Following a short break after leaving the White House, President Obama returns to his skills as an activist… characteristic with his no-drama style, looks like he’ll work only on really big knobs that make a difference.

Climate change makes his cut.

As he pointed out recently: how we produce our food offers big potential wins (including a vast potential for reducing food waste).

From that article by Stephanie Strom of the New York Times:  “The former president noted that the Paris agreement focused on damage to the environment from the energy sector, leaving the role of food production largely unaddressed. ‘We are actually seeing a continuing increase in emissions coming out of the agriculture sector,’ he said, ‘and a lot of that has to do with changing diets around the world.’ ”

To see a vivid set of numbers explaining the size of the food/climate change opportunity, please take a look at the newly-released rankings of all global warming solutions by Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown?

Turns out food production and food waste are very big knobs indeed.  Of the top twenty heavy-hitter climate change solutions, “food” is seven of the top 20 (please click below to explore them…).

As you and I look to save the planet a) changing our personal food habits, b) looking for awesome jobs in the agriculture arena, and c) using our advocacy for any of the below are great, great uses of our  personal power.

3rd:  Reduced Food Waste (71 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution).  Stop throwing out up to 40% of all food produced worldwide!)

4th:  Plant-rich Diet (66 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution).  “Eat lower on the food chain.”

9th:  Silvopasture (31 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution)

11th:  Regenerative Agriculture (23 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution)

14th:  Tropical Staple Trees (20 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution)

16th:  Conservation Agriculture (17 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution)

17th:  Tree Intercropping (17 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution)

19th:  Managed Grazing (16 gigatons of preventable CO2 pollution)

(As far as I know, Drawdown’s new book (buy it, it’s cool as hell) and web site are the first attempt from a team of scientists and economists to “score” all possible global warming solutions:  Rank those numbers to determine which solutions are trivial and which are heavy-hitters.  This allows us to focus on “big stuff which truly matters,” and perhaps avoid getting off on less-important tangents.)

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Not sure where to start saving the planet (civilization, really)?  Our Thesis is: “Start by deeply knowing your personal Superpowers: ” 

1) To save the planet, CHANGE YOURSELF FIRST;

2) INVEST YOUR WORKING LIFE;

3) USE YOUR VOICE and take advocacy seriously!  Never miss a vote and never, ever stop influencing your government and all businesses locally, at the state level, and at the national level.  

It falls upon you to lead the way with substantive global warming solutions.  

And in all cases and at all times, cast aside the learned-helplessness that infects so much of modern life… the time is now for climate change solutions.  No one else is going to do your part for you…

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