WASHINGTON, April 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At Healthy Climate Alliance’s first-ever congressional briefing on Climate Restoration, climate experts from the private and public sector applauded the leadership of Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) for introducing a House Resolution on Climate Restoration.
“On Earth Day, I was proud to introduce a Resolution expressing the sense of Congress that America is committed to ensuring a safe and healthy climate for future generations and to creating solutions for climate restoration,” said Congressman Jamie Raskin. “Together we must fight the devastating effects of climate change taking hold across the globe.”
Climate Restoration is the global endeavor to return the Earth’s climate systems to the safe and healthy state from which humanity and our natural world evolved. This requires returning atmospheric CO2 to safe levels of less than 300 parts per million (ppm) by 2050 and restoring sufficient Arctic ice to prevent permafrost melt and the resulting disastrous methane emissions. Climate restoration is complementary to ongoing CO2 emission-reduction and mitigation efforts.
Building on the introduction of the Climate Restoration Resolution, experts are calling for a bipartisan congressional investment of research funds through the Department of Energy Applied Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) and funds for Climate Restoration modeling through NASA’s Earth Science Research Program. A cross-section of industry leaders, civic groups, and climate scientists are encouraging the U.S. Congress to take bold and immediate action to scale implementation of the solutions described below.
Statements from experts:
“Reducing negative emissions is critical, but that alone is not the solution. Congress must focus on Climate Restoration if we expect to have a habitable planet in the future. There are scalable solutions available today that, if resourced appropriately, could restore Earth to a healthy state for ourselves and future generations. Climate restoration can begin now!”
Peter Fiekowsky, Founder and Chairman, Foundation for Climate Restoration
“Climate Restoration is an unprecedented opportunity for humanity to join forces to achieve an ambitious goal of 300 ppm CO2 by 2050. Earth Day Network is committed to doing everything possible in the years ahead to achieve this goal.”
Kathleen Rogers, Executive Director, Earth Day Network
“Not only does the Blue Planet technology exist to shift rapidly to a lower carbon economy, but by sequestering carbon in aggregate for use in concrete, it would save a great deal of money, enhance competitiveness, create a lot of jobs, and help restore our climate. Congressional action is critical now to ensure the quality of our children’s lives.”
Greg Kats, Board Member, Blue Planet Ltd.
Global warming is accelerating at an alarming rate. A growing sense of urgency compels us to act responsibly, effectively and quickly to both mitigate the causes of global warming and begin to restore a healthy climate for life on our planet. Arctic ice restoration is vital to prevent permafrost melt and the resulting methane emissions. Urgent Congressional action can help avoid a global catastrophe."
Steven Zornetzer, Executive Director, ICE911
Climate Restoration Solutions:
Carbon Sequestration for a Commercial Market
Blue Planet has developed a commercially viable way to remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere by turning it into limestone aggregate for concrete. This method can scale to remove a trillion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere within 30 to 40 years.
Fishery Restoration
Fishery restoration combines poverty reduction and community empowerment with carbon sequestration. There are massive stretches of ocean that are nutrient-limited due to climate change. Supplementing nutrients can promote photosynthesis and build up fisheries. That, in turn, allows for carbon sequestration in the deep ocean.
Restoring Arctic Ice
Researchers at Ice911 Research have spent 10 years creating, testing and refining floating glass spheres that act as a reflective layer on the Arctic ice. In spring, these spheres spread over the surface of ice act as fresh snow - a highly reflective surface - during the 24-hours of daylight experienced in the summertime. This ice can then survive through the summer, allowing it to thicken and become more durable over time.
About the Foundation for Climate Restoration and the Healthy Climate Alliance:
Healthy Climate Alliance (HCA) is the education, networking, and advocacy program of the Foundation for Climate Restoration. HCA’s global dialogue unites the public, policy-makers, and technical and business experts to promote the shared goals of reversing global warming and restoring a healthy climate. HCA encourages achievable solutions for drawing down excess carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and restoring Arctic ice by 2050. Find more at Healthy Climate Alliance and Foundation for Climate Restoration.
In collaboration with Earth Day Network:
Earth Day Network’s mission is to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day (1970), Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 50,000 partners in nearly 192 countries to build environmental democracy. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Find more here: https://www.earthday.org/
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