Name: PocketBook4you
Author: PocketBook4You

So, did you know that the world is dying? Although a bit drastic, the question is extremely pertinent in the face of what we see daily, we even dare to ask another one: did you know that humanity is perishing because the planet is as well?

I imagine that your answer is yes! And once again, we get into the "Save the Planet" discussion.

Whatever your feeling about it, we need drastic changes from the State and the private sector to modify this scenario and bring profit to the environment and to the companies.

After all, because we are driven by money, both for our benefit and to manufacture new sustainable technologies based on the Green Economy, we need to join forces across these sectors and thus leverage this process for good.

So whether you are in a transformative position or not, here you will learn everything you need to know about sustainable conservation, from your day-to-day life to enriching your knowledge for the company. The book Drawdown will give you the answers. So, let's dive into it!

Published by the New York: Penguin Books in 2017, this work addresses multiple plans we do to can reverse global warming. Bringing data, historical processes, and developed research. All with practical and applicable uses in businesses, governments, and citizens' homes.

With 240 pages, Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming is divided into eight chapters that address topics relevant to environmental change: Energy, Food, Women and Girls, Buildings and Cities, Land Use, Transportation, Materials, and Attractions.

A name of great weight and importance in the area, the author is an American businessman and activist. He is a great consultant for companies that seek environmental sustainability in their activities. Thus, he wishes to bring balance between business and the environment.

Paul Hawken is the executive director of the Drawdown Project, a non-profit project, and brings his ideas to this book, addressing not only companies and the State but every person to be more sustainable.

A re-adaptation in the face of what humanity has been experiencing is inevitable. Nowadays, not only do we have more incentives for companies to improve their environmental impact, but it has also become a commitment that more consumers demand from the companies they consume. 

Everyone can and should keep thinking about improving their habits, so whether you are an enthusiast on the subject, a businessman, or an activist, here you will understand and discover great ideas and facts about preservation.

The current methods of energy generation that are most beneficial and practical for clean consumption;

How to modify or improve our food production in addition to the awareness of food waste generated worldwide;

How to change behavior through education;

The impacts of deforestation and how we can adjust the use of the land we have at our disposal;

News in the ecological and technological world.

With the fundamental goal of identifying, metricizing, and creating doable solutions that should alleviate this climate within three decades, the project emerged in 2013 with the collaboration of more than 70 people from 22 countries.

However, everything was designed to combine sustainability with maintaining human comfort, for example: creating jobs, improving safety and health, saving money, and much more. So let's take a look at the main observations that the leader of this project has to offer in the book.

The plans to reverse the climate crisis start with an extremely important part and one of the most polluting we have: energy! We can no longer live without it, so, for this reason, we must find appropriate solutions for it by adapting it.

More and more renewable energies are being compared to those fossil fuel derivatives. After all, gas, coal, and oil are becoming more expensive. To understand more about the issue, let's see some clean energies and to what extent they are beneficial.

By 2018 there were 314,000 turbines, they power 4% of the world's energy, and this number is only likely to grow. We can exemplify the wind energy potential of only three states in America (Kansas, North Dakota, and Texas) that can supply the demand from one end of the country to the other.

Not to mention the speed of construction of a turbine farm, which takes only about a year, automatically it generates a return on investment for the owner. Of course, there are drawbacks, because the wind is not constant and variations in the weather can interfere with the process.

However, its benefits and efficiency are clear, becoming shortly the cheapest type of energy capture. What is often lacking is government will and leadership.

Combining multiple renewable energy and a battery in a single spot, the microgrids exists to supply the demand of smaller cities and the countryside. This method grants the accessibility and flexibility of energy without relying on a huge central.

A resource that depends on heat from below the earth and water to bring this heat to the surface, geothermal energy is very limited and expensive. A new method to dispel its limitations is to create artificial wells where this excess heat exists, but again, this may cost much more than other alternatives.

Another downside is that this energy is not 100% clean, existing still some gas emissions, but much less than the old methods.

Although popular, solar energy generates less than 2% of the world's consumption, but its growth is immense and has evolved a lot. After all, this method makes a lot of sense since the sun is available half a day every single day.

Due to the great incentive of this modality, its costs are becoming cheaper and more accessible, being acquired by families as a means of saving money and consequently helping to reduce gas emissions.

Smaller mechanics that fit on roofs are already being more adhered to, becoming more self-sufficient. More governments are supporting and benefiting those who use this energy.

There is still uncertainty about its validity, but biomass energy is widely used. It produces on demand and is very useful for emergencies. 

This is the middle ground from shifting to newer and better sources, especially while other modalities are getting cheaper or have not yet reached their potential. One way to improve the sustainability of this energy would be through the modification of materials used to supply it. 

Using waste products or even changing the type of crops to perennials. Corn and sorghum are the most used, but these degrade the soil and need a lot of fertilization.

Nuclear energy supplies about 11% of all the world's energy, and these power plants have passed through different generations. Gen 1 is almost all deactivated and made a place for Gen 2, which uses water as a decelerator for the nuclear chain reactions - the old one used graphite - and enriched uranium.

Gen 3 and 4 are still few in number, but are growing and being improved. These improvements are intended to reduce construction time, stretch its lifetime and increase efficiency. Leaving us wondering how much more expensive this technology can become.

Today, it is noticeable how high its price is. While other energies become cheaper, nuclear becomes more expensive, so only the future will tell how worthwhile this energy will be. 

However, this evolution to Gen 4 is essential, improving the safety of these plants and making them smaller, thus possibly lowering their costs.

With the organic materials produced by animals and humans, methane is produced. A toxic gas that can be very useful for generating energy. This is a great way to reuse the waste produced and redirect the gas so that it does not pollute the environment and provides power.

Batteries are in a new category, it doesn't generate energy but store it and makes distribution a possibility. This concept is still quite innovative, but has been surprising to everyone for the steady decrease in costs to install them. 

This technology combined with renewables could be of extreme benefit, as the inconsistencies of energy from solar and wind would no longer be a concern.

Our food production can harm the environment?

Does our food influence the emission of pollutant gases? It seems a bit unlikely, but it is real. They exist naturally, as for their retainers too.

The natural balance formed by gases and their reducers no longer exists in an organic way, which generates a great alarm in the scientific community.

It is still uncertain the correct percentage with which agriculture and cattle raising has been influencing the gases in the atmosphere; the most conservative say that at least 15% of world production is due to them. Cattle-raising encourages huge deforestation for the production of their food and it also generates toxic gases on a daily basis.

As a solution, we can combine farming and forestry, it seems unlikely, but it is possible and quite beneficial both to avoid deforestation and for greater financial gain for the owner who will have in the same place grazing and trees of various types to generate products (fruits, nuts, among others). 

We also have agriculture that, by its current predatory format, degrades and makes soils infertile. Restoration is necessary, either naturally or with human effort. 

One solution is to use more efficient irrigation systems, putting in only what is necessary to avoid desalination of the soils.

One can also think about implementing agroforestry, mixing low plants with trees that bring the benefit of a forest while preventing erosion, infertility, and more. Despite the benefits, it is an expensive idea to implement and its financial return is not immediate, but when well established it generates great profits.

Another issue is food waste. In poorer countries, it is usually due to a lack of infrastructure, transportation, storage space, refrigeration, and more. In better-conditioned countries, it happens because of the aesthetics of the food or if it is extra ordered and served.

We no longer eat for the sake of survival, but for pleasure. Many of these cuisines carry their own cultural values and flavors depending on the method of preparation.

So it is not surprising to see that 40% of the fuels used for cooking are harmful to the environment and to humans when inhaled. The creation of technological stoves is real, they can reduce gas emissions by 90%, but they are very expensive.

We can only evaluate and start making practical changes in our daily lives. Composting is a start for those who have their plants or small crops at home and want to reuse the organic material consumed. 

With small steps, we can reach our goals.

The content presented above reflects the vision and critical analysis  of our writing team, respecting the fundamentals of intellectual  property in Brazil (article 8, item I). 
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DRAWDOWN - Paul Hawken

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