Bjørn Olson (Photo provided)

Bjørn Olson (Photo provided)

Point of View: Homer Drawdown moves forward with climate-change solutions

Two years ago, a small group of concerned citizens decided to use this book as a guiding document

A decade ago, it would have been forgivable to not appreciate which climate solution was the most impactful. Is it transportation, energy, food production? As an individual, is it more meaningful to switch light bulbs or to drive less, compost or grow a garden?

Important questions like these have been asked, studied and quantified in the book and online resource “Drawdown, The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.” The authors of this tome rank the top 100 most meaningful climate solutions and provide clear alternatives to each of these atmospheric offenders. All but one of the solutions in the book are called “zero regret solutions,” which is to say that switching from our current ways and means is entirely possible.

What Drawdown does not make clear, however, is how these solutions will be implemented. Two years ago, a small group of concerned citizens decided to use this book as a guiding document, to find and implement a project to address the climate crisis on a local level without the slow and politicized assistance of the government.

Over the course of nine months, Homer Drawdown, a group of residents, with more than 250 people on its email list, met once a month over Zoom to discuss each chapter of the book and to nominate potential climate solutions from each sector. The Drawdown series is centered in the belief that community-led solutions, if deployed collectively on a global scale over the next 30 years, represents the most credible path to reaching drawdown — the point at which more carbon is being removed from the atmosphere than is entering it. After much research and deliberation, our group chose Peatland Protection and Re-Wetting as our project.

Although peatlands make up only 3% of the Earth’s surface, they store more carbon than all the world’s forests. They are second only to the ocean in how much carbon they have locked away and out of the atmosphere. Over the last year, Homer Drawdown has partnered with local scientists, land managers, Kachemak Heritage Land Trust, artists, authors, city and borough government, nonprofits, the Homer Airport, and many others. Our mission has been to put peatlands on the map. In the ceaseless stream of government’s failures to address the climate crisis, our small and dedicated group has seen remarkable success on the local level.

This January, Homer Drawdown will reconvene and begin deliberation on a new, middle-out, community-led climate solution. As we embark on this next project, we invite anyone who is concerned about global warming to join. Information about Homer Drawdown can be found at www.homerdrawdown.info.

Bjørn Olson is an independent filmmaker and board member of the Kachemak Bay Conservation Society.

More in Opinion

Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Point of View: Some state lawmakers need to embrace reality, not PFD political theater

State revenues minus public services do not leave enough in the checkbook to pay an oversized dividend

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks about teacher bonuses during consideration a bill increasing state funds for public education in the Alaska House of Representatives on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Rep. Ben Carpenter: Holding up a mirror to state government

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in opposition to an executive order that would abolish the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives during a joint legislative session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Sen. Jesse Bjorkman: Ensuring food security for Alaska

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of a bill increasing state funds for public education in the Alaska House of Representatives on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Rep. Justin Ruffridge: Executive orders and spring forecast

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Sarah Vance (Photo provided)
Opinion: Strengthening Alaska Grand Juries

Upholding constitutional intent for transparency and accountability

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks Thursday, April 27, 2023, at a news conference in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Rep. Ben Carpenter: Why reform for the grand jury matters

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, listens to testimony during a Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Sen. Jesse Bjorkman: Leveling the health care playing field

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks Monday, May 8, 2023, on the floor of the Alaska House. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Rep. Justin Ruffridge: Another big week for education

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks about teacher bonuses during consideration a bill increasing state funds for public education in the Alaska House of Representatives on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Rep. Ben Carpenter: Supporting better outcomes in education

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Most Read