When global warming is mentioned, images that usually come to mind include rising sea levels and an increasingly warmer earth. It often seems as if there is not enough being done to combat the changing conditions of the Earth.
On Thursday evening the ETSU Department of Sustainability and the College of Public Heath hosted their Leading Voices in Public Health lecture series in the Millennium Center Ballroom. The topic of the lecture was called “Climate Solutions As Health Solutions,” and it was lead by guest speaker Crystal Chissell.
“I want to talk about climate change as both a health issue and a planetary public health issue,” Chissell said.
Chissell is Vice President of Operations and Engagement at Project Drawdown. According to Project Drawdown’s website they are a “world-class research organization that reviews, analyzes and identifies the most viable global climate solutions and shares these findings with the world.”
“We define Drawdown as a point in time when concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere begin to decline year to year,” Chissell said. “We want this to be basically a household name when discussing climate change.”
Chissell said that Project Drawdown’s goal was to not just slow the rise of greenhouse gases but to also begin to reduce the greenhouse gases.
“We also propose changing the world wide conversation about climate change and global warming from one of threat and despair to a conversation about what we can do about the problem,” Chissell said.
Chissell said that over the past four years the non-profit research organization has been collecting and analyzing data world-wide on climate solutions. Chissell said they had developed models designed to create both individual solutions and their potential to reduce carbon dioxide submissions.
In 2017 the results of the study were published in a book called “Drawdown,” and it detailed 80 solutions for climate change. Each solution had to be currently available, financially viable, any negative consequences had to be outweighed by the positive benefit and there had to be sufficient data available
One of the top solutions included wind turbines on and off shore, which would reduce 98 gigatons of carbon dioxide. One of the second highest solutions included reducing food waste, which would reduce 70.53 gigatons of carbondioxide.
Audience member Marat Moore said she was familiar with “Drawdown,” and that she thought “Drawdown” was one of the most exciting things in the global warming conversation.
“We don’t have to come up with anything new,” Moore said. “Silvopasture is trying to bring trees and foliage into cattle pasture so the methane that is emitted from cows is sequestered. Tennessee gives away trees. This year they’re giving away 187,000 trees. I wonder if we could get organized to find out how many trees are coming in, to talk with some interested farmers and to perhaps get some volunteers to help plant trees and make an impact here.”
