A bigger lever?

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses and sequestering carbon is articulated widely as the main tool to mitigate climate change. But this focuses on just one aspect of the atmosphere. In reality, the biosphere plays a massive role in the regulation of climate.

For millions of years, life has been colonising the planet, expressing itself with ever-expanding diversity and reach. With the expansion of biomass, life has created a benign climate – as much as possible on a spherical planet in space.

But humans have been destroying biomass and degrading the moderation of the climate. This destruction has accelerated with the arrival of the industrial age. Our industrial activity also pollutes land, air and water. We can heal the climate by regenerating the biosphere and stop burning fossil fuels.

The hydrological cycle, (the way that water moves through the environment) drives much of the planet’s heat dynamics. This gives us a much bigger lever for mitigating climate change. And for those not convinced, a big part of the remedy for both approaches is very similar – getting atmospheric carbon back into the soil.

These pages focus on the dynamics of direct cooling. They are under construction.

1. How direct cooling works

Some places are hotter than others. This might be because of latitude, or elevation. But often neighbouring properties can differ significantly in temperature. Walter Jehne reports that locations in Canberra with lots of trees and be 12 degrees cooler than nearby treeless landscapes. (page under construction)

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2. The science of direct cooling

Walter Jehne outlines 10 dynamics that drive the hydrological cycle that helps to explain how we can cool the planet. Click here for the first on these 10 dynamics.

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3. Greening deserts

Deserts are increasing globally, but also efforts to green deserts are intensifying. more>>

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4. Cooling farms

Regenerative agriculture focuses on soil health and how to integrate more carbon into soils. (page under construction)

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5. Urban cooling

While the built environment only accounts for one percent of global land cover, the places we live differ widely in their heat dynamics. (page under construction)

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6. Greening the desert of the mind

Sometimes the human mind is more arid than the harshest desert. We become captured by other peoples’ thinking and the ideologies that drive our economic and social constructions. This page explores the problem and solutions. (page under construction)

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