the same penguin again. Then the same process was repeated again and again until they had hundreds of samples from each point, and thousands of samples from around the Peninsula.

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Dr. Abreu explained to me that many more studies are being carried out from the samples obtained on the expedition. One of the main studies will determine how the penguin colonies migrated in the past by comparing their genetic differences, crossing that data with the climatic changes recorded in the history of the ice while taking into account that climate change is affecting seawater temperature and the location of their food in the ocean. Climate change will force the colonies to migrate or they will simply disappear over time. With this information, scientists would be able to predict this future migration behaviour due to the current climate change effects and predict the future of penguin species.

Among other discouraging data related to climate change, according to researcher Bill Fraser, who has followed the decline of Adélie penguins in Antarctica, the number of breeding pairs has dropped from 32,000 to 11,000 in just 30 years.

Science is essential to be able to alert the world to fight for the conservation of biodiversity, the conservation of the planet, and therefore the conservation of our species—because we are all connected. The work of these scientists is invaluable since, through the data of their studies, the existence of climate change and its consequences (consequences that go beyond that which we can imagine) are demonstrated. We must use this data that the scientists are working so hard to collect and understand to make serious changes to save our planet.

During the last task I attended with the Latin American penguin researchers, we went to a remote place that we could only access by air. During the flight, I saw a shocking scene. We saw a brown colour, like chocolate milk, in the seawater along the entire coast. It was soil eroding into the ocean. As the glaciers melt and retreat due to human-caused climate change, land that has been under ice for thousands of years is exposed. And once exposed, the soil erodes and leaks lots of sediment into the ocean, affecting biodiversity. As more soil is exposed, as there is more moss and grass in Antarctica, there is more green and less white, therefore Antarctica is less able to perform its critical planetary temperature regulation.

During this expedition, there were other studies I documented, such as studies of the human impact on Antarctica through the increased growth and spread of the e-coli bacteria due to human waste at the scientific bases, and studies related to the adaptation of extreme temperatures by some bacteria species in places such as Deception Island, a volcanic island with soil temperatures ranging from 100°C (volcano fumaroles) to freezing temperatures below -50°C. But the studies that really shocked me were the ones that had a strong link with climate change.

Finishing the expedition, we made the last stop back at King George Island (where last year the highest temperature in Antarctica of 18.3°C was recorded) to leave the helicopters, and then we headed back to Chile by boat, navigating through the Drake Passage.

Everything we see happening in Antarctica should make us analyze and make us leave the “bubble” we live in. It has to make us understand that climate change is not only real, but urgent. The climate change consequences in world ecosystems are catastrophic.

What we do in our daily lives has a direct impact on the whole world including Antarctica. And by seriously affecting Antarctica, we are re-affecting the whole world.

The science is there telling us how it is. The bad news is that we are causing the destruction, but the good news is that we can also fix this. So what are you doing to fight against climate change? u

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teaching science

BY INGRITH LEÓN

CLIMATE & rethinking energy T

he natural world functions with an incredibly delicate balance. The Earth’s cycles play a crucial role in maintaining that stability. They’re the beating heart of our planet. When it comes to climate, the atmosphere and the gases in it are what set the air’s temperature like a thermostat, keeping the balance in the air and also determining how warm it is going to be on a geological timescale. On a daily timescale, the existence of complex life forms would not be possible without this system. But the world is getting warmer.

We are at a critical key point in the history of our planet, as all aspects related to human life on earth are growing faster, and more and more energy is being used, creating environments of intense consumption and disrupting the natural balance. Responding to this issue is one of the biggest challenges we humans will have to face this century.

In order to understand climate change and why temperatures on our planet are rising, we should address the greenhouse effect and how our human activities are contributing to accelerating gas emissions that ultimately lead to a wide range of impacts across every region of the world.

The average temperature of our planet is about 15°C. It has been much higher and lower in the past, and this is part of a natural fluctuation in the climate in which the Earth's atmosphere plays an important role. When the sun's energy enters the atmosphere, some of the energy hits the earth’s surface, and some radiates back to space; this is when solar heat is absorbed by greenhouse gases. This process heats both the lower atmosphere and the surface of our planet, retaining enough solar heat so the Earth is habitable. Without these natural drivers that create a

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heat-reflecting layer known as the greenhouse effect, the Earth would be colder and hostile to life.

Among the greenhouse gases that can be found in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, water vapour, and methane are the ones that have higher heating effects. Water vapour causes the greatest impact on warming, but it remains in the atmosphere for only a few days as it continues its path in the water cycle, forming clouds, raining back to the surface of the Earth, and evaporating again. Carbon dioxide, however, persists in the atmosphere for much longer, and even when it lasts longer, it is finally absorbed by living organisms on the planet within the natural timing of this incredible system as part of the biological carbon cycle.

Other greenhouse gases that can be found in the atmosphere are nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride, all helping keep a warming balance.

However, through thousands of scientific studies in which increases in temperature at the Earth’s surface have been documented, it is clear that humans are adding to this natural greenhouse effect by the release of an abundant and abnormal amount of gases causing temperatures to rise faster than at any other time in history. This excess of greenhouse gases that over-insulates the planet causing global warming is known as climate change. The warming effect that used to protect us has become a threat.

Since the industrial revolution, human activities have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, creating CO₂ concentrations 30 percent higher than at any time in the previous 800,000 years. The earth

CHANGE is about one degree Celsius warmer than before widespread industrialization, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and this is caused by the 50 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases that are emitted each year.

If this current heating trend continues, temperatures could rise 3-5°C by the end of this century. Temperature rises of 2°C had long been seen as dangerous for life on Earth, but now scientists and policymakers have stated that it is safer to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C, hoping to avoid exceeding them. (Graph 1 on page 28) The primary source of CO₂in the atmosphere is the way we use and generate energy. Most human-made emissions of this gas come from burning fossil fuels: oil, coal, and gas.

Over hundreds of millions of years, the remains of plants and animals, all full of carbon, have been buried under the surface of the Earth. Some fossils eventually turn into fossil fuels, and when we burn them to obtain energy, the carbon that has been stored up for over an incredibly long period of time gets released very quickly.

Fossil fuels are biomass formed with organic matter like ancient plants and animals gradually buried and compressed by layers of rock in the Earth's crust over years. What makes them fuels is the fact that these buried organisms have stored sunlight energy through photosynthesis during their lifetime. In other words, fossil fuels get their energy from the sun. Emissions also occur when carbonabsorbing forests are cut down and left to rot or are burned.

It would take hundreds of years to return to pre-industrial levels

of CO₂ in the atmosphere because while carbon dioxide is not the most powerful greenhouse gas, it is the largest contributor to climate change; its release rate into our atmosphere means it can’t be absorbed naturally.

Methane and nitrous oxide from livestock and other agricultural practices and from the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills are also released through human activities, but they are less abundant than carbon dioxide.

Over the last 50 years, industry and agriculture, industrial production, mass consumption, and modern comforts have led to a steady rise in the use and combustion of fossil fuels. The effects of rising temperatures are spreading fast worldwide and are difficult to control.

Stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations, especially carbon dioxide, at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and avoid irreversible consequences, is one of the greatest challenges humanity faces.

Global greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to different sectors of the economy: energy (electricity, heat, and transport), which accounts for almost three-quarters of emissions at 73.2 percent; agriculture, forestry, and land use at 18.4 percent; direct industrial processes at 5.2 percent; and waste at 3.2 percent. (Graph 2 on page 28) We can’t be sure about how great the impact of a changing climate will be, but evidence can already be seen across ecosystems and in many sectors important to society, such as health, agriculture, water supply, energy, and transportation. This crisis threatening our

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Graph 1

Graph 2

Graph 1: courtesy of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Graph 2: Climate watch the world resources institute (2020) CC-by hannah Ritchie.

existence is expected to become more evident and disruptive in the coming decades.

As humans, we have failed to set economic and political interest in regard to stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions. We have tried to understand this global issue, we have raised awareness, and in some nations we are on track to meet climate goals. But unfortunately, even when we intend to limit carbon emissions, they continue increasing globally, meaning that we have to act much faster than first anticipated. The last five years have been the hottest on record, so in order to make effective and unprecedented changes, policies need to be modified and changes to practices in all systems need to be adopted and applied effectively.

The United Nations is leading a political plan to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions, but even if we cut emissions dramatically, the effects will continue, science claims. With temperatures rising by more than 2.0°C in 70 years, all of what the countries in the UN have done and what they have planned to do just won’t be enough. More ambitious targets and more ambitious actions are necessary. In order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, global gas emissions need to be cut in half by 2030, and they will need to reach zero by 2050.

The already evident and serious implications for human civilization and the natural world arising from climate change include the retreating and loss of glacial ice sheets and a dramatic decline in sea ice, which cause rising sea levels. Satellites have shown how East and West Antarctica and Greenland in the northern hemisphere have

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experienced record melting in recent years. As a result, coastal regions are slowly being submerged.

When sea levels rise, more flooding is to be expected during storms, and extreme weather events could increase in frequency and get more intense if more water evaporates as the world gets warmer, creating more moisture in the air. Land areas are also experiencing more droughts and heat waves during hot summers. Deserts are increasing and expanding, and large fires are occurring more often and with more intensity.

Changes can also be seen in plants and animals, including earlier flowering and fruiting and animals changing territories. Extinctions are predicted as habitats change faster than species can adapt.

An example of this is the disruption of marine ecosystems. As CO₂ concentrations found in the air are also absorbed by the oceans, water becomes more acidic, affecting the skeleton structure of corals and making them more susceptible to damage and growth. Species living in corals are also affected.

As for populations, poorer and least equipped countries that are unable to deal with rapid change will suffer the most. With more droughts occurring, freshwater shortages are also expected, dramatically altering our food production and sanitation, leading to malnutrition and disease.

We would require five planet Earths just to sustain life on Earth as we know it. Given that we only have one planet, and that it is finite, the need to limit the amount of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases released by human activity is critical. This challenge cannot be addressed with expectations but with actions, and that is why the climate debate has become so urgent.

We should start by rethinking our growing need for energy, and this requires a society that is more energy efficient, that uses cleaner sources of power (carbon-neutral sources), and that is more digital and more interconnected. Unless we opt for technologies that generate energy from renewable sources coming from projects where not only reduction of green gas emissions come to matter, but also the contribution to a local development, we cannot say progress is being made.

Transforming agricultural practices and moving to a lower meat and more plant-based diet also represent a huge challenge, but the effects on global warming could be reduced greatly. Animal agriculture makes a disproportionate input to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases causing a very high carbon footprint.

Other simple but not less important actions we can take are changing the way we transport goods, flying less, driving less, consuming local goods and organic foods that are in season, avoiding the use and consumption of plastic packaging, reusing and recycling as much as possible and being selective about what we buy and from whom we buy it.

All of these efforts count, but they will have a real and significant impact only when everybody from extractors of fossil fuels, manufacturers of products coming from fossil fuels, the governments that regulate those products, and the consumers that buy them all take responsibility. The sooner opportunities, markets, and laws that advocate for greener technologies and cleaner products are enabled and responsible practices are carried out, the better our living opportunities and those of the future generations of all organisms on Earth will be. This is a wakeup call for all of us. With a globally coordinated response, we can still change the course of climate change. What happens next is up to us. u

image credit: Jessica Bolduc

Indigenous Peoples’ cultures, rights, and lifeways are critical for developing pathways towards climate stability and healthy lands, waters, and air. By putting Indigenous voices at the centre of climate conversations, we are changing the game for climate solutions, Indigenous-settler relationships, and the future of all of us on Earth.

Join in with the only Indigenous-led climate justice organization in so-called Canada!

Learn more at IndigenousClimateAction.com/take -action and savingearthmagazine.com | 29 follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

KELP FORESTS

BY JAN LEE

The Ecosystem Engineers that Fight Climate Change

Photo Credit: shane stager

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F

or thousands of years, kelp forests flourished in the rough, cold waters of the North Atlantic off the British coast. For nearby coastal communities, those dense forests of brown algae have always been of vital importance. Fishing fleets along the south coast of England knew that abundant kelp indicated that cod, shrimp, and other marine life were not far away. Small towns along the lochs and bays of Scotland relied on brown algae for fertilizer for their crops and soda for glass production. savingearthmagazine.com | 31

More recently though, populations up and down the British coastlines have turned to kelp for commerce. The brown fronds have become sought-after commodities as food and medicinal supplements that have a worldwide appeal.

But what hasn’t been as well recognized until recently, is that forests of brown algae also fill a wide variety of essential roles in nature. Like mangroves on land and seagrass below the surface, kelp sequesters carbon from the air, helping to combat climate change.

Kelp’s leafy fronds, which grow attached to gas-filled bulbs, float and bob on the surface of the ocean. As the leaves float, they capture, or draw down, carbon from the air, which is then stored in the leaves and thin, flexible stipe, or trunk, beneath the surface of the water. As the kelp sheds old fronds, the bulb and leaves float out to sea. Once the bulb degrades, the leafy detritus sinks to the bottom of the ocean, preventing the carbon from reaching the atmosphere again. And their role in carbon sequestration is quite significant: scientists estimate that an acre of kelp forest can draw down 20 times more carbon than a land-based forest of trees can.

Today, however, much of Britain’s coastal kelp forests are in decline. Years of commercial harvesting, along with the impacts of climate change, have put this essential carbon-fighter at risk.

Historical data shows that kelp forests once populated large areas off England’s south coast. Since 2010, however, more than 90 percent of those beds have disappeared.

KELP: THE OCEAN’S ECOSYSTEM ENGINEER Of course, kelp doesn’t just sequester carbon. Like many marine species, it fulfills several vital roles that together help to contribute to a healthy ocean and a healthy global environment. Kelp is what scientists call an “ecosystem engineer.”

“An ecosystem engineer is a species that has a huge positive impact on an ecosystem,” explained Dr. Ian Hendy. Hendy serves as the head of science for the Sussex, UK-based organization, Help Our Kelp, which is working to reinstate the kelp beds along the coastline of Sussex on the southeastern flank of England, facing the turbulent English Channel. Hendy also teaches at the University of Portsmouth.

“Not only does [kelp] mitigate things like climate change by drawing down carbon, but it also creates biodiversity through its actual presence within an ecosystem,” he said. Unlike terrestrial trees, which germinate in soft soil, kelp attach themselves to the rocky substrata of the ocean bed and grow vertically to the ocean surface, often hundreds of feet above. Kelp aren’t plants but protists, which don’t have roots. Instead, they attach themselves to rocks and other substrata with holdfasts and take in their nutrients from the water around them. Because of their remarkable height, their fronds and stipe serve as a shelter for fish and other marine species. “The kelp stipes … and the fronds [contribute to] habitat complexity and cover for a whole variety of organisms, ranging from fish to invertebrates,” Hendy said. He also pointed out that commercially important species like lobster and cod—species that are vital to the fishing industry in the UK—also rely upon the kelp for survival, as do other vulnerable, juvenile species.

The fact that kelp prefer to live in cold, often stormy climates like the English Channel and off the West Coast of Canada, is also an asset to nearby communities onshore. Close-knit kelp forests are instrumental in slowing storm surges. Recent studies indicate that intact healthy forests can reduce storm waves by as much as 70 percent.

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“So, with future predicted climate change models with increasing storms, and of course with governments investing huge [amounts of money] into storm defences, if you have intact kelp forests, in actual fact you can mitigate that issue of storm waves,” said Hendy.

That’s good news for many of the world’s coastal communities that are facing stronger storm surges and rising sea levels due to climate change. Last year, Sussex communities were warned to get ready for another decade of worsening floods.

But as one historic 1980s storm proved, it isn’t Mother Nature that is the greatest threat to kelp survival on the Sussex coast.

REBUILDING SUSSEX’S KELP FORESTS Ask anyone along England’s blustery south coast about storms and climate change projections for Sussex, and you’ll hear about the Great Storm of 1987. In the eyes of many locals, the damage that was sustained after the ‘87 storm offers an excellent example of why they need to vigorously protect not only the continuity and health of their kelp forests but fishing trawlers’ direct access to their ecosystem.

The hurricane barreled ashore in mid-October, ripping out patches of the coastline’s densely packed kelp forests and leaving sizable holes in the ecosystem that large fishing boats could now motor into. That new unfettered access allowed them to use new "mobile fishing" technology to scoop up the now unprotected fish.

Once inside the forest, it also gave the large vessels better ability to use propulsion to motor through other parts of the kelp forest.

Whereas fishing crews had once been required to manually row out to their vessels because of the density of the kelp forest, they could now access fishing areas where kelp had been removed. The change had a decimating effect on the ecosystem.

At the time, Hendy said, there were few to no bylaws governing how vessels should fish. With the advent of new technology that allowed mobile fishing boats to “mow down” the kelp and scoop out fish, the Sussex coastal kelp beds all but disappeared and so did the area’s robust biodiversity of marine life. Adjacent port dredging also removed the substrata that would have allowed the kelp to grow back.

In 2010, the British Parliament passed the Inshore Fisheries Conservation Order, and with it a new series of bylaws were put in place to manage Sussex’s diverse marine resources. New marine protection zones were created, as well as limitations on where and how commercial fisheries could harvest. But restoration of Sussex’s coastal kelp beds is far from complete.

“We do have small pockets of kelp remaining in Sussex, but these areas are not ecologically effective due to their limited area and fragmented distributions,” Hendy said. The biggest challenges are reestablishing the rocky terrain that was disturbed during the dredging and keeping trawlers out of the area. “Kelp will not settle on soft-sediment environments,” he said. The other impediment is the murky water that now exists from the disturbance, which is uninhabitable for a species that relies on photosynthesis.

TOP right: Kelp are often more than a hundred feet tall and grow at a rate of 1 to 2 feet a day. photography: Andy Jackson. Bottom right: Kelp rely on the sun’s rays and clear water to survive. Photography: bigwave.

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CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC LENDS A HAND Ironically, it’s been the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic that have offered the greatest hope for Sussex’s kelp beds. The economic shutdown of 2020 dramatically reduced the amount of maritime travel along the coast, particularly by large trawlers. Across the globe, scientists found that it even helped improve water turbidity, underwater sound disturbance, and pollution.

But the best news came on January 3, 2021, when local divers reported finding new pockets of kelp along the western end of the county’s coastline. Eric Smith, who has been diving in the Channel most of his 73 years, said the divers even found healthy lobster in the area. “[It’s] a good sign that the ecosystem in our area is on the mend. We have seen very few [lobsters] in the last five years but have found them washed up on the beaches smashed by the inshore trawling,” Smith said.

The discovery has fueled new support for a bylaw that would ban trawlers from the area and allow the Help Our Kelp consortium to begin restoring the boulders and other environmental features that are essential to kelp regeneration. It’s a move that is taking shape across the UK, where only 25 percent of the coastline still has kelp beds. In the place of mobile fishing, Hendy said, communities are going back to static fishing, which doesn’t put the kelp in jeopardy and respects ecosystem biodiversity. Hendy is a consultant for one such fishery in Lyme Bay, several hours west of Sussex.

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right: A healthy kelp frond on the beach is a promise of regrowth in an area in which the ecosystem has been damaged by trawling and dredging. Divers credit the pandemic for keeping trawlers at home this year. photography: steve allnut.

Left top: Kelp forests play a critical role in species preservation by providing a home for multiple types of fish and other marine life. photography: Eric smith.

Left bottom: Dr. Ian Hendy is a coastal marine ecologist who studies kelp forest ecosystems. Courtesy of Dr. Ian Hendy.

“You ask how I would feel when the law is passed,” Smith offered.

“I feel the sea will recover from the rape that has taken place over the last forty years and my grandson might be able to see the sea in all its glory as I did in my early years.”

Successfully restoring the kelp to the Sussex coastline and other areas of the world where it has disappeared, said Hendy, is a “winwin-win.” It’s a “windfall to the fisheries and the biodiversity, a win for the environment itself because it would mitigate climate change, improve the local coast and ecosystems, and improve what we call ecosystem resilience” and a win for local communities, where environmentally sound fishing and tourism practices can help small businesses thrive. But it’s a goal, Hendy said, that starts with ensuring local ecosystems, like that of the kelp, are protected, monitored, and allowed to flourish. u

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BY ERIN BREMNER-MITCHELL, CASCADIA SEAWEED

The Unexpected Beacon of Hope

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umans have an instinctual connection to ocean coastlines where sustenance is plentiful. There is reason to believe that some 50,000 years ago a cognitive leap took place in Homo sapiens who consumed marine plants and tidal animals containing essential vitamins linked to brain development. Stories of mythical creatures passed down from Indigenous cultures further emphasize the relationship humans have had with the sea, such as the maiden with long kelp locks who continues to ensure her people have access to the ocean's bounty. Perhaps this instinctual connection between land-bearing inhabitants and the sea dates even further back to the origins of life, where ocean-born algae filled the Earth’s atmosphere with oxygen. It’s this fascinating and diverse organism, broadly categorized as algae, that today acts as a beacon of hope. It’s a mystery as to why more of us didn’t see the opportunity before, but all across the globe we are innovating ways to unlock the potential of seaweed to create a sustainable future for the human race.

Many coastal and Indigenous communities have a desire to make a living from the ocean even as traditional forms of aquaculture evolve, and seaweed—in particular brown seaweeds or macroalgae often referred to as kelp—provide that opportunity.

“When the tide goes out, the table is set” is an English translation of an Indigenous saying that refers to the rich coastal bounty the sea serves. Seaweeds were harvested and added (and are still today) to soups for flavour, cooked with fish eggs, dried, toasted, or mixed with rice. Other seaweeds were used to preserve foods for travel. Women were the primary harvesters when the men were out fishing, and the naturally occurring kelp forests played an important role in the traditional practice of reef net fishing, indicating where the rocky reefs were beneath the surface, which allowed the fishermen to use their nets to raise the salmon to the surface. Kelp beds, either naturally occurring or orchestrated, are also common spawning grounds for Pacific herring, another food source for humans and critical diet for salmon.

Seaweed is a marine plant that has supported life for coastal culture in many ways, not only as a food source but for tools and even children’s toys. Children used to craft the hollow kelp bulbs and stipes into squirt guns and targets, blowguns and ammunition (talk about sustainable toys with no negative impact). But these hollow instruments were also used to generate sound effects during performances at ceremonies and potlatches, creating the illusion of voices hidden under the stage.

These traditional uses highlight the versatility of seaweeds, along with the philosophy of First Nations people who take only what they need, respecting nature’s bounty so she will continue to provide.

Farming seaweed is the answer to generating supply without upsetting the natural balance, while creating economic opportunities for coastal people who want to live and work at home, making these remote areas resilient once again.

Asian cultures have also relied on seaweed as a food source and economic engine for millennia, and in some areas have little coastline unencumbered by large seaweed farms, while in other areas it remains a cottage industry. From ingredients in ice cream, toothpaste, and cosmetics, to pharmaceuticals, biopackaging, and biofuels, to whole

top: Kelp, Pterygophora californica. photography: Colin Bates. Bottom left: Kennedy Nikel and Dr. Jennifer Clark. courtesy of cascadia seaweed. Bottom right: Farm Deploymen, Barkley Sound, BC. Courtesy of cascadia seaweed.

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foods and as an additive in livestock feed and even fertilizer, seaweeds have a long list of identified useful applications. A crop that is cultivated in the ocean—which covers 70 percent of our planet, but only generates two percent of our food—without relying on arable land, fertilizers, or pesticides, is truly regenerative and sustainable.

Considering seaweed cultivation as a new form of aquaculture in Western culture creates an opportunity to evolve industries that employ people in farming, processing, distribution, product development, and research. It’s an opportunity to develop a connected, global industry that has a positive impact on the environment upon which we all rely.

Improving livelihoods with new jobs and environmental pluses, such as habitat creation, carbon sequestration, and other climatepositive uses seaweed puts on the table, makes this recipe for change so impactful.

There are 16 farms across the globe participating in the Seaweed Project led by Oceans 2050, a global organization seeking to restore ocean abundance within the next 30 years. They are leading an effort to quantify exactly how much carbon is sequestered during the kelp growth cycle. Preliminary research indicates that as kelp grows, carbon-storing layers sluff off and travel to the deep ocean, but the amount has yet to be measured. This global group is building on the research of Dr. Carlos M. Duarte (PhD McGill University, 1987) and will ultimately create incentives for seaweed aquaculture to help address the climate crisis while monetizing their carbon impact.

And with the global demand for seaweed on the rise by 14 percent per annum, it’s time. The work of the United Nations Global Compact to align policies, standards, and regulations for the industry in combination with Oceans 2050 and reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on trade and utilization of seaweeds, all act as catalysts for expansion.

The fact that this crop can be grown all over the world reduces our reliance on long-haul transportation; however, investment will be needed in processing facilities for some food and most industrial uses.

In terms of a food, seaweeds have a dense composition of essential nutrients (calcium, magnesium, iron, to name a few) and vitamins (B12, A, and K). Kelps in particular are a good source of iodine, which promotes a healthy thyroid in adults and prevents cognitive delays in children. Some species are even particularly high in protein and therefore make a very suitable health alternative to traditional meats—another factor in reducing individual carbon footprints. On that note—for those who need to justify their continued consumption of red meat—it has also been discovered that by adding a small fraction (less than two percent) of seaweed to livestock feed, methane emissions can be reduced in the range of 90 percent.

Extracts from seaweeds (carrageenan, agar, and alginates) make up almost 40 percent of the world's hydrocolloid market according to the FAO report published in 2018, with the remainder coming mostly from animals—another shift opportunity. These extracts are typically used as thickeners or gelling agents in food products, and further research is being conducted on the usefulness of alginates in creating alternatives to plastics. This is yet another advantage of seaweed, this time reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and handing us real hope of a sustainable future where humans can thrive on a healthy planet.

With the United Nations bringing world leaders together to establish and adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to achieve peace and prosperity across the planet before 2030, it’s past

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time to recognize how interwoven life on Earth really is. The United Nations Global Compact recently released a Seaweed Manifesto that illustrates how a globally thriving seaweed industry has an unmatched potential to make a positive impact—from ending hunger (SDG1), to improving human health and well-being (SDG3), to providing decent work (SDG8) and reducing inequalities (SDG10), while encouraging responsible consumption and production (SDG12). Seaweeds significantly improve local ecosystems by mitigating adverse climate change effects and provide essential habitat, therefore, positively contributing to life below water (SDG14), and tying it all together is the relatively unexplored potential of long-term carbon sequestration of seaweeds, which contribute to climate action (SDG13).

I

n the seaside town of Sidney, British Columbia, there is a young company that recognizes the potential that seaweed cultivation has to arouse this industrial change within a climate revolution.

The company’s foundational belief is that profit can only be achieved and sustained if the betterment of people and the planet are put at the forefront of their operations and the products they deliver. With urgency, Cascadia Seaweed Corp., a member of the global Seaweed Project, has established itself as a global player dedicated to delivering nutritious and delicious seaweed-based food products, while conducting research on agri-feeds and plastic alternatives along with demonstrating the worthiness of investment by governments to grow the sector—timely as we look to recover from a pandemic that highlighted the need for localized supply chains.

Cascadia Seaweed’s ability to rapidly scale up is what makes them trailblazers, but it’s their dedication to generating wealth for coastal communities and embracing the wisdom of their First Nations partners—who hold the knowledge of coastal ecosystems—that makes them distinct.

The founders of Cascadia Seaweed first built a relationship with members of Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood, an Indigenous-led, verticallyintegrated seafood company who also provide training and educational opportunities to other Indigenous communities looking to enter or expand their aquaculture activities. The Nuu-chah-nulth were already establishing kelp farms in Barkley Sound, but the partnership that allows Cascadia Seaweed to farm within their territory has proved mutually beneficial.

Although Cascadia Seaweed strives to scale up through First Nations partnerships, the act of seaweed cultivation is not unique nor only possible along the coast of British Columbia. There are seaweed farmers off the coast of Massachusetts, Norway, France, Chile, Madagascar, and all over Asia generating jobs, producing food, and improving ocean ecosystems, many who share a collaborative “rising tide raises all boats” mentality.

The thought of slowing climate change is often overwhelming, so much so that it leads to fear and inaction. The growing sector of seaweed cultivation is motivation for change in which we can all participate.

Whether it be large actions like starting a seaweed farm, developing innovative methods of cultivation, or small habits of inviting these umami flavour enhancers into your kitchen, it all adds up to being part of the solution of making our world a better place for everyone.

So, consider this a challenge from the seaweed industry to readers of Saving Earth Magazine: what will you do to stimulate this changemaking industry which, in return, provides prosperity, carbon sequestration, healthy food, and above all else, hope? u

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BY DEAN UNGER

The Architecture of

ENERGY THE TRANSITION FROM FOSSIL FUELS

Photo Credit: zbynek buriva

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F

rom automobiles, solvents, diesel, and motor oil to nylon rope, hand lotion, rubber cement, electric blankets, fishing boots, toothpaste, shaving cream, and contact lenses, the list of products that require fossil fuels for their production is both impressive and terrifying. Fossil fuel production has become pervasive in our global culture—it both sustains us and destroys us. Though it will not be an easy task to mitigate damage and replace existing infrastructure, there are indeed bright spots on the horizon.

Scientists across the globe are coming to a general agreement that we are now in the sixth mass extinction on Earth, known as the Anthropocene age, meaning a period of time during which human activities have impacted the environment enough to constitute a distinct geological change. Humans have wiped out hundreds of species and pushed many more to the brink of extinction. We have done this through wildlife trade, prolific pollution, vast habitat destruction, and careless and uninformed use and disposal of toxic substances worldwide. We've also accomplished this by rampant continued use of fossil fuels and respective chemical by-products. We have, by our industrial and commercial orientation towards money and culture, infused our atmosphere with carbon dioxide with a detrimental effect on every aspect of the planet's surface ecology. Effective solutions must now be implemented.

Those who wish to engage in continued debate over the veracity of climate change in efforts to stymie these global efforts will not be judged kindly by the future.

The opening statement on the Government of Canada Natural Resources website states: “Canada is experiencing a significant economic surge, driven in large part by the natural resources sectors, in particular by the fossil fuel industries in Western Canada. Combined under the banner of fossil energy, Canada’s oil, natural gas, and coal resources make the country one of the world’s most attractive energy centres for continuing investment and development.”

The language in this statement appears to imply that Canada is geared toward fossil fuels as a continued energy resource for the foreseeable future. There is no specific date of publication on when this statement was released; however, it was last modified in 2016. With Canada also poised to take a piece of the emerging carbon capture storage (CCS) industry, do the purveyors of this report see the CCS industry as performing together with the fossil fuel industry, leading toward phasing out fossil fuels? Is it possible this approach may be used to help sustain the existing fossil fuel industry, rather than the emphasis being placed upon a continuance of phasing in distinct, new, clean technologies? This detail is unclear from the report.

This is a temperature check to see where we're at when it comes to transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy sources. Though many would argue that we should indeed be further along, there is reason for cautious optimism. What we do from here on will determine our outcomes.

THE PRESENT SITUATION Where gas and oil are concerned, it's estimated that we will reach “peak oil,” or our highest production level, as soon as 2050. Entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers are witnessing a newly emerging industry in alternative energy solutions and carbon capture technology. For the gas and oil industry, however, the challenge will be to find ways of shifting to new sustainable, renewable energy sources in keeping with the notion of corporate health and shareholder contentment, while navigating the requirements of necessary environmental

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measures and overwhelming public sentiment. For many companies, this is already taking place.

With respect to an emerging Anthropocene age, in an article published in The Guardian in January 2016, UK author Adam Vaughn states that we have “collectively introduced entirely novel changes, geologically speaking, such as the roughly 300m metric tonnes of plastic produced annually. Concrete has become so prevalent in construction that more than half of all the concrete ever used was produced in the past 20 years. Wildlife, meanwhile, is being pushed into an ever-smaller area of the Earth, with just 25 percent of ice-free land considered wild now compared to 50 percent three centuries ago. As a result, rates of extinction of species are far above long-term averages.”

HOW DO FOSSIL FUELS FACTOR IN For most of human history, our ancestors relied upon very basic forms of energy: human muscle, animal muscle, animal fat, and the burning of biomass, such as wood or crops. Energy use was tied closely to the land and earth and was largely dependent upon the seasons. Progress was gradual. Populations were kept in check relative to the supply of food and general quality of life.

It was during the 19th century that an explosion of technology resulted in the Industrial Revolution, made possible by the use of fossil fuels. This fuel source was now readily available and in plentiful supply. It was the low-hanging fruit of all potential energy sources. Since then, fossil energy has been a fundamental driver of the technological, social, economic, and developmental progress that has unfolded over the last century and a half, for better or for worse. The land plants that provide the very oxygen we breathe also provided the organic source for the formation of fossil fuels, which now, due to overuse, play a part in threatening global health.

There is no doubt that we must now transition from fossil fuel usage. The industries themselves are worried about the bottom line and staying relevant with their shareholders and the market itself. The old way of doing things is no longer relevant. It is time to look forward.

Though we've been perilously slow out of the gate, Big Oil and numerous innovative companies now emerging in the alternative energy market are making concerted efforts to research, discover, and make available alternative, renewable, and sustainable energy sources.

If done well, the resulting infrastructure for these new energy sources will provide a new source of jobs and employment for a long time to come and relevance for energy companies.

To ensure continued progress, policy and regulation must come directly from careful scrutiny of facts as they relate to sustainability first, and then people and profits. The purview we currently hold, that corporations should be treated as individuals and enjoy the same benefits and privileges of citizenship that actual people enjoy, must be revised and rewritten according to emerging wisdom. This must be accomplished in order to correct a dysfunctional imbalance in society, in the way that laws and regulations are drafted. Efficiency and sustainability are the only solutions now.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS OVER TIME The annual Energy Futures report released in 2020, comes just a few days after the federal government tabled a bill to enshrine into law its target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But the report projects that even with many more policies to curb emissions than are currently in place, oil and gas would still make up nearly two-thirds of

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energy sources three decades from now. The report states that if we are to achieve net zero (greenhouse gas) emissions by 2050 it will require an accelerated pace of transition away from fossil fuels. Net zero means either no emissions are produced, or any that are produced are absorbed by nature or technology, so no more are added to the atmosphere where they contribute to global warming.

Regarding the increasing historical trend of continued action over time, with the notion of easing the transition from one energy source to another, this is the very luxury many scientists insist we have now squandered. It is somewhat disheartening that policymakers still fail to grasp the severity of our situation. This needs to change.

NEW ENERGY AND MITIGATION INITIATIVES

Photo Credit: jakob owens

According to a recent government report entitled, Canada’s Fossil Energy Future: The Way Forward on Carbon Capture and Storage, the country is poised to become a world-leader in the carbon capture industry. However, here we need to ensure that the existence of effective capture and clean methods does not remove the motivation to transition out of unclean and un-renewable energy sources.

Despite this apparent tripping point, Dale Beugin, research and analysis vice-president at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, in an article published by CBC in December 2020, comments on the new updated climate change plan announced by Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. "I think the big takeaway here is that, for the first time [italics are my own], Canada has a plan and with policy action that is consistent with ambition".

“Like many jurisdictions, Canada has often been accused of being long on climate rhetoric and short on policy to deliver,” Beugin says.

“This plan changes that. This consistency between targets and policy is kind of a big deal. It sends a signal to the rest of the world that we are serious about our commitments under the Paris Agreement, enabling emissions reductions elsewhere. Sending a clear signal about where policy is going can help align investments with our climate goals, but also bring more certainty and less risk for investors. It will also drive low-carbon innovation.”

“Finally, from a household perspective,” Beugin continues, “it’s also an affordable approach. The government will provide quarterly rebates to households, offsetting carbon costs significantly. As the price of carbon goes up over time, so too will the size of those rebates.

As a result, the lowest-income Canadians will actually see net benefits from the policy.”

Carbon pricing isn’t alone in this climate plan. There are regulations for fuel, vehicles, and electricity. There is support for building retrofits, electric vehicles, low carbon fuels, and hydrogen. There’s a clear role for complementary policies, though some of those policies will certainly be more cost-effective than others. But they also have different objectives, as well. As our research has noted, a successful climate plan can’t measure success only by emissions reduced.

Economic prosperity and the well-being of Canadians have to go alongside achieving our targets.

“Those other policy levers might play an important role in creating new sources of growth for Canada,” Buegin says. “As the world shifts its economy, global markets are shifting. Canada—and all its regions—must begin to consider what sectors and industries (both existing and emerging) might power its engines of economic growth.”

Overall, this plan changes the climate policy conversation in Canada. Questions remain, of course, about some policy details, how

savingearthmagazine.com | 43

provinces will respond, and future political debates in a minority parliament. No more, however, are those debates about hypothetical policies and hypothetical paths to targets far away in the future.

EXAMPLES OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES • At Carbon Engineering, based in Squamish, BC, contributions

include a Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology that captures carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere at megaton-scale. The technology accomplishes this by pulling in atmospheric air and, through a series of chemical reactions, extracting the carbon dioxide while returning the rest of the air to the environment—essentially the same thing plants and trees do every day as they photosynthesize. Direct Air Capture technology accomplishes this much faster and with a smaller land footprint. The process delivers the carbon dioxide in a pure, compressed form that can then be stored underground or reused.

• Engineers at MIT announced in October 2020, that they have created an energyefficient device to trap carbon dioxide that is less costly than present available technologies.

The device will enable carbon dioxide capture from smokestacks and flumes, extracting it directly from pollutionladen air.

• The Journal of Energy and Environmental Science reported in October 2019 that the Faradaic Electro-swing, another innovation developed at MIT, creates reactive absorption for Photo Credit: Callum Shaw CO₂ capture and works like a battery. It absorbs carbon dioxide from air passing over its electrodes. Unlike today’s carbon-capture techniques, it works for a wide range of concentrations. So, it could be used to scrub carbon dioxide from factory and power plant flue gases or even directly pull it from the atmosphere where it’s present at much lower levels.

SUMMARY & SOLUTIONS A recently released document, Canada's Energy Transition, the Generation Energy Council report affirms that an energy transition is underway and will unfold over the course of a generation, between now and 2040.

If effective, this transition could change how we turn on the lights, heat our homes, and travel to work. In 2017, the Generation Energy dialogues gathered input from more than 380,000 Canadians regard-

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ing Canada’s energy future. The consensus: most said they wanted to see economic prosperity, diverse social fabric, environmental quality, and high international regard that defines our country sustained.

There was a shared collective vision of our energy future built on three pillars: new energy sources must be affordable, reliable, and clean. It is precisely “the demand for clean and efficient energy to power our homes, businesses, and transportation systems—and the wave of technological innovation underway globally in response to that same demand—that drives the need for a new energy vision in Canada.”

The new framework has been endorsed by nearly every province and territory—the broadest consensus on climate and energy issues our country has ever achieved to date. “Along with the shift now underway in the global marketplace for energy and other resources, these commitments require us to act now to transform our energy systems to ensure they can meet changing needs at home and abroad,” the report states.

In the face of longterm uncertainties and rapidly changing energy markets worldwide, Canada needs to start out on this journey along two tracks. First, we need to rapidly transform our energy production, distribution, and consumption systems at home so that they are as clean and efficient as possible. Governments, businesses, and citizens must make energy transformation a top priority and step up with the new tools, contributions, methods, and decisive steps necessary to make it happen. Navigating this first track successfully will require the Canadian government to speed up its shift to low-carbon solutions for our electricity use, transportation, industrial activities, and heating and cooling needs, as well as nurturing new businesses and developing clean energy technologies and energy efficiency solutions to make the shift possible.

If we accomplish these means and ends effectively, we can stake out a leading position in the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy.

We must continue to accelerate the development of low-carbon technologies for use in our existing oil and gas sector to reduce carbon pollution, cut costs, and create new value-added products and services. Oil and gas companies will be faced with the need to take greater initiatives and change rapidly to stay competitive in global markets. u

TIME FOR A GLOBAL PLAN TO PHASE OUT FOSSIL FUELS Join the global movement for a fair and fast wind down of oil, gas and coal to meet our climate goals.

Learn more: fossilfueltreaty.org

savingearthmagazine.com | 45

Photo Credit: chris leboutillier

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SCIENCE MATTERS

BY DAVID SUZUKI

Net Zero Offers

Affordable Path To Climate Stability

A

nother year, another record. Even introduced legislation but must do even more. with a global seven percent drop Previous research indicated rapid heating in fossil fuel burning during the would continue long after we reduce emispandemic, 2020 tied 2016 for the sions because gases such as CO₂ and methane hottest year recorded, making the past decade remain in the atmosphere for many years. New the warmest. findings offer a hint of optimism. This is in part The previous record in 2016 was set during because as we bring emissions under control, an El Niño event, which contributed somewhat natural systems such as oceans, wetlands, and to rising temperatures, meaning last year was forests—and possibly technology—will remove likely the hottest in terms of global heating. some greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Of Average global surface temperature was 1.25°C course, that means we must also take better care higher than the pre-industrial average, nearing of those natural systems. It’s all interconnected. the 1.5°C aspirational target the world’s nations We’re not on track to meet even the aspiraset under the Paris Agreement five years ago. tional target of 1.5°C warming. We’ve already In the Arctic and northern regions, average temheated to at least 1.1°C above pre-industrial perature was 3 to 6°C higher. levels and are heading to 2°C or more. We’re still David Suzuki, As the world heats up, we’re experiencing looking at more heat waves, flooding, wildfires, ever-increasing impacts, from deadly heat waves disease spread, displacement of people and refuphotography: jennifer roessler to more frequent and intense extreme weather gee crises, biodiversity loss, and water shortages. events. Last year, the Western US, Siberia, But to avert even worse catastrophe, we can Australia, and parts of South America were hit with some of the big- and must do all we can to bring it under control. We already have gest, most expensive wildfires on record, and studies showed climate affordable methods to achieve net zero emissions, and it’s likely we’ll disruption played a major role. These fires release carbon dioxide continue to develop more and better solutions. Resolving the crisis into the atmosphere and destroy important carbon sinks, driving will lead to a less-polluted, healthier world with greater opportuniwarming even faster. Smoke and particulates also cause health prob- ties for all. lems and death.

Look at how rapidly the world has been able to deal with the Last year also set records for Atlantic hurricanes and tied 2018 COVID-19 pandemic. Not that it’s under control, but vaccines for the most tropical cyclones. have been developed in record time, and countries that have acted It’s dire, but there’s still time to avoid the worst consequences—if decisively to implement safety measures have seen success. And the we act quickly and decisively. powerful computers that most of us now carry in our pockets and New research shows global average temperatures could stabilize purses show how quickly technology can develop. within a couple of decades if we quickly reduce net greenhouse As climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe told The Washington Post, gas emissions to zero. Reducing emissions to “net zero” means not “It’s no longer a question of when the impacts of climate change will releasing any more than are being removed from the atmosphere. manifest themselves: They are already here and now. The only quesAlthough dramatically bringing emissions down is the critical factor, tion remaining is how much worse it will get. And the answer to that methods to remove CO₂ and other greenhouse gases—such as forquestion is up to us.” est and wetland protection and restoration, and carbon capture and We must all get behind rapid and decisive climate action. Taking sequestration—can balance out some released emissions. steps in our own lives is important, but holding governments and As the UN points out, affordable methods to get to net zero industry to account is crucial. There’s no time to waste. exist. At the end of 2020, 126 countries representing 51 percent of emissions had either adopted, announced, or were considering net David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and co-founder of the zero goals, according to the World Economic Forum. The European David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David SuUnion, Japan, South Korea, and the UK have pledged to do so by zuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington. Learn more 2050, as has the incoming U.S. Biden administration. Canada has at davidsuzuki.org.

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Q&A

BY MINTO ROY

with business leaders Welcome to the Saving Earth Magazine leadership interview series. This is an opportunity to share ideas from conversations with today’s global leaders and discuss the social, pragmatic, and competitive advantage of expanding sustainable policies and practices that protect our planet.

I

feel incredibly fortunate to kick off the interview series with Clint Mahlman, President & COO of London Drugs. For decades, Mahlman has been an industry maven, advancing sustainable policies and programs within Canada’s retail industry.

Clint Mahlman leads a team of thousands of talented staff members at London Drugs who proudly serve more than 45 million customers each year.

Clint also serves as a board member for the Recycling Council of BC. and the Electronic Products Recycling Association. He believes that “business needs to stand up and take a lead in how we approach our philosophy around waste and how it gets introduced into the waste stream.”

How does London Drugs effectively leverage the value of sustainability as a competitive advantage?

We certainly do not preach to customers or business partners and tell them what to do. Our philosophy at London Drugs is that we believe the customer is always smarter than we are and that if they are provided with or exposed to the same information related to sustainability and smart recycling options then they will support important initiatives such as our London Drugs Green Deal recycling program. This takes collaboration from lots of great partners, staff, and customers who are equally important to make things happen. We certainly see this collaboration as a competitive advantage.

How has sustainability shaped your role as Clint Mahlman, COO of London Drugs?

One strategy that sets you apart, Clint, is your President & COO of London Drugs London Drugs is a private, multi-generational, approach to using social media to share news and family-owned company that was established in 1945 by H.Y. Louie. directly connect with customers and community.

Today, London Drugs is one of the largest and oldest privatelyI view social media platforms as simply another way to engage with owned family businesses in Canada. At root of our organizational customers. My prime reason for being engaged on social media is that DNA, the Louie Family instilled the principal that you do things it's an excellent listening tool. Customers have an expectation that, because they are the right thing to do. You don’t do things to get acwhether we like it or not, they can reach senior management virtually colades from the public. This philosophy of doing the right thing set any time of the day or night. Most customers and staff are extremely the foundation for the launch of our Green Deal program and other respectful of that, but if a customer contacts me, I personally deal with sustainability initiatives. As a company, we believe that sustainability the problem. is simply the right thing to do and from a business perspective, a prudent management of resources.

Every major organization today speaks openly, proudly, and publicly My role at London Drugs is simply to continue to foster and grow about their commitment to the environment and sustainable developour commitment to continuously searching for better, more sustainable ment goals (SDG). However, sustainability leadership continues to ways to do business, and to help our customers find answers to their be absent in most C-suites. What do you believe it will require for all questions. Most people who know me would say I focus a lot on where companies to put in Chief Sustainability Officers into their C-suites? the customer is going. I’m trying to think about what problems they This is not a simple question and certainly there is no simple answer. have and how to solve their problems before they know they have them. Sustainability leadership is an important and evolving role for every So, I tend to be extremely focused on the customer. organization to consider, however; study after study continues to

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So far, we have recycled

113 MILLION lbs show that offering sustainability is not yet sufficient to attract and retain customers. Sustainability leadership must also focus on supporting key business functions and increasing product and service value while ensuring customers receive competitive pricing and product quality and performance and amazing customer service.

The retail landscape is made of many different players that represent local and global supply chain companies. London Drugs' Take-Back Program is an amazing initiative of industry leadership that extends beyond your organization. LD’s program takes back recyclables, packaging, batteries, medications, and even Styrofoam, even items that were sold by other retailers, including online retailers like Amazon. What can the retail industry and/or government do more of to ensure product and packaging recycling is exerted in an equal way across retail industry stakeholders?

At London Drugs, we are seeing a surge in demand in online orders and requests for fast or same-day delivery. Today, the true costs of e-commerce are not factored in. This is unsustainable to both business and government long term: shipping costs, the cost of labour for selecting items from the shelf and driving it from the store (warehouse) to home were previously born by the customer, not the retailer. Add to this all the extra vehicles on roads not built for heavy traffic and the cost of disposing of packaging. The cost, both environmental and financial, all adds up. Retailers improved efficiency by shipping large quantities to one central location and now we are returning to shipping to single units from manufacturers and warehouses. I think this will have some limitations on how far e-commerce can grow in the future as government regulators will enact policies that will require greater responsibility for online retailers to pay for recycling or disposal of waste.

That’s enough to fill

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OLYMPIC POOLS

(It’s important to note that Mahlman indicated that London Drugs intends to continue investing heavily in e-commerce; however, will also invest in opening several more brick-and-mortar stores in the next few years.)

Since this edition is on climate change, what are London’s Drugs' plans to work with its stakeholders and customers to continue to reduce carbon dioxide?

London Drugs will continue to expand sustainability policies and practices within the retail industry. In collaboration with our customers and supply chain partners, we are proud that London Drugs diverts more than 12 million pounds of waste from landfills each year, including the recycling of more than one million pounds of plastic.

We will continue effective education and communication programs with our business partners, customers, and the communities that we serve. This has produced some amazing results. For example, our customers are more mindful now than ever about their plastic bag use, and we have realized a 75 percent reduction in plastic bags being used since 2016.

Finally, we hope that other online and brick-and-mortar retailers will join London Drugs in implementing recycling programs that will take back all packaging purchased in its stores. It’s easier on landfills, convenient for customers, better for the environment, and continues to support the philosophy set by the Louie Family that “it’s the right thing to do." u

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BY CORDELIA NEWLIN DE ROJAS

How Ignoring Climate Change Will Enable Future Pandemics

Photo Credit: syed ali

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In 1994, Laurie Garret published The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. Written during a time when most of the world nestled in complacency thanks to the new era of vaccines and antibiotics, Garret, an investigative journalist, saw the signs before most. She watched and researched as emerging viruses surprised doctors and scientists around the world. Governments eventually began to take notice once HIV, an extremely slow-developing virus, had really taken hold. She predicted that it was only a matter of time before a new pandemic would emerge causing catastrophic numbers of deaths and economic collapse. She, along with medical researchers around the world, tried to warn us that governments were woefully unprepared, lacking the global infrastructure needed to spot and identify newly emerging bugs before they take hold.

A TRUE PANDEMIC

CLIMATE CHANGE AS A CATALYST

When COVID-19 struck, many of my friends’ green practices went flying out the window. Public transport? Hell no! Where brands like Method homemade vinegar lemon eco-friendly cleaners once reigned supreme, their pantry shelves were now stacked with endless rows of Clorox wipes and antibacterial gel bottles. If Starbucks wasn’t willing to touch a reusable cup, perhaps we should be leaving reusable shopping bags at home and re-embracing the once-vilified plastic bag.

Before the pandemic, my eco-conscious friends could imagine little worse than the apocalyptic realities around us: koalas burning, villages trapped by flames or lost to rising water levels. The pandemic changed it all.

Their climate change fears weren’t put to bed so much as shifted to the back burner as new frightening scenes unfolded. A virus, emerging seemingly out of nowhere, was now bringing cities across the world to their knees. People locked into towers in Wuhan, China, as city officials tried to keep the virus at bay, military trucks in the Italian province of Lombardy hauling bodies through the streets to be burned, and the streets surrounding hospitals in New York City congested with spare refrigeration trucks while ambulance teams were briefed to leave at home those unlikely to make it through the night.

Seventy-five percent of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic—caused by germs spreading between animals and humans. The name novel coronavirus is misleading. There is nothing new about the coronavirus family. It has likely existed for centuries in human populations and probably longer in animal hosts. Coronaviruses are found in a number of species—bats as their primary host. This particular strain is novel in that it has only recently appeared on our radar after finding its way to a human host, leapfrogging to humans most likely via a pangolin for sale at a wet market in China. A 2017 study estimates that there are around 3,200 coronaviruses yet to be discovered. As humans continue to encroach on previously untouched habitats, we increase our chances of coming into contact with a staggering number of pathogens from which we were previously shielded. And though many may not make the species jump, it only takes one.

For many, pandemics and climate change appear worlds apart when in truth they are an intricately linked web in which we now all find ourselves trapped, and of course, those living on the economic and social fringes are most at risk.

A number of root causes of climate change foster the emergence of pandemics. Deforestation, habitat loss, and fragmentation force animals into increasingly crowded conditions. Many of these are already stressed from rising temperatures and erratic climatic changes. The increasing heat is also forcing species to migrate towards the poles, seeking cooler climes and thereby bringing them into contact with new species leading to circumstances prime for the spread of microorganisms that may also mutate and mix, creating potentially deadlier strains. While some species are moving to escape the heat, others are benefiting from the increased temperatures. Mosquitoes are at best a pesky buzzing in your ear and temporary itch but at worst the perfect host for a number of vectorborne diseases such as dengue, zika, and malaria among many others.

We are already seeing the spread of these diseases as climate conditions change in their favour.

According to The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, “three-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66 percent of the marine environment have been significantly altered by human actions.”

How we clear the land can also have secondary effects. In addition to the changes in land cover, uncontrolled slash and burn practices create toxic hazes that regularly grip Sumatra and Borneo as land is cleared for new palm oil plantations. Air pollution travels and those fires, depending on the wind direction, can engulf the entire region in toxic air, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as Brunei and the Philippines.

Elizabeth Maruma Memra, the new Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, says, “Our interference, through deforestation, agricultural expansion, livestock intensification, and habitat fragmentation, has exposed wild animals and brought them into closer contact with people, which has resulted in the spillover of

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pathogens and zoonotic diseases, human-to-human transmission through trade and tourism, and the explosive pandemic we currently find ourselves in.”

But it isn’t just the movement of species we need to worry about.

Conflicts and natural disasters also engender population displacements, frequently devolving into overcrowding and poor sanitation. So while we can’t directly attribute any given natural disaster to climate change, the increase in frequency and strength of these disasters may well lead to scenarios favourable to the spread of infectious diseases.

The rise in demand for animal protein is another key risk factor.

The production of meat contributes to climate change on several fronts. Deforestation and clearing of land for grazing along with animals’ enteric fermentation—or as my kids like to say “cow burps”— are the two major contributors. Additionally, feed manufacturing, processing of manure, and the processing and transportation also add to the greenhouse gas [GHG] load.

Between 1961 and 2013, the global per capita consumption of meat per year nearly doubled from 23 kg to 43 kg. These numbers may not seem outrageous until we consider they are averaged out over the entire population. Zooming in on individual countries paints a different picture. China’s per capita meat consumption during that period went from just over 3 kg to nearly 69 kg. As countries get richer their appetite for meat and other animal products increases. More carnivorous countries, such as the United States and Australia, may have reached what has been called ‘peak meat’ but their numbers are a gluttonous 126 kg and 121 kg, respectively. The UN has projected meat consumption to rise by 76 percent by mid-century with a doubling of poultry consumption, another key zoonotic host.

The pork market, in particular, is cause for concern. China is the leading consumer and producer of pork, and the country’s appetite for it and other meats is on the rise. Why should this worry us? For starters, pigs are susceptible to both avian and human influenzas, making them the perfect host for new mutated versions. A process called reassortment occurs when multiple strains of influenza in a pig swap genes. This, along with increasing demands for pork and problematic animal welfare practices, is a ticking time bomb for another widespread influenza pandemic.

COVID-19: OUR COAL MINE CANARY Since the COVID-19 virus first appeared in November 2019 in Wuhan, China, over two million lives have been lost. Many more will die, and others will be left with health challenges that may trouble them for years to come. China acted relatively fast, having learned a tough lesson with SARS in 2003. The rest of the world, with a few exceptions, appeared to be in willful denial. Humanity as a whole should be grateful that this virus has been on the gentler end of the virus spectrum thus far. Recent news out of the United Kingdom and Denmark suggests this may not be the case for long as a recent mutation is 70 percent more transmissible and appears to be 30 percent deadlier.

After years of ignoring the warnings of Laurie Garett and other scientists, governments and global agencies did eventually take halfhearted heed of her message, but the lack of proper scenario planning left us scrambling to cope with the implications of locking down cities. Countries found themselves in bidding wars for PPE on runways while governments floundered as they either lacked right: one of the leading causes of deforestation in the amazon rainforest is linked to cattle grazing where Vast amounts of forests are burned down to create pasture. photography: GETTY IMAGES/BRASIL2

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Photo Credit: iStock/Inzyx

contingency plans or those plans were woefully inadequate. According to the Council on Foreign Relations in Improving Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons From COVID-19, “COVID-19 has confirmed the US and global vulnerabilities that were repeatedly identified in high-level reports, commissions, and intelligence assessments on pandemic threats for nearly two decades prior to this pandemic. COVID-19 has underscored several truths about pandemics and revealed important shortcomings in current global and national capacities to prepare for, detect, and respond to them.”

Beyond temperature checks and border closures, governments failed to consider the wider implications of how a country in lockdown keeps the economy going when everything has ground to a halt. In addition, no one seems to have considered what short- and long-term effects the lockdown would have on people locked up for extended periods. If this was our dress rehearsal, it was a disaster. But it does leave room for us to get the opening night right.

THE LESSONS WE MUST LEARN David Attenborough said: “Right now we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change. If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilization and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”

The notion of a single silver bullet to solve our climate change problem is a dangerous one. We cannot continue to postpone individual action in the hopes that someone will come up with an easy technological breakthrough to make it all go away.

There are valuable lessons nations can learn from the novel coronavirus outbreak. Firstly, delay is costly in both lives and money. The longer we wait to implement the changes needed to mitigate climate change, the larger the price tag. Estimates currently state that missing our 1.5 °C target by 2050 will drive up the cost of mitigation by up to 50 percent, and that doesn’t take into account the toll of human deaths.

Inequality will always exist but the longer we wait to take action, the more it will be exacerbated. Regardless of whether the cause is COVID or climate change, lower and middle-income countries will end up suffering disproportionately as they lack sufficient resources. Whether we’re discussing disruptions in exports or climate refugees, our policies will need to ensure we address issues of inequalities or we will all suffer the consequences.

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Transparency between countries as well as between governments, scientists, and citizens is paramount for without it there can be no trust and without trust, there is no stakeholder buy-in. Politicians and people in general do not like to admit to mistakes and yet recognizing our errors publicly is essential. Because whether we are dealing with new viruses or the immensely complex ecosystem of our planet, we will get things wrong. Humans are fallible and prone to biases and there needs to be room to revisit and change as we continue to learn about the challenges we face.

Humans are notoriously bad at assessing risks, particularly when they aren’t imminent, and that is part of the challenge of climate change, which unlike COVID-19 is happening on a much slower time scale. Governments will need to crack this psychological nut whether through large-scale educational campaigns or finding ways to make climate policies more appealing. Getting people on board is key.

“People think of COVID-19 as a public health crisis, but it's really an ecological one,” says Andrew Zolli, author of Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back. “It's rooted in humanity's misaligned relationship with the larger natural world - of which we are an utterly dependent, if often unacknowledged, part.”

We know that maintaining a healthy biodiversity is fundamental to creating resilient systems that are able to bounce back from climatic disruptions as well as decrease the likelihood of zoonotic disease outbreaks. This is the message we must get across.

Global problems require international cooperation. Governments need to be able to develop mitigation strategies at both local and global levels. Knowledge sharing is imperative and those countries with the largest emissions must lead the charge—particularly those leaders from high-income countries who have benefited the most from their carbon-heavy economies. Rather than see leading the charge as a burden, they ought to recognize the privileged position their countries hold—that having accumulated wealth, they are in the best position to both lead and benefit from a green revolution.

“It is essential that we rebuild our economies after the pandemic through effective climate action that will create millions of better jobs, promote cleaner and more efficient technologies, and bring better health worldwide,” António Guterres, UN Secretary General. u

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Join our FOOD, FARMING & CLIMATE CHANGE VIRTUAL SUMMIT

Listen to our podcast and radio show CLIMATE 911

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• Have honest, meaningful conversations about the reality of our food system; • Reimagine what’s possible; • Chart a course for food sovereignty.

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BY ANIKA MOLESWORTH

DUST STORM of Determination

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I

am the daughter of two people who love this land. The ruby-red sands of soils are cloaked by a blue sky above. Over the years my parents have cared for our home as if it is a delicate ornament— fragile, beautiful, and unique. It is a place of wildflowers of every colour and of the most curious little critters. This place is a one-off gift to bestow their children. It is a place that will nurture as it is nurtured.

It is a place that produces food, provides a backdrop for family milestones, and a panorama with endless horizons where one can breathe deeply and feel peaceful.

Yet, I am troubled.

I am troubled by the challenges that come with this gift.

As the weatherman tells me from the TV screen that daytime temperatures will not dip below 40°C this week, I feel the crease of anxiety furrow my forehead. The sky outside is azure-blue, a colour so beautiful to the eyes, yet troubling for the soul. The heat is oppressive.

And the knowledge that this part of the world—my little spot—will become even hotter and drier worries me deeply.

I am a farmer whose future is being determined now.

The overwhelming heat on the other side of my kitchen window juxtaposed with the food sitting cool inside my fridge offers up a perplexing scenario and a confusion met with deafening silence on an issue that ripples across the world—how do we feed a rapidly growing population in a climate challenged world?

There’s a dust storm blowing in. The horizon is becoming hazy.

It’s an eerie rust colour—a colour most farmers are familiar with from the corroding tin sheets on the back shed. These tin sheets may seem small, yet they are important pieces of the whole structural stability of the shed. When the rust eats away too much, the structural integrity is undermined. I feel my world is threatened with collapse all around me.

The projections tell me that these dust storms that blanket my home in far western New South Wales are becoming more frequent and more fierce. These projections are not abstractions—I live them.

My love for this place is why when I see her in pain, I feel that pain. I experience the drought, heatwaves, and dust storms with her, and I carry the toll it takes on the place I call home. It hurts to see our environment hurting this way.

But there’s another storm brewing. This storm comprises farmers and land managers who are demanding greater action be taken on climate change. They are the people standing strong despite the howling, dusty winds, their eyes fixed on the horizon and sand in their clenched teeth.

As different parts of the country are gripped by drought, exhausted by heatwaves, and washed away by floodwaters, it is clear to me, and to many of us working in the farming sector, that the time to determine our future is now.

Farmers for Climate Action is an alliance of farmers and leaders in agriculture who are working with peers, the wider sector, and decision-makers to make sure Australia takes the actions necessary to adapt to climate change and cut emissions where possible.

Groups like Farmers for Climate Action give us all hope—it is a great example of how grassroots movements can change the world for the better.

left: Dust storm driven by strong wind in drought striken Central West New South Wales, Australia.. photography: getty images/capstoc

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Farmers for Climate Action is running workshops to build the capacity of farmers to teach them resilience in the face of climate change. It has formed working groups on RD&E and for policy progress. It is bringing scientists to woolsheds and farmers to Parliament House.

Farmers for Climate Action is about looking after the places we love and call home and ensuring the people who grow our food have the best possible future.

Their website states, “As farmers, we are on the frontline of climate change in Australia. Rising temperatures, less rainfall, and more extreme weather are already harming our land and risking our livelihoods.

Damage to our climate has forced us to adapt the way we farm, but science tells us worse is on the way if the world doesn't act. Aussie farmers are rightly proud of feeding and clothing millions of people around the world.

Australia needs to address climate change so we can keep farming well into the future.

That’s why we are collectively calling for stronger action to reduce carbon pollution from all levels of government, and in our sector.

By working with people in many fields—from researchers to industry bodies to government—we will have the best information and support available to make well-informed business and land management decisions.

This includes responding to the unavoidable changes already set in place, and making every effort to limit further damage to our climate.

Australian farmers can be part of the solution. Renewable energy, like solar and wind power, can help rural and regional Australia not just survive, but thrive. So, let’s grasp the opportunities!”

What excites me about my future as a farmer is the opportunities that are out there: • Reduced wastage through education and the establishment of cyclical systems.

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above: dr. Anika Molesworth, founding director of Farmers for Climate Action..

Photo courtesy of Dr. Anika Molesworth.

• Improved genetics in livestock are reducing methane emissions.

• Tree plantings are sequestering carbon.

• Improved irrigation practices are keeping more water in the rivers

and protecting fragile ecosystems.

• Biogas digesters are turning effluent into green power.

• Advances in weather forecasting are helping Aussie farmers plan

ahead.

• People are changing their diets to those that are good for their

health and the health of our planet.

Today we decide what tomorrow will look like, and farmers around the country are choosing climate smart practices.

If you haven’t already, I urge you to show your support by joining the chorus of people demanding stronger climate action and ensuring a bright and resilient farming future.

Visit www.farmersforclimateaction.org.au for more information.

Dr. Anika Molesworth is a recognized thought-leader of agro-ecological systems resilience and international farming development. With a passion for rural communities and healthy ecosystems, she is committed to helping create sustainable and vibrant rural landscapes now and for the future. She is a Founding Director of Farmers for Climate Action, a national network of over 5,000 Australian farmers undertaking climate change action. In 2017, she presented at TEDxYouthSydney the talk, “Farmers are key to a better future.” Awards include 2015 Young Farmer of the Year and 2017 Young Australian of the Year NSW Finalist. You can follow Anika’s work at www.AnikaMolesworth.com

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Advancing solutions that reflect the urgency of the climate emergency through advocacy, local initiatives, and collaboration with other organizations.

www.NanaimoClimateAction.org NanaimoClimateAction@gmail.com FIND OUT IF THERE’S A COMMUNITY CLIMATE HUB IN YOUR AREA, OR LEARN HOW TO GET ONE STARTED AT CLIMATEHUB.CA. savingearthmagazine.com | 59

Photo Credit: katie rodriguez

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By Deb Morrison and Tom Bowman

Engaging the People in Just Climate Action We know a lot about what causes climate change, how to address these causes, and how to adapt to the changes that are already underway in order to make our communities more climate resilient. We also know a lot about how to engage communities and governments in just action to address climate issues. This is work that is regularly led by Indigenous communities, Communities of Colour, or communities experiencing high rates of poverty. With so much climate action happening in so many places, however, we often hear the questions, “what can I do about climate change?” and “how is justice related to climate action?” These questions arise everywhere, from the local bakery to the many different levels of government where people are engaged in policy work.

I

t seems we have a disconnect in some communities—an overabundance of information but no clear understanding of how to translate that information into individual, organizational, or structural climate action. It is true that some people are finding their way into this work and some are, in fact, leading climate action innovations, but what about everyone else? How would you and your household address climate action? How about your workplace, your local schools, and the community where you live? Where would you even begin? If you got started, where would your community find its power and resolve, and where would you turn for expertise?

The United Nations’ Action for Climate Empowerment Initiative These questions can be found at the centre of the international treaty that was negotiated to forestall a climate crisis. In 1992, with the creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), public empowerment and participation were named as key activities in humanity’s efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to our changing world successfully. Specifically,

the UNFCCC Article 6 laid out a framework and several specific actions that nations should undertake in order to achieve public empowerment and high rates of public participation in finding and implementing solutions to the climate challenge. (Figure 1) The language of Article 6 is aspirational, with countries being urged, rather than required, to fulfill its goals. After decades of inaction by governments, however, the UNFCCC Article 6 framework and goals were reaffirmed in the 2015 Paris Agreement with a simple sentence: “[Nations] shall cooperate in taking measures, as appropriate, to enhance climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation, and public access to information, recognizing the importance of these steps with respect to enhancing actions under this Agreement.”

Now known as the United Nations Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) initiative, this work is supposed to be rooted in human Figure 1: Article 6, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992

(a) Promote and facilitate at the national and, as appropriate, subregional and regional levels, and in accordance with national laws and regulations, and within their respective capacities: (i) The development and implementation of educational and public awareness programmes on climate change and its effects; (ii) Public access to information on climate change and its effects; (iii) Public participation in addressing climate change and its effects and developing adequate responses; and (iv) Training of scientific, technical, and managerial personnel. (b) Cooperate in and promote, at the international level, and, where appropriate, using existing bodies: (i) The development and exchange of educational and public awareness material on climate change and its effects; and (ii) The development and implementation of education and training programmes, including the strengthening of national institutions and the exchange or secondment of personnel to train experts in this field, in particular for developing countries.

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rights (UN General Assembly, 1948) and, specifically, in the rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN General Assembly, 2007).

ACE is far more than a typical public education agenda. ACE works across multiple sectors of society and across many professional silos to bring people together to learn and co-create just climate solutions for their communities and regions.

Within the ACE architecture, educators, scientists, behavioural scientists, community leaders, activists, policy experts, communication specialists, entrepreneurs, and many other groups across diverse contexts are encouraged to work together, forge new relationships, discover common purpose, and apply their complementary knowledge and skills to the common climate challenge. (See Figure 2).

ACE inherently connects to a parallel UN effort, UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development. Education and workforce training that support just and equitable progress on climate change align with the UN’s education and international coordination

goals to end poverty and combat inequity and injustice. These multilateral agreements recognize that the community of nations must support economic and social development that improves the lives of people today while providing opportunities for future generations to thrive, as well.

As we write this, however, none of the major emitting countries has followed through on the promise of ACE. None has developed a national strategy—as all nations are called upon to do—to inform, empower, and engage their people in finding and implementing just solutions to the climate crisis. There is a new initiative underway in the United States, however, that seeks to turn this around, and turn it around quickly.

With the Biden administration rejoining the Paris Agreement on day one, there is a good chance that this effort will catch on.

COMMUNITY-LED STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR CLIMATE EMPOWERMENT As in many countries, community-based organizations in the US have been working

to foster climate justice for a very long time.

They have made considerable progress, yet their work has never been aligned in ways that would maximize their collective impact.

After decades of government inaction and inspired, yet fragmented efforts of their own, a broad community of climate action leaders decided to take the lead. Throughout 2020, 150 highly diverse leaders joined forces to build a strategic roadmap for quickly cocreating an ACE national strategy to help the public to tackle the climate crisis. This effort was led by a small team of people, many of whom had worked together for decades, who volunteered their time to design and manage a community-led strategic framework building process. They organized and coordinated a series of ACE-community conversations and secured seed funding to support meaningful involvement by justice organizations or others who needed financial support in order to participate.

The coordinating team developed what proved to be a transformational process based on the UN’s Talanoa Dialogue model,

Figure 2: ACE Elements Role in Accelerating Just Climate Action. The six elements of ACE are intended to interact with one another so that people collaborate and co-discover and create appropriate and effective climate solutions.

Training

Education

International Coordination

Accelerating Just Climate Action

Public Participation

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Public Awareness

Public Access to Information

in which people from meanwhile, have supported diverse communities of various ACE-related initiatives, practice came together as but such investments have been equals to listen, learn, build made without strategic cohertrust, and work together. ence or collective planning. We Through this all-too-rare offer the example of our work process, the US ACEas a way in which deliberative community embraced an justice processes can help coununderstanding that climate tries overcome these failures. justice is inseparable from climate solutions. They ACT TO FOSTER CLIMATE acknowledged that unjust EMPOWERMENT EFFORTS processes will likely lead ACE is about cooperation, not to unjust outcomes. The competition for resources and antidote to such a vicious status. It invites people who cycle is to replace it with a work on just climate empowervirtuous one in which those ment at every scale to join forcwho are typically excluded es as equals, learn from one anare, instead, elevated to other, and leapfrog one another lead. The participants called to advance our understanding this process transformationof what works best and why. We al because it demolished need to amplify voices that have a great many inaccurate been marginalized in this work, preconceptions and helped both from an ethical standpoint everyone realize the depth and as a pragmatic recognition of knowledge, experience, that innovation increases when and wisdom that a diverse diverse perspectives are prescommunity of climate ent. By aligning a nation’s scatleaders actually possesses. tered, yet skillful efforts around Diversity, rather than techcoherent organizing principles nical elitism, turns out to be and strategies the good work Figure 3: ACE National Strategic Planning Framework for the United States (Visit humanity’s greatest untapped of many can be marshalled to acwww.aceframework.us to learn more and add your support) asset. (See Figure 3). celerate social change. leadership and commitment.

The goal of this effort Our new book, Resetting Our Within the US, the ACE community was to lead by example in order to push Future: Empowering Climate Action in the continues to work together, expand the netthe United States, as now committed to by United States brings the ACE community’s work, and build a coherent constellation of the new Biden Administration, and other strategic planning framework together with community and national organizations that nations to follow the UN’s guidelines and additional context and commentaries by a are mobilizing people of all ages to engage develop national strategies for climate emdiverse set of informed voices. powerment that disrupt norms by empower- in this task. As politics change in the US, the ACE community is ready and willing to help About the Authors ing local communities and voices that are usually ignored. Creating and implementing the new administration transform public Deb Morrison, Ph.D, is a climate justice inaction on climate change into hopeful and such plans will be critical tools for meetactivist, learning scientist, mother, and policy determined leadership. ing and exceeding the targets of the Paris designer. She engages in climate empowerment John Kerry, the new Special Presidential Agreement. ACE offers the fastest and most efforts within systems to foster a more just and equitable way to stabilize the climate system Envoy for Climate, is a strong advocate for sustainable world for today and for tomorrow. and protect vulnerable communities. It does the UN ACE initiative. At COP25, held in More about her and her work can be found at so in an intrinsically effective way, namely, by Madrid in 2019, Kerry spoke about the need www.debmorrison.me for strong national planning and impleempowering the people. mentation to accelerate climate action in a If the US builds the Strategic Planning Tom Bowman is a consultant, author, and Framework into a full-fledged national strat- session that was dedicated to ACE efforts communication specialist who works with globally. egy, it will become the first major-emitting government agencies, businesses, and cultural Some nations have engaged in officountry to do so. Given the Biden-Harris institutions. He is the founder of Bowman administration’s eagerness to rejoin the Paris cial ACE planning efforts, although little Design Group, an exhibition and management financial support or action has yet to be Agreement with bold initiatives, the ACE firm, and founder and president of Bowman taken to implement these plans. Grants from Change, Inc. More about him and his work can community is offering its framework as a government and philanthropic sources, shovel-ready opportunity to demonstrate be found at www.tombowman.com

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AN INTRODUCTION

TO REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

BY JEFF SCHARF Our global food supply systems are under direct threat due to climate change and unsustainable farming practices. The continued overuse of chemicals, monocropping, and genetic manipulation methods all directly impact the health and volume of our farming topsoil, as well as the quality of the food we grow. Since industrial farming is one of the main drivers of climate change is it time for industrialized farming to end? Regenerative agriculture may be the solution we are looking for.

R

egenerative agriculture is a term used to describe farming and grazing practices with the aim of reversing climate change by rebuilding soil and ecosystem biodiversity and letting nature drive the processes. The harmful practices of commercial farming have taken their toll over the years, leaving soil that is poor in quality, unable to play its role in CO₂ sequestration, or to produce nutrient rich crops for consumption.

Employing regenerative and organic farming methodology is vital if we wish to create a sustainable food system. From cabbages to cows and clams, regenerative agriculture finds the critical balance needed. It sequesters carbon from the atmosphere, improves the quality and size of the yield, and allows the area and creatures that feed on it to find balance with nature as it slows and reverses the effects of climate change.

What’s Wrong with Commercial Farming?

Unsustainable farming practices, such as mono-cropping; using chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides; using synthetic fertilizers; and the tilling of soil have created overworked, nutrient depleted, dry, and dusty soil that simply washes away with every new storm. Instead of sequestering carbon as it is meant to do, the depleted soil winds up releasing significant greenhouse gases into the atmosphere: unhealthy soil grows unhealthy food for both livestock and humans. No person, culture, or country is exempt from this threat. The question is, how much longer can humanity continue on this path?

A major issue we are facing is that our industrially produced food supply has been missing nutrients present in our systems for centuries.

Nutrient depleted soil grows nutrient depleted food. We are beginning to understand the long-term health impact of this. For example, in a 2016 Left: regenerative farming at Wheelbarrow Farm in ontario, canada. Photography: wheelbarrow farm. visit Wheelbarrowfarm.com, and @wheelbarrowfarm for more information.

lecture in Vancouver Canada, Dr. Vandana Shiva noted that in the last decade there has been an 84 percent increase in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which doctors believe is caused by malnutrition, and, more specifically, magnesium deficiency. Shiva also noted an overall zinc decline in food products leading to a rise in depression.

Ronald Admundson, author of Soil and Human Security in the 21st Century explains, “Ever since humans developed agriculture, we’ve been transforming the planet and throwing the soil’s nutrient cycle out of balance. Because the changes happen slowly, often taking two to three generations to be noticed, people are not cognizant of the geological transformation taking place.”

The use of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides have also led to an increase in industrial diseases, which have become more prominent since the Second World War. There is mounting evidence, for example, that Parkinson's disease is a partially human-made degenerative disease.

A study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) states that chemicals rotenone and paraquat, used in pesticides, cause cell damage to DNA, protein, and lipids.

“Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making energy in the cell,” said Freya Kamel, Ph.D., a researcher in the intramural program at NIEHS and co-author of a paper appearing online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. “Paraquat increases production of certain oxygen derivatives that may harm cellular structures. People who used these pesticides or others with a similar mechanism of action were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease.”

Glyphosate, a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant used in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is linked to a deadly type of leukemia called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The herbicide has been showing up in our groundwater, our drinking water, and even, according to a study done by Mom’s Across America and Sustainable Pulse, in human breast milk.

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WHAT IS REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE? A farm can be understood as its own ecosystem. Regenerative agriculture refers specifically to farming and grazing practices that, among other things, restore the natural balance of biodiversity.

Some farmers are already making the adjustment to this new approach. However, this transition will not be overnight. The retrofit and resulting cost to integrate best practices over time could take years.

Regenerative agriculture includes different ways of managing the soil with the goal of increasing soil carbon. This can be accomplished through: • low-till or no-till fields • managing grazing livestock • crop rotations and or cover crops • applying compost or crop residues to fields • understanding permaculture Regenerative agriculture also requires no expensive pesticides or herbicides. It increases both soil volume and crop yield. According to Project Drawdown (a non-profit organization dedicated to climate solutions), “Farms are seeing soil carbon levels rise from a baseline of one to two percent up to five to eight percent over ten or more years, which can add up to 25 to 60 tons of capture per acre.” It also requires less machinery, which in turns means fewer polluting emissions and a lower outlay, meaning more opportunity for farmers to grow and sustain their businesses without huge investment and risk. Instead, regenerative practices aim to be more in tune with the needs of the planet.

Photo Credit: markus Spiske

In Canada, crop and livestock production account for up to 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions per year. Globally, however, agriculture accounts for roughly 20 percent or more of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Neither figure includes the burning of fossil fuels or fertilizer production.

Agriculture can, and in a healthy ecosystem should, help slow climate change by storing carbon in soil as organic matter and in vegetation. However, if we kill the soil this no longer happens.

When we prevent soil from taking in carbon dioxide via photosynthesis by using plants and trees and other vegetation, we do not maintain the nutrient and moisture content of the topsoil. Farmers then compensate for this deficit by using genetic manipulation techniques, and/or adding steroids or synthetic fertilizers to crops and livestock. This is simply not sustainable any longer.

The key damaging commercial practices are: • Mono-cropping: when farmers grow a single crop with no annual rotation this depletes the vital store of nutrients in the ground, creating the need for synthetic fertilizers.

• Synthetic fertilizers: the use of herbicides, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals to minimize crop loss and pest control.

• Genetic manipulation of plant and animal genomes (GMOs) are designed for quantity not quality.

• Factory farming and intensive grazing leads to higher levels of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. It is worth noting even the lowest impact animal products still exceed vegetable substitutes for environmental impact.

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Low-till or no-till fields Soil tilling is one of the largest contributors to soil degradation. It leaves the soil bare and susceptible to erosion through wind and water while undisturbed soil is held together by, for the most part, roots and other organisms. No-till fields protect the soil through their ability to absorb water, reducing soil erosion. As well, when the soil is left intact soil organisms thrive creating much needed nutrients.

Ecological/holistic grazing (natural grazing techniques) Sometimes called ‘targeted’ grazing, this uses semi-feral or domesticated livestock to maintain and increase biodiversity of nature in any type of terrain or natural environment.

Cropping with bio-inputs and using regenerative grasslands A biological input is a living organism, not synthetic or chemical, added to a farm area or livestock facility to optimize results.

Biological inputs include: • Fertilizer produced by living organisms to help develop and add to soil health.

• Microorganisms that can promote vigour and plant growth to optimize production.

• Crop protection products from living organisms, liquid manure, powders and fermentations. It is sometimes used to target exterior pests or contaminants, sometimes builds plant defence only.

• Building cleaning products composed of essential oils and/or other bacteria.

The use of cover crops such as oats or hemp as fertilizer (through decomposition) and as a cash crop is key for many farmers.

Permaculture Permaculture is an intentional agricultural system that considers the relationships within the ecosystem. It is designed to allow the lands to renew themselves.

Each farm must be treated as its individual ecosystem to set a best approach timeline to phase out old methods as the new systems take hold. Smaller farms may well have different priorities than large scale operations.

Marine permaculture cannot be overlooked when discussing the future of agriculture and food security using regenerative means.

Seaweed is known as the ‘sequoia of the sea’ and is proven to capture more carbon from the atmosphere than any land-based plant as the clear priority for all humanity is to shift to practices that find balance with all life.

WHAT CAN THE INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN DO? When shopping for food, consider several important questions. Consumer demand is a powerful force to help create a healthy market for sustainable food and products in our stores.

Some questions to consider when considering your food purchases: • How low on the food chain is this product?

• How much energy goes into producing it?

• Is it organically grown?

• How far did it travel to get to the store/table?

• How much waste and emissions are created disposing of it?

Additionally, you can: • Educate yourself on food and packaging waste, repurpose, upcycling in your community.

• Support local markets and farmers (Community supported

agriculture and fair trade).

• Insist upon a plant-rich diet. Farmers will grow it if there is

demand.

• Consume less red meat and aim for ethical sourcing of animal

products.

• Encourage investment in both the land- and sea-based local

farming movements.

THE WAY FORWARD… In 2015, the United Nations announced at the Sustainable Development Summit in New York the 17 sustainable development goals to transform our world.

The plan to address climate change, poverty, and inequality so far has been met with a lack of momentum, due to the influence of the industrial agriculture and fossil fuel sectors and respective lobby efforts, where greed and profit, coupled with growing consumer demand and global population, are forcing this reliance upon the past and creating pressure to maintain the status quo.

North Americans are beginning to take note of the systemic changes and reforms required to sustain the land and creatures humans eat. As food costs continue to rise, consumers are having to buy products that are lower in nutrients, putting long-term health at risk. The recent US election results indicate that change is coming.

Using the methods described in this article, we already know we can combine efficient land use allocation with the carbon capture potential of every acre to achieve healthier yields while strengthening people's mental health and well-being through the lands we cultivate and the food we eat. u

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Q&A with Jeff Scharf and Tony Neale

of Wheelbarrow farm Wheelbarrow Farm - Vegetable CSA Farm Share 535 Durham Rd 13, Sunderland, Ontario, Canada, L0C 1H0

A

s we set out to find a Canadian farm that has refined its practices to use more sustainable regenerative methods, we learned that climate change in combination with the pandemic has driven a high demand for stronger food security and high quality, nutrient-rich organic produce.

This immediately cast the spotlight on smaller producers, who are key to reforming our food production systems and keeping carbon in the ground in the fight against global warming.

Enter Wheelbarrow Farm, a southern Ontario business that saw its sales drop at the beginning of the pandemic, but later experienced a significant increase in demand from the local community.

Owner Tony Neale even took advantage of renewable energy infrastructure and sold his diesel tractor to get one of the first electric tractors in Canada. He installed solar panels on the farm to charge the unit, which runs about six hours a day. It’s a great solution for smaller farms and a great way to reduce emissions.

JEFF SCHARF: Should farmers integrate solar panels and renewable energy into their standard practices?

TONY NEALE: Farms today are poised to take advantage of the opportuni-

ties offered by sustainable energy generation. No matter the size of the farm, we all have high energy needs and costs. With the exponential price drop in solar technology, it is now a seven- or eight-year pay-off, and these numbers will only drop moving forward. Farmers have roofs or at least some field space that can be dedicated to energy production.

We power our farm with a 600-square-foot array of panels, and this is something that all farms can do, provided they have access to the initial investment funding.

Batteries are the limiting factor for electric tractors. Both in cost and energy density. For a 20-horsepower e-tractor, the technology is sufficient. For larger operations requiring higher levels of horsepower, it is harder to transition them to electric. For those operations, we should be looking toward fuel-switching technology. Can you imagine trying to convince a farmer that has just taken on $200,000 in debt for a new tractor that they should “go electric”? It just doesn't make sense. There is an American company, Gevo, in the process of commercializing a car-

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bon net zero gasoline totally derived from plant carbohydrates that can be dropped into any gas tank. They work with farmers using regenerative methods to grow grains, which are then converted to fuel (isobutanol). Of course, there is the question of how much agricultural land we want to dedicate to fuel production, but nevertheless, this technology looks promising.

JEFF SCHARF: How can we get large scale commodity producers to

adopt regenerative methods? Which methods would you prioritize for large producers?

TONY NEALE: You get the kind of agriculture that you incentivize. Over the past 50 years, farm families have been encouraged to scale up and maximize their output for commodity markets. This effort has been successful, but it’s come at a hefty cost. The inputs necessary to generate these surpluses are primarily petro-industrial chemicals and have caused greenhouse gas emissions to skyrocket. Incidentally, this same time period has coincided with an extreme drop in net farm incomes. So, the increase in production has been a disaster for both the environment and for farmers’ bottom lines. Unsurprisingly, it has been a boon for banks, petro giants, and input companies. Farm families on large or small operations are all trying to grow food and pay bills the best they can.

Moralizing the problem and blaming farmers for the state of Canadian agriculture is the wrong approach and one that environmentalists with little first-hand knowledge of agriculture should avoid.

Some immediately adoptable methods are cover cropping in vegetable systems, fallowing land, more diverse crop rotation, animals on pasture, low-till methods, and planting tree belts.

JEFF SCHARF: What are some of the ways cover crops help fight climate change and offset costs to a farm like yours?

TONY NEALE: After harvesting our vegetable crops, we sow a cover crop

(oats, rye, clover, peas). We do this to avoid having bare soil throughout the winter and spring. Cover crops sequester carbon, prevent the erosion of topsoil, interact with and feed the soil community, and contribute to next year’s fertility demands.

above: Tony Neale with his apprentices at Wheelbarrow Farm in ontario, canada.

Below: Tony Neale driving the wheelbarrow farm electric tractor. Photography: wheelbarrow farm. Visit wheelbarrowfarm.com or @wheelbarrowfarm for more information.

Jeff Scharf: How can a young person learn about the land and regenerative practices and get excited about the future of farming?

TONY NEALE: There are many ways young people can get involved in the future of sustainable farming. I got my start through Woofing (volunteering) and doing a farm apprenticeship. I was able to incubate my small farm business on family land. At Wheelbarrow Farm, we offer apprenticeships and paid staff and manager positions. We have recently transitioned our farm to allow staff to become part owners if they so choose. Land access is increasingly a barrier to entry and is something that we need to address at a societal level. Our young people emerge from post-secondary institutions burdened by debt and priced out of the housing market, and they are offered precarious work in the gig economy. To solve the confluence of issues facing the world today (climate change, economic stagnation, COVID), I believe we need to firmly reject neoliberal capitalism and its austerity policies. We faced a similar crisis during the Great Depression one hundred years ago— mass unemployment and ecological devastation. How did we get out of it? Certainly not through austerity! It took decades of direct government intervention into the economy via New Deal policies. That’s why the idea of the Green New Deal is something we all need to support.

Governments are the only actors capable of the long-term, stable capital investments necessary to make a transition like this a reality.

To learn more visit: wheelbarrowfarm.com u

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HEMP

BY ALEX FULLERTON, HEMP SAVE THE WORLD

G

and Other Carbon Dioxide Removal Strategies

lobal warming and climate change may be the most challenging threats the human species has ever faced. This demands a unified, focused, and organized effort from all of us around the world to transition to a net zero carbon economy and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

of 415 ppm as of December 31, 2020. To put this into context, based on ice core records of the past 800,000 years, CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere ranged from about 185 ppm during ice ages to 300 ppm during warm periods. The concentration of atmospheric carbon is at an unprecedented level that hasn’t been observed in at least the last 800,000 years. We are in a climate crisis.

ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE

REDUCING ATMOSPHERIC CARBON

Since the late 1800s, scientists have suspected human-produced (anthropogenic) changes in atmospheric greenhouse gases would likely cause climate change. In 1856, Eunice Foote discovered the heat-trapping properties of water vapour, carbon dioxide, and air when heated in the sun. These properties were further identified by Irish physicist John Tyndall in 1859.

The current observed trend in global temperatures cannot be attributed to natural climate change. In fact, scientists can only account for recent global warming by including the effects of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, which have increased since pre-industrial times due to the burning of fossil fuels compounded by population growth.

FOCUSED ON CARBON DIOXIDE How each greenhouse gas contributes to the greenhouse effect depends on three main factors: how much is in the atmosphere, how long they remain in the atmosphere, and how strongly they impact the atmosphere, measured in global warming potential (GWP). For example, methane’s 20-year GWP is 56 times that of CO₂, and its 100-year GWP is 21 times that of CO₂. However, CO₂ has an atmospheric lifetime of 300-1,000 years compared to 9-15 years for methane, and there is about 200 times more CO₂ in the atmosphere than methane.

Pre-industrial levels of atmospheric CO₂ were approximately 278 parts per million (ppm), compared to the daily average

In its special report Global Warming of 1.5˚C, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) asserts the most catastrophic effects of climate change could be averted by limiting global warming to 1.5˚C. The report describes ways of achieving this—all of which depend on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

To achieve this goal, organizations around the world need to become either “net zero” or “carbon negative.” Net zero, also called “zero-carbon” or “carbon neutrality,” means carbon emissions emitted by day-to-day operations are either zero or offset by investing in initiatives certified to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon negative, also called “climate positive,” means company day-to-day operations go beyond achieving net zero carbon emissions and actually remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Carbon emissions can also be eliminated from the source by means of government initiatives, such as carbon taxes, carbon markets, electrifying transportation, decentralized micro-grid power generation, and more. However, since the CO₂ already in the atmosphere can affect climate for hundreds to thousands of years, we must not only transition to a zero-carbon economy, we must also implement carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies on a massive scale.

CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL STRATEGIES A variety of CDR strategies has used at large scale for decades and more are on the horizon in different stages of development. Each strategy has pros and cons, varying in cost, benefits, and risks.

AFFORESTATION AND REFORESTATION

CARBON MINERALIZATION

Forests around the world store almost a third of the world’s emissions. Reforestation is the restoration of forests where they have been damaged or depleted, while afforestation is the establishment of new forests where none were previously. In comparison to reforestation, afforestation could compete for land used for agriculture and affect local and regional biodiversity and ecosystems.

This CDR strategy leverages a natural process in which CO₂ chemically bonds with reactive substances like peridotite or basaltic lava.

This chemical process forms solid carbonate minerals, such as limestone, potentially storing CO₂ for millions of years. Fluids containing CO₂ produced at carbon capture stations may be combined with these reactive substances or pumped into naturally occurring reactive rock formations.

Carbon mineralization has the potential to provide a non-toxic, economical, and permanent way of storing large amounts of carbon.

However, because this strategy is in the early stages of development, more research into the possibility of contaminating water and triggering earthquakes is required.

SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION Soil carbon sequestration, also called “carbon farming,” leverages and amplifies the natural process where plants absorb carbon from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and transfer it into the pedosphere (soil) when they die and decompose.

While soil can store large amounts of carbon in the beginning, its ability to absorb carbon decreases as it becomes saturated after 10 to 100 years depending on climate, soil type, and how it is managed. Minimal tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, and crop residue decomposition all help store more carbon in the soil.

BIOCHAR Biochar is charcoal produced by pyrolysis—high-temperature decomposition of plant material, or biomass, in the absence of oxygen so as to avoid combustion. It is one of the most affordable CDR strategies and is used to improve soil quality and crop yield.

Biochar has been found to pose relatively low risks in terms of negative environmental impacts, which may include particulate matter, acidification, and eutrophication as potential trade-offs, though more research is required.

BIOENERGY WITH CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE (BECCS) BECCS involves burning biomass to generate electricity at a power plant while capturing and injecting the resulting emissions into the geosphere (Earth) where they are sequestered in geologic formations.

At this point, BECCS is under development and is expensive; however, it is considered potentially one of the most effective carbon dioxide removal strategies for providing long-term carbon storage. It would require enormous changes in agriculture, forest, and biomass waste management, for, if managed improperly, it could negatively impact biodiversity, ecosystems, and food production as well as generating GHGs through unsustainable agriculture practices and fertilizer use.

Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) DACCS filters carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere by using fans to move air over liquid or solid compounds that bind to CO₂ as it comes into contact with them. These compounds release the captured CO₂ when later exposed to heat and chemical reactions, which is then compressed and sequestered underground.

While DACCS offers great potential as a CDR strategy, it is still in the early stages of development. It is also worthwhile to consider the implications large-scale DACCS could have on the environment stemming from extracting, refining, transporting, and disposing of the materials required to capture the carbon emissions.

ENHANCED WEATHERING Rocks and soil react with the CO₂ in the air or acid rain (atmospheric CO₂ dissolved in rainwater) to create bicarbonate, which is eventually carried by the process of erosion into the ocean where it is stored. Enhanced weathering leverages and amplifies this natural process by spreading pulverized rock, such as basalt or olivine, on the land or in the ocean.

While enhanced weathering could improve soil quality and help neutralize ocean acidification in addition to sequestering carbon, more research into the effects it may have on soil pH and chemical properties, ecosystems, and groundwater is required.

THE BLUE CARBON INITIATIVE Blue carbon refers to carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by oceanic plant growth, and its subsequent burial of decaying organic matter in the soil. Mangroves, salt marshes, seagrasses, macroalgae (saltwater plants), and other plants in tidal wetlands sequester over half of the carbon in coastal ecosystems. However, they are being destroyed by runoff, pollution, drought, and coastal development.

The Blue Carbon Initiative is an international, worldwide effort to mitigate climate change through the management of coastal ecosystems. By restoring, creating, and managing coastal ecosystems, their carbon storage could potentially double while also improving water quality, supporting marine life, and providing storm protection.

THE PRODIGIOUS POTENTIAL OF HEMP Prodigious is defined as “remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree,” and is the perfect word, in my opinion, to describe the unfathomable and unbelievable potential industrial hemp has to combat the climate crisis. Illegal to cultivate for the last 60 to 80 years, one can’t help but to wonder if we would be in a climate crisis today if it wasn’t.

Hemp has been cultivated for thousands of years due to its incredible versatility; it is used to produce various products ranging from food, clothing, textiles, rope, medicine, paper, construction materials, and now biodegradable plastics, biofuels, and more. Aside from providing a potential systemic revolution of the consumer, commercial, and industrial goods industries, it also offers great potential for combating the climate crisis and other environmental, social, and economic problems around the world.

The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize environmental, social, and economic strategies must go

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BUILDING MATERIALS

Photo Credit: nate miller

hand-in-hand to achieve holistic sustainability on Earth. The versatility of hemp provides opportunity in helping to achieve eight of the 17 goals: #2 (Zero Hunger), #3 (Good Health and Well-being), #7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), #9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), #11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), #12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), #13 (Climate Action), and #15 (Life on Land).

A PROFITABLE COVER CROP FOR FARMERS Cover crops are plants used in the crop rotation process to regenerate the soil for the following growing season. Planting cover crops offers many benefits: weed suppression, erosion protection, soil aggregate stability, reducing surface crusting, adding active organic matter, breaking hardpan, nitrogen fixation, nitrogen scavenging, and suppression of soilborne diseases and pests.

Hemp’s rapid growth cycle makes it very competitive with weeds, resulting in little to no harsh herbicide requirements, and translates to more CO₂ sequestration into the soil, not to mention the many products that can be made from hemp. One ton of hemp can absorb approximately 1.62 tons of CO₂ making it one of the best crops in the fight against global warming.

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Carbon markets allow for the trading of carbon credits. Selling carbon credits produced through growing hemp could offer a much welcome revenue stream for farmers, and buying them could help large corporations follow through on pledges to reduce carbon emissions—a win-win-win situation.

In addition to revenue streams provided by selling the raw material from growing hemp and the resulting carbon credits, unused biomass could be sold to be used in BECCS or to make biochar, in my opinion, making hemp a very, if not the most, profitable cover crop.

FOREST REGENERATION Decreasing pressure on forests and their ecosystems allows them to regenerate and improve their ability to absorb carbon.

Hemp can help alleviate demand for wood products and reduce our impact on forests. Its fibre has very similar properties to that of wood and can be used to make hemp-based alternatives for many wood products—paper products, fuel pellets, etc.

The difference, however, is hemp matures for harvest in four months compared to 20 to 80 years for trees, and yields nearly four times more fibre per acre.

While all hemp-based products sequester carbon, building materials derived from hemp, such as hempcrete, hemp insulation, and even hemp “wood” products, are gaining popularity as awareness of their embodied carbon and their use in sustainable construction continues to grow.

Hempcrete is a biocomposite, a thermal construction material used in walls, floors, and ceilings. It is composed of hemp hurd or shiv mixed with a lime-based binder and water. The combination of the carbon absorbed through hemp when grown and the carbonization of the lime binder during the curing process is greater than the carbon emitted during the production of hempcrete—making it one of the only carbon-negative building materials.

Considering the carbon negativity of hemp building materials and how hemp has been illegal to cultivate for the past 60 to 80 years, I encourage you to imagine what the world would look like today if most if not all homes were built with sustainable hemp building materials—a world where climate-changeproducing carbon had been stored in our homes, the various products we use in our everyday lives, and the soil in which the hemp was grown.

CALL-TO-ACTION Complex ecosystems, biodiversity, and symbiotic relationships maintain the delicate balance of life on Earth as we know it. These ecosystems have adapted and evolved to wellestablished climates over long periods of time.

However, the rapid acceleration of climate change due to human activity threatens to disrupt ecosystems around the world. Species will be forced to adapt to rapid changes in regional climates around the world to survive, which is most concerning as the loss of one species has a cascading ripple effect and losing key species will lead to catastrophic, irreversible consequences to the environment, our societies, and our economies. We must take action.

How can you leverage your skills to help combat the climate crisis? Learn about and get involved in local and worldwide initiatives like the Sustainable Development Goals, Race to Zero, Project Drawdown, Climate Reality Project, Exponential Roadmap Initiative, TED Countdown, We Don’t Have Time, 350, and many more.

With a unified, focused, and organized effort, we will overcome this challenge. We’re all in this together. Humanity depends on it. u

Discover the many uses of hemp

Visit www.hempsavetheworld.com to find hemp-based products and more!

By switching to sustainable hemp-based products, we can all help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and do our part to combat the climate crisis. Hemp can be used to make of over 25,000 sustainable products ranging from clothing and accessories, food and nutrition, health and beauty, home and office, construction materials, bioplastics, and biofuels.

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By Kayla Bruce & Shayne Meechan, Green okanagan

PILLARS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Photo Credit: gatto tere

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W

hen you hear the term “sustainability”, what comes to mind? Perhaps the environment, perhaps the colour green. The truth is, sustainability is more than just nature and the environment. It is a complex concept that consists of three critical dimensions that work together to create an equilibrium. It is a combination of social, economic, and environmental prosperity.

• Social: Communities are happy and healthy with access to basic necessities. All people are protected from discrimination, with their personal, labour, and cultural rights respected.

• Economic: Humans across the globe are able to maintain their independence and have access to the resources that they require—financial and other—to meet their needs.

• Environmental: Ecological integrity is maintained and all of Earth’s environmental systems are kept in balance, while natural resources within them are consumed at a rate where they are able to replenish themselves.

True sustainability encompasses these three dimensions—social, economic, and environmental—to ensure we are meeting the needs of our people, our planet, and our future. But how can we build a framework to ensure we are reaching this goal? Balance between the dimensions of sustainability is achievable through sustainable development.

BASICS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT An idea originally coined during the Brutland Commission in 1987, sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

It aims to progress development in a way that is responsible, economical, and ecological. Take your own neighbourhood or hometown, for example. Things probably look a lot different than they did five years ago. There may be new roads, highways, buildings. City limits may be encroaching agricultural land, or perhaps you’ve noticed an influx in accessible amenities or transportation. These changes are all examples of development.

With the continuous growth in population, development is inevitable. It’s important, though, to prioritize building communities that are both healthy and resilient and to ensure the development occurring is also sustainable.

• Healthy communities offer an array of resources and services that prioritize wellness for citizens. For example, parks and greenspace or family support resources all help to stabilize the overall well-being of a community.

• Resilient communities are able to withstand hardship and adapt in challenging times, such as a fluctuation in the economy or an event of environmental distress.

This balance of health and resilience offers a prosperous environment for growth, with an added contingency of being able to adapt to change. This approach can be further

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explored by considering the pillars of sustainable development, which create the foundation for responsible growth at a local level.

PILLARS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1. Natural Landscapes Studies have shown that natural landscapes, such as those containing greenery and trees, provide physical, emotional, and environmental benefits. Not only do these elements clean the air we breathe and absorb pollutants, they also create carbon sinks that offset carbon in our atmosphere. Utilizing natural landscapes and incorporating greenery in our communities creates safe spaces for outdoor activities, while also serving as a natural way to reduce pollutants in the air, water, and soil.

2. Clean Energy Clean energy is defined as energy that is produced through means that do not pollute the atmosphere. It is a key aspect of sustainable development as it allows us to continue powering our systems and societies through progressive alternatives. Some of the available and common clean energy technologies include: • Wind (Kinetic Energy to Mechanical Power): Using turbines or other moving structures, wind energy is generated by taking energy from motion and converting it into power.

• Solar (Radiative Energy to Electricity): Sourced from the sun, energy is converted into heat, electricity, or chemical reactions.

• Geothermal (Thermal Energy to Power): Harnessing the deep natural heat produced from Earth's core.

• Hydro (Kinetic Energy to Mechanical Power): Converts the energy created from flowing bodies of water to electricity.

We use energy every day in our homes, in our cities, and throughout the globe. Technological advancements in the clean energy sector have shown promising results and are used around the world today. This form of energy production is foundational in sustainable development as it will accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon future.

3. Waste Reduction and Management Between 7.6 billion people, humankind currently produce two billion tonnes of waste every year. Reducing our waste is critical for sustainable development as our impact affects our air, water, and land environments. To achieve successful and attainable waste reduction, comprehensive waste management measures are necessary as well, such as: • Providing funding to countries in need, especially those with high growth rates, to enable the development of waste reduction technologies and management systems.

• Consumer education programs and campaigns paired with sourcesorted waste collection.

• Legislation to improve manufacturing regulations to hold producers accountable for the products they create. This could come in the form of closed-loop product development, return programs, or mandating the use of materials that are certified compostable/ recyclable at accessible facilities.

4. Densifying Livable Communities: Densified communities focus on bringing amenities, green space, and work a little closer to home. It is an effective way to optimize

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land-use, meaning developments take up less ground-level space. A great example of this is apartment buildings versus single-dwelling homes. An apartment complex is considered a densified living space, as there are more units per square foot, and focuses on building upwards as opposed to outwards. Densified living spaces help contain community growth, meaning less land requires development. Other aspects that contribute to a livable community include: • Safety and Security: Community members feel accepted and comfortable.

• Affordable and Appropriate Housing: A mix of detached homes, townhouses, apartments, and other housing options so the community is accessible to all.

• Active and Public Transit: This may include bike lanes, a bus system, light rail transit (LRT), walking trails, and more.

• Community Services: Includes space for physical and mental health support, recreational grounds and facilities, community centres, and other services that enhance the social aspect of a community.

Making amenities convenient and increasing natural elements in community spaces makes livable communities more effective and environmentally conscious.

5. Active and Public Transit Active transit, any type of human-powered motion, has been shown to improve the happiness and healthiness of people and the communities in which they live. Public transit refers to any shared mode of transportation, such as a bus, light rail system, train, or otherwise.

These modes of transit are a pillar of sustainable development as they provide many benefits, including: • Health: Spending more time outdoors, lowering stress levels through physical activity.

• Environmental: Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, noise and congestion, as well as air pollutants.

• Economic: Active and public transportation modes can be more economical than driving a personal vehicle. Not only are fuel expenses less, the reduction in personal vehicles on the roads results in less road maintenance required for upkeep.

• Social and Safety: Less traffic and congestion lead to calmer and safer roads. It encourages outdoor activity and higher social interaction amongst community members and neighbours.

Sustainable development is a key component to creating healthy, responsible communities that complement the environment that surrounds us. There are also other factors that can contribute to sustainable communities such as public engagement, green buildings, and investing in research.

Take some time to consider how your community is growing: is it sustainable? Are there opportunities for you to get involved in public engagement or support community initiatives that are driving sustainable development? Look for ways to get involved in your community and help influence how it grows so it can flourish into the future.

Sustainability is an objective, while sustainable development is the many processes and pathways to achieve it. By using these sustainable development pillars as a foundation, we can create communities that foster health, wellness, environmental protection, and sustainable growth—creating a future that is prosperous for all. u

GREEN OKANAGAN GREEN OKANAGAN, or GO for short, is a volunteer-led registered non-profit organization based in the beautiful Okanagan, in Canada. Our mandate is to progress sustainability from an individual level. By sharing our own experiences and easy to implement tips and tricks, we hope to empower you to make smart consumer choices and adapt your lifestyle to improve your overall sustainability.

Curious about zero-waste living?

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Join our online community for free resources that’ll help you simplify your life and improve your sustainability.

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Join us at our next event or workshop all are welcome in the GO community!

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www.greenokanagan.org savingearthmagazine.com | 77

The Climate Emergency...

An Existential Threat to Most Life on the Planet

BY PETER CARTER, CLIMATE EMERGENCY INSTITUTE

A

s 2021 gets underway, never has it been more certain that we have to save our Earth by all of us doing all we can right now. It is a must because the world’s children are being left a poisoned legacy of atmospheric greenhouse gases and dangerous climate chaos. The research and data are pouring in, making the Earth emergency and our predicament certain. The good news is that people everywhere—and of all ages—are coming to realize how bad this is and increasingly are becoming climateresponsible citizens.

In 2018, at a world summit, UN Secretary General António Guterres said the climate emergency is “an existential threat to most life on the planet, including and especially humankind.” My American counterpart and colleague, “Earth Doctor” Reese Halter, an expert on the catastrophic impacts of climate disruption on the rest of nature, has just published his latest book, Gen-Z Emergency, which drives home the point for a younger generation, with all the latest research brilliantly relayed.

If we had any doubt, just published in January 2021 was a peer-reviewed scientific paper by 17 leading experts; the title says it all: Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future. The paper states, “The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its life forms—including humanity—is in fact so great that it is difficult to grasp for even wellinformed experts.”

The latest on the climate emergency from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies is that 2020’s global surface temperature increase was a record, marginally higher than in 2016.

Land heating and ocean heating in 2020 were record highs. Last year’s summer was a record high for the northern hemisphere, which is alarming for world food security (check any map of the world to see where most of our breadbasket regions are located) and the future of life because of amplifying feedbacks (the effects of global heating causing more

global heating) in the Arctic and Antarctica.

Disappearing sea ice means we’re losing albedo (white snow and ice that reflects the sun’s energy) while also losing our growing season’s “air conditioner.” Thawing permafrost releases more carbon dioxide and methane, which are both global warming greenhouse gases.

Levels of atmospheric CO₂, which causes most of the global heating and all ocean acidification, has been accelerating faster than ever over the past year. Atmospheric methane levels, the next main greenhouse gas causing climate change, is also accelerating.

The good news is that most people are now aware of the climate emergency and want their governments to do more. People know we have to stop burning fossil fuels and that this is achievable by switching to 100 percent clean renewable energy.

In such an obviously dire planetary emergency, the question is, What do I do?

Start by making it a habit to do one new thing to reduce your family’s CO₂ and greenhouse gas emissions, and then add another good habit, say, each month. You will be a climate hero in no time. Environmental artist and activist, Franke James, in her whimsical 2009 book, Bothered by My Green Conscience, suggests doing the hardest thing first. (Franke and her husband gave up their car and sowed their driveway with grass.)

1. The most rapidly effective single habit to cut personal emissions is to become vegan, which is best for personal health, as well.

2. Next, become a true climate activist by being socially and politically active. Talk “climate emergency response” to everyone you can.

3. Write regularly to all your government representatives, telling them they must immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies, which amount to trillions of dollars a year (according to the International Monetary Fund). Our governments are committing

the biggest crime of all time by supporting and financing the fossil fuel industries.

4. Humans were not made to fly and don’t have to, so don’t—or you will blow your carbon stack.

Now, here is great news. Renewable energy investments are riding high. It is fascinating to keep up to date with the latest amazingly good news on renewable energy and thrilling to make good money from good energy.

5. So, tell your friends. Do yourself, your family, and your children’s Earth a great big favour by getting your money out of deadly dirty fossil fuel energy into clean renewables. We have literally no future with any fossil fuels.

The IPCC says carbon emissions must be cut 50% by 2030 (nine years) to drop to near zero in the following decades.

With such a huge challenge the question pops up, "Isn’t it too late?" Absolutely not. The one bright side of the Covid-19 pandemic is that 2020’s carbon emissions dropped by about eight percent—exactly the shot in the arm our climate emergency response needed.

(The United Nations Environment Program suggests a 7.6 percent drop each year will keep us on track.)

Things look bad, but we are winning. Renewable energy is taking over from fossil fuel energy, and fast. More and more people are switching to a plant-based diet.

It’s never too late to do what is right and it is certainly not too late to save our children’s future. Become a climate hero—fight to save the Earth.

Peter Carter is the founding director of the Climate Emergency Institute and an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). His 2018 book, co-authored with Elizabeth Woodworth, is Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival.

COMING SOON! Pre-order your copy for this coming Earth Day celebration.

savingearth The kids’ edition is dedicated to helping children understand environmental issues and climate change. We do this through engaging, focused, and relevant materials that are designed to EDUCATE, ENCOURAGE, and EMPOWER.

CONTENT INCLUDES easy to understand articles on science, environmental issues, sustainability, recycling, biodiversity, ecosystems, COVID-19, and climate change. It also includes eco-friendly projects, activities, puzzles, and games. The magazine also highlights stories on kids and schools around the world who are already actively participating in making a difference.

SAVING EARTH FOR KIDS includes contributions from Greenpeace, Sierra Club BC, educational professionals, children’s authors, youth leaders, and more.

Printed on SugarSheet, SAVING EARTH FOR KIDS, uses 100% forest free paper.

Visit www.savingearth4kids.com to order your copies.

for more information contact teena@savingearthmagazine.com

For readers 8 to 12 years old.

ONLY 3% OF OLD-GROWTH FORESTS WITH HUGE, OLD TREES REMAIN IN B.C.

It’s not too late. You can help protect the last remaining ancient forests.

Take action today at sierraclub.bc.ca/OldGrowth