What is Project Drawdown?
Project Drawdown is a published collection of “drawdown solutions”, technologies, and practices that if implemented collectively we can achieve drawdown - “the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change.” This work was first published 5 years ago and raises hope for mitigating the climate crisis.
Currently, in order to avoid cataclysmic environmental destruction, we must limit the warming of the climate between 2°C and 1.5°C. According to PBS anything above 2°C will create havoc and trigger a profoundly disrupted climate with fiercer storms, higher seas, animal and plant extinctions, disappearing coral, melting ice and more people dying from heat, smog and infectious disease.
What are drawdown solutions?
Project Drawdown assesses the climate with help from experts in fields from oceanography to mechanical engineering and artificial intelligence that model greenhouse gases. These models show our current state and scenarios if we collectively work towards drawdown using scalable technologies and practices to limit the warming of the planet. These solutions range from 13 industries such as technology and the transportation sector with solutions such as plant-based diets, education of girls, reducing food waste, etc. (learn more here). And, as of today, their list has included Seaweed farming.
According to their latest update “Seaweed farming is one of the most sustainable types of aquaculture. Expanding seaweed farming enhances carbon sequestration and boosts production of biomass that can be used for biofuel, bioplastic, livestock feed, and human consumption.”
Age of Blue Economy
There are so many new discoveries in aquaculture and ocean economies for climate mitigation. Not only does it help sequester carbon but tapping into the blue economy can spur innovation and support micro-economies where many seaweed / sea plant farms are currently located.
The blue economy can save our oceans, our species, and the planet. It has so much potential that requires more research and support. This holds true specifically for those localized economies that are truly at the forefront of providing the world with this “blue gold” from the ocean.
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