Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
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- Create Date：2021-07-06 08:54:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Paul Hawken
- ISBN：0141988436
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Summary
In the face of widespread fear and apathy， an international coalition of researchers， professionals， and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change。 One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of。 They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air。 The solutions exist， are economically viable， and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination。 If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years， they represent a credible path forward， not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown， that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline。 These measures promise cascading benefits to human health， security， prosperity， and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world。
Reviews
Steven
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2。5 stars
Cori Ready
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Should be required reading for all us who share this planet。
Jill
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While a few years old， the content is still very relevant。 Well it's nice to see that we are making progress on some of these ideas， we still have a long way to go。 This is a must read for any human who cares about the planet。 While a few years old， the content is still very relevant。 Well it's nice to see that we are making progress on some of these ideas， we still have a long way to go。 This is a must read for any human who cares about the planet。 。。。more
Clivemichael
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Illustrative suggestions well presented， inspiring effort。
Karen Gioconda
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💯 recommend this book。 I bought a paper copy for my Free Little Library so people in the neighborhood could read it。 This book is accessible - aka I didn't have to use a dictionary or know higher level math to understand - and hopeful。 This book infrequently triggered my climate anxiety。 I'm happy my efforts to battle food waste and in alignment with one of the top solutions。 I need to continue to focus on reducing my meat intake。 I need to find more opportunities to empower women and girls。 Joi 💯 recommend this book。 I bought a paper copy for my Free Little Library so people in the neighborhood could read it。 This book is accessible - aka I didn't have to use a dictionary or know higher level math to understand - and hopeful。 This book infrequently triggered my climate anxiety。 I'm happy my efforts to battle food waste and in alignment with one of the top solutions。 I need to continue to focus on reducing my meat intake。 I need to find more opportunities to empower women and girls。 Join me！ 。。。more
Kelli
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Wow。。。 I wish I could give this one six stars。 It’s essentially a short explanation of 80-100 solutions currently in practice worldwide that could most reduce global warming， plus innovative ideas that are in the works but not yet widely practiced （marine permaculture was one of the most interesting for me！）。 They also provided their methodology and huge list of contributing scientists and professionals at the back， in addition to short lists of the solutions ranked by impact。 The impact of cert Wow。。。 I wish I could give this one six stars。 It’s essentially a short explanation of 80-100 solutions currently in practice worldwide that could most reduce global warming， plus innovative ideas that are in the works but not yet widely practiced （marine permaculture was one of the most interesting for me！）。 They also provided their methodology and huge list of contributing scientists and professionals at the back， in addition to short lists of the solutions ranked by impact。 The impact of certain solutions really surprised me， and I would have never guessed all of the top 10 most impactful solutions （for example， number 6 is educating women and girls！）。 As this book’s stated intention is to make the reader think about their own impact and how they can be a part of this collective movement， I can guarantee this worked！ In addition to describing each solution in terms anyone could understand （even nuclear fusion， yes！） the authors really emphasized the role of humanity in a reciprocal and interconnected relationship with nature。 And they also chose to focus on hopeful language and opportunities for innovation， which has been proven to be a better method at getting people to care about climate change than just repeating depressing climate trends。 Don’t worry about reading this all at once because there isn’t really a narrative to follow- I read it in little bursts over a few months and it was just fine。 Definitely recommended :） 。。。more
Corey
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Summary:Lots of feelings and thinking around this book。 It does a good job of highlighting the severity and urgency of our climate situation， but I finished this book filled with hope about the options we have available and what we can do to address the dire situation we're in。 A lot of the solutions are large scale interventions that require adoption throughout several levels of society， and some start with individual choice。 The book's content stems from an international coalition of researche Summary:Lots of feelings and thinking around this book。 It does a good job of highlighting the severity and urgency of our climate situation， but I finished this book filled with hope about the options we have available and what we can do to address the dire situation we're in。 A lot of the solutions are large scale interventions that require adoption throughout several levels of society， and some start with individual choice。 The book's content stems from an international coalition of researchers， professionals， and scientists who outline 100 solutions， 20 of them not yet viable， to mitigate or reverse climate change。 The book's creators model the impacts of the solutions based on estimates of implementation by 2050 and how much c02 can be avoided or pulled out of the atmosphere as well as the costs of implementation and return on investment。 It's well researched， information dense and some of the solutions are just down right fascinating。 This book could be used effectively as a roadmap with solutions being assigned for implementation to relevant countries， societies and governments based on appropriateness。 I would recommend this book to everyone。 Honestly， climate change is a human problem that everyone should understand and the solutions should be well understood as well so that we can implement them。 The main message I took from this book is that there is so much we can do to mitigate and reverse climate change on the micro and the macro level。 Many of the solutions require up front investment but the long term pay offs are worth it。 Some notable points:- The lifetime cost of wind and solar is less than the cost of building new fossil fuel plants。 - U。S。 coal-fired or nuclear power plants are about 34 percent efficient in terms of producing electricity， which means two-thirds of the energy goes up the flue and heats the sky。 All told， the U。S。 power-generation sector throws away an amount of heat equivalent to the entire energy budget of Japan。 It is the same principle， only worse - 75 to 80 percent of the energy generated by an internal combustion engine is wasted heat。 - "When we try to pick out anything by itself， we find it hitched to everything else in the universe。"- Business-as-usual emissions could be reduced by as much as 70 percent through adopting a vegan diet and 63 percent for a vegetarian diet。- Rice provides a full one-fifth of calories consumed worldwide， more than wheat corn， and is the essential staple in the daily diet of 3 billion people， many of them poor and food insecure。 - Active forest restoration typically costs $400 to $1，200 per acre， not including land costs and species cost variation。 - If you want creativity， cut one zero from the budget。 If you want sustainability， cut two zeroes。 - Recycling did not need a name before the twentieth century。 In an effort to stretch limited resources， people avoided waste， fixed things that broke， and found ways to give other items a second life。 Using the term in the context of waste management did not start until the 1960s， but it quickly became a hallmark of the modern environmental movement thereafter。 - What we choose to eat， and the methods employed to grow it， rank with energy as the top causes and cures of global warming。 Individual responsibility and opportunity do not stop there: they include how we manage our homes， how we transport ourselves， what we purchase， and more。 - Summary of solutions by overall ranking of total atmospheric C02 equivalent reduction （#77 onwards do not have a precise calculation due to variability）:1。 Refrigeration。2。 Wind turbines （onshore）。3。 Reduced food waste。4。 Plant-rich diet。5。 Tropical forests。6。 Educating girls。7。 Family planning。8。 Solar farms。9。 Silvopasture。10。 Rooftop solar。 11。 Regenerative agriculture。12。 Temperate forests。13。 Peatlands。14。 Tropical staple trees。15。 Afforestation。16。 Conservation agriculture。17。 Tree intercropping。18。 Geothermal。19。 Managed grazing。20。 Nuclear。21。 Clean cookstoves。22。 Wind turbines （offshore）。23。 Farmland restoration。24。 Improved rice cultivation。25。 Concentrated solar。26。 Electric vehicles。27。 District heating。28。 Multi-strata agroforestry。29。 Wave and tidal。30。 Methane digesters。31。 Insulation。32。 Ships。33。 LED lighting - household。34。 Biomass。35。 Bamboo。36。 Alternative cement。37。 Mass transit。38。 Forest protection。39。 Indigenous peoples' land management。40。 Trucks。41。 Solar water。42。 Heat pumps。43。 Airplanes。44。 LED lighting - commercial。45。 Building automation。46。 Water saving - home。47。 Bioplastic。48。 In-stream hydro。49。 Cars。50。 Cogeneration。 51。 Perennial biomass。52。 Coastal wetlands。53。 System of rice intensification。54。 Walkable cities。55。 Household recycling。56。 Industrial recycling。 57。 Smart thermostats。58。 Landfill methane。59。 Bike infrastructure。 60。 Composting。61。 Smart glass。62。 Women smallholders。63。 Telepresence。 64。 Methane digesters （small）。65。 Nutrient management。66。 High-speed rail。67。 Farmland irrigation。 68。 Waste-to-energy。69。 Electric bikes。70。 Recycled paper。71。 Water distribution。72。 Biochar。73。 Green roofs。74。 Trains。75。 Ridesharing。76。 Micro wind。77。 Energy storage （distributed）。77。 Energy storage （utilities）。77。 Grid flexibility。78。 Microgrids。79。 Net zero buildings。80。 Retrofitting。 - List of coming attractions that may help mitigate and reverse climate change in the future but aren't quite there yet （and may not make it there）:1。 Repopulating the mammoth steppe。2。 Pasture cropping。3。 Enhanced weathering of minerals。4。 Marine permaculture。5。 Intensive silvopasture。6。 Artificial leaf。 7。 Autonomous vehicles。8。 Solid-state wave energy。9。 Living buildings。10。 Direct air capture。11。 Hydrogen-boron fusion。12。 Smart highways13。 Hyperloop。14。 Microbial farming。15。 Industrial hemp。16。 Perennial crops。 17。 A cow walks onto a beach （cows having seaweed integrated into their diet）。 18。 Ocean farming。19。 Smart grids。20。 Building with wood。 。。。more
Harry Harman
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Great book。Exactly what it says in the title。
Tommy
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Drawdown gives me hope for our future。 After reading The Overstory I have felt pretty down about society's chances of stopping deforestation and the climate crisis。 Yet this book presents actionable ways that we can fix our stupidity。 I also enjoyed the technical aspects that showed the true effect of each change。 Sure， most actions need to come from governments or large corporations （solar and wind are both top-10 interventions）。 However， eating a plant-rich diet is the fourth most effectiv Drawdown gives me hope for our future。 After reading The Overstory I have felt pretty down about society's chances of stopping deforestation and the climate crisis。 Yet this book presents actionable ways that we can fix our stupidity。 I also enjoyed the technical aspects that showed the true effect of each change。 Sure， most actions need to come from governments or large corporations （solar and wind are both top-10 interventions）。 However， eating a plant-rich diet is the fourth most effective way to flip this climate crisis around， and that is certainly something you have control over。 What I also found very surprising was that truly some of the best ways involve restoring forests and/or changing the way we farm—either by changing grazing patterns， including trees within the crops， or growing diverse crops together。 As I said， this book gave me hope。 We can solve this。 Solar is now less expensive to produce than fossil fuels， and is still getting cheaper。 I have been reaffirmed in my plant-rich diet， and I have been inspired to find ways to actively make a positive impact on forests （because I just really love trees）。I would really recommend more people read this， 4。1/5 stars 。。。more
Gowtham Injamuri
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It's a text book with solutions to fight climate change in the format below。1。 What is the solution。2。 How does it work。3。 What are the advantages and disadvantages。4。 What are the benefits in co2 savings。This book will be one that I'll keep going back again and again for ideas。 It's a text book with solutions to fight climate change in the format below。1。 What is the solution。2。 How does it work。3。 What are the advantages and disadvantages。4。 What are the benefits in co2 savings。This book will be one that I'll keep going back again and again for ideas。 。。。more
Júlia
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:）
Benjamin Taddesse
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All encompassing plans designed to deal with climate change from carbon scrubbing to living buildings
Domic
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Wow， das ist mal ein wirklich gutes Buch zum Thema Klimawandel！Weitere Infos hier:http://domicspinnwand。blogspot。com/20。。。 Wow， das ist mal ein wirklich gutes Buch zum Thema Klimawandel！Weitere Infos hier:http://domicspinnwand。blogspot。com/20。。。 。。。more
Mindaugas Mozūras
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For really bad ideas—from totalitarianism to fossil fuel dependence—saying “never again” isn’t enough。Drawdown is the third book this year I've read about climate change （the other two are "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" and "The Future We Choose"）。 Out of the three， this one is the most practical。 The whole book boils down to a list of things we have to invent and invest in。I liked it overall。 But my enjoyment was lessened since it's the third book I've read in four months on the same topic。 For really bad ideas—from totalitarianism to fossil fuel dependence—saying “never again” isn’t enough。Drawdown is the third book this year I've read about climate change （the other two are "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" and "The Future We Choose"）。 Out of the three， this one is the most practical。 The whole book boils down to a list of things we have to invent and invest in。I liked it overall。 But my enjoyment was lessened since it's the third book I've read in four months on the same topic。 As always， if I would rate the book on climate change only on importance， it would be an easy 5 stars。 If you haven't read any books on climate change， Drawdown is a good first choice。 。。。more
Richard Johnson
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Drawdown is THE how-to guide for ending the climate crisis。 What's particularly amazing is how quickly the solutions in the "coming attractions" section at the end of the book are already becoming reality。 This points to the importance for this book to be updated every year or two， because many of the solutions are scaling so quickly。 Drawdown is THE how-to guide for ending the climate crisis。 What's particularly amazing is how quickly the solutions in the "coming attractions" section at the end of the book are already becoming reality。 This points to the importance for this book to be updated every year or two， because many of the solutions are scaling so quickly。 。。。more
Kent Burnett
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a bit noisy （Noise， Daniel Kahneman， Olivier Sibony， and Cass R。 Sunstein）
Lo
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A comprehensive list of ideas and costs for drawing down carbon dioxide。 Some ideas are costly with little gain， but others offer hope。Turns out we can do a lot with just our food， how we grow it， process it， use it and scrap it。Regenerative farming offers hope as do so many other ideas。
Tracie
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Great photos and ideas of things that will slow down climate change。
Phi Unit
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boring to read through this front to back but great for a reference guide on probably every single factor that can lead to a drawdown of our carbon footprint
Rose
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important content， but not good as an audiobook
Colin
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A very in-depth exploration of climate change solutions！ I didn't realize when I opened it that I'd be getting the top 100 - and I admit， it started to drag on a bit towards the end due to the semi-repetitive nature of the format。 However， the immense effort is hugely important for the knowledge it brings to the table; I learned a lot！ The format may be a bit repetitive on audio only （speaking of， do NOT get the audiobook version， the narrator literally reads like a text-to-speech program）， but A very in-depth exploration of climate change solutions！ I didn't realize when I opened it that I'd be getting the top 100 - and I admit， it started to drag on a bit towards the end due to the semi-repetitive nature of the format。 However， the immense effort is hugely important for the knowledge it brings to the table; I learned a lot！ The format may be a bit repetitive on audio only （speaking of， do NOT get the audiobook version， the narrator literally reads like a text-to-speech program）， but the stats at the end of each section really put into scale the problems and solutions facing us。 I also liked how they denote some solutions as effective but "regret" solutions， such as nuclear energy， that are too tangled up with baggage to likely be feasible politically/economically/socially。For instance， I didn't know that air pollution from poor quality cookstoves kills more people than bad water every year， and that cleaner stoves are in the upper quarter of solutions。 Bicycling is great exercise and better for climate that driving， plus， Susan B。 Anthony thought it， "did more to emancipate women than anything else in the world，" due to its redefinition of norms of dress and giving women more freedom of movement。 Heck， I even learned the differences between all the different kinds of lightbulbs！There are certainly some shocking stats， like that AC+heating is half of the EU's energy use， but 9% of the USA's energy use is residential; or that silvopasture， like that of the Spanish dehesa， would be in the top ten - everybody thinks Jamón ibérico is the best ham in the world， well， let's make that environment the norm then！The #1 solution was not what I expected: that the chemicals used in refrigeration （including AC， refrigerators， etc。） can be more than 1000-9000x more warming to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide， and that 90% of that comes from improper disposal。 Quick， someone start a fridge recovery service！Capping the book with "coming attractions" was a nice way to end， and literally as I was reading the section on feeding cattle seaweed and kelp to decrease emissions， I saw a paper has just come out saying the researchers reduced methane in cattle 82% by feeding them kelp - the book may not be that old comparatively， but it's nice to see the future isn't all doom and gloom！（Reiterating - do not get the audiobook version） 。。。more
Thomas Parke
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Very factual and informative， but incredibly dry and slow。 Great reference book to use as a foundation for further research - basically a textbook。
MargaretDH
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This book explores a list of potential ways to slow and reverse global warming， looking at everything from conserving and rehabilitating tropical forests， to power generated by the power of the sea using no moving parts vulnerable to breakdown。 Hawken and co。 intend this to be a hopeful book， and generally they are able to strike that tone。 They are also pretty inventive about what they explore， examining transitional to last-forever options。 But I'm gonna knock off one star， because a few of th This book explores a list of potential ways to slow and reverse global warming， looking at everything from conserving and rehabilitating tropical forests， to power generated by the power of the sea using no moving parts vulnerable to breakdown。 Hawken and co。 intend this to be a hopeful book， and generally they are able to strike that tone。 They are also pretty inventive about what they explore， examining transitional to last-forever options。 But I'm gonna knock off one star， because a few of the solutions are a little too pie in the sky。 For example， getting most of humanity to quit eating meat except for special occasions is going to take a lot longer than we have。 But I can talk with a lot more confidence about microgrids and silvopasture now。 。。。more
Pepijn van Dijk
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Drawdown promises the most comprehensive plan to reverse global warming。 And it does just that。 It’s a great overview of the real issue at hand （air conditioning！）， the possible impact of climate solutions， and technologies that “can begin to reverse the buildup of atmospheric carbon by mid-century”。Love it。
Judy Dobles
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This is a fantastic book。 It can be disheartening to think about climate change， but this book is filled to the brim， with actions/technologies that are already in play to mitigate the impacts of climate change。 There are over 80 technologies explained。 More importantly， I liked reading about the people behind these efforts。 These are heroes and heroines of today -- and for tomorrow。Also really liked their model showing financial cost， financial benefit and emissions reduction impact。It gives me This is a fantastic book。 It can be disheartening to think about climate change， but this book is filled to the brim， with actions/technologies that are already in play to mitigate the impacts of climate change。 There are over 80 technologies explained。 More importantly， I liked reading about the people behind these efforts。 These are heroes and heroines of today -- and for tomorrow。Also really liked their model showing financial cost， financial benefit and emissions reduction impact。It gives me hope for the future and avenues I can explore for me personally。Visit www。drawdown。org 。。。more
Connor
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Really inspiring to see how many readily available strategies we have at our disposal to steer society towards a sustainable existence。 I especially liked the fact that so many of the solutions emphasized that it's not enough to be efficient， but rather to strive for a positive impact。 As individual， food selection， residential energy and travel seem to be the biggest ways to reduce our carbon footprint。 One section that really stood out to me was an excerpt from Pope Francis' encyclical "On Car Really inspiring to see how many readily available strategies we have at our disposal to steer society towards a sustainable existence。 I especially liked the fact that so many of the solutions emphasized that it's not enough to be efficient， but rather to strive for a positive impact。 As individual， food selection， residential energy and travel seem to be the biggest ways to reduce our carbon footprint。 One section that really stood out to me was an excerpt from Pope Francis' encyclical "On Care for Our Common Home"， where he states that ecological concerns are unlikely to lead to significant results unless we take the time to wrestle with deeper questions， such as purpose or visions for the future。Hawken and the many fellows involved with Drawdown did an excellent job putting all the pieces together， and I'm more optimistic about the future having read it。 。。。more
Joren
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I've read this book for a discussion with the book-club of the GMF （Gents MilieuFront）。 The discussion itself was a lot of fun！ The book was interesting， technical but still understandable。 I've kept notes on all the numbers that are quoted， since they can come in handy in any discussion。 You should read this book if you are fundamentally pessimistic about the prospects of our continued existence on this planet。 It is a good antidote towards what I'll now call 'naïve pessimism' （the view that we I've read this book for a discussion with the book-club of the GMF （Gents MilieuFront）。 The discussion itself was a lot of fun！ The book was interesting， technical but still understandable。 I've kept notes on all the numbers that are quoted， since they can come in handy in any discussion。 You should read this book if you are fundamentally pessimistic about the prospects of our continued existence on this planet。 It is a good antidote towards what I'll now call 'naïve pessimism' （the view that we don't have the means to go sustainable （with x amount of people alive））， since solutions exist and can be implemented。 Non-naïve pessimism， my view since about 3 weeks， i。e。 the view that our prospects are terrible because the implementation of the solutions require us to fundamentally alter our economic model and very few people seems to be willing to really question and change their own behavior （myself included）， and the bets are stacked against those few anyway since spreading disinformation is profitable and psychologically more succesful than arguing for change， since changing our behavior will cost money - doesn't have to， but would likely reduce our standard of living in the short term， and we have all grown up in a society that thinks on the short term， value-neutral and departementalized/non-holistically， which is why we are in this mess in the first place， blablablablabla， still stands。One of the things that I found interesting during the discussion was that the other readers all considered the solutions of Drawdown highly technological。 I pointed out that only very few solutions in the top ten were 'technological' （even zero， considering that solar panels and windtribunes already exist - even if solar panels can be further optimized）。 I think that the fact that everybody was oblivious to this fact， even though it was black-on-white-present in the book we had all just read， is a sign of the dominant ideology of our sad society。 You know what I mean: Ecomodernist-deus-ex-machina-the-problem-will-solve-itself-because-it-always-has-if-we-ignore-societies-that-have-collapsed-in-the-past---all-swans-are-white-if-we-ignore-that-black-swan-bullshit。 You know what I'm talking about。Almost all solutions with the biggest impact are about the way we conduct agriculture。 Ofcourse， changing the way we conduct agriculture is an immense undertaking， that require big changes to our economic model。 The amount of people in agriculture and the fraction of income that is required for food， is a sign of the wealth of a country。 The big climate change solutions require more labour-intensive forms of agriculture， which means less people in services， and way higher food prices。 This would in turn create big pressures on housing， services that are now cheap， and whatever else we're spending a big part of our current income on。 Making agriculture attractive enough that people would voluntarily quit their intellect-intensive-sitting-around-jobs （like mine） for agriculture， requires BIG societal changes。 However， agriculture is so central in the problem that it seems stupid to think that with other technology we will undo the problems created by our current agriculture。As this book was non-fiction it took me many hours to labour through it。 I don't regret it though， and it's an important book in itself。 Project Drawdown positions itself as a historical project to counter the pessimism left in the wake of 'an inconvenient truth'。 It succeeds in its object， and helps people obtain the knowledge to hold their governments accountable for what they're not doing， and so obviously should。 Hopefully readers （like me） will also be able to apply this knowledge to their own behavior and expectations about what good politics should achieve。 。。。more
Craig D。B。
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Sprawling work that continues to be updated at the website。 I learned about a wide range of approaches and topics that I knew nothing about and expanded my knowledge of the more familiar ones。
Poppy Villavicencio
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This book has excellent solutions to combat global warming。 It was a hard book to read just because parts of it was dry but I felt very inspired when I finished it。 There is something for everyone。 There are so many different ways and technologies we can use to combat global warming。
Michelle
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