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The secret way to save a burning planet (Hint: it’s not a big bucket of water)

Welcome to The Strawman, the newsletter that’s as loved as Amazon Prime (and we deliver on Sundays too!)

Last newsletter we spoke about Chris Sacca, part time cowboy 🤠, full time money printer 🤑 and his firm, Lowercarbon Capital. In a world where every season is BBQ season (we mean that literally and figuratively), he argues we need to focus on three things:

  1. Reducing new CO2 emissions

  2. Capturing CO2 in the air

  3. Improving our ability to cope

Here’s what each of those mean 👇:

Reducing new CO2 emissions

This is the obvious one, and the one people have been talking about the longest. If you know something’s bad for you, you should probably stop doing it right? Right?

In this case, like that newborn that keeps standing up only to realise it’s legs aren’t quite strong enough yet, we seem to continue to keep falling over.

That being said, the path to reducing emissions seems clearer now than ever before:

  • Shift away from fossil fuels to renewables

  • Make things as efficient as possible (something we’ve historically been bad at)

  • Pray for fusion energy (more on this in another newsletter)

Capturing CO2 in the air

CO2 capture is almost romanticised sometimes as a potentially holy grail solution - but the fact is the planet’s already been doing this for over a billion years.

There’s plenty of new technologies to get hyped and excited about (direct air capture, carbon mineralisation, among others) - but nothing beats the old ways of doing things. That’s right, the GOAT of CO2 capture are Mother Nature’s very own trees, plants, and soil.

Like rebellious teenagers, we’ve been lashing out at Mother Nature since the Industrial revolution with deforestation. It’s time to mend the relationship and initiatives to plant greenery and practice regenerative agriculture are doing a lot to help.

Improving our ability to cope

As much as we'd like to reverse all the impacts of climate change, we've got to face the reality: we're going to have to adapt. This is where smart solutions are needed to protect folk from the wild weather we're already experiencing.

Smarter city planning, early warning systems for natural disasters, and resilient infrastructure will make us more prepared for the wild climate rollercoaster we're on. And if that doesn't work, we'll just have to perfect our synchronised swimming skills for the next floods. 🏊‍♀️

So, there you have it, folks! We've got a three-pronged attack plan to save our sizzling planet. It's going to take hard work, innovation, and a whole lot of swim-practice, but it feels like we have a plan of action.

Stay breezy,

The Strawman