Climate Restoration: The Only Future That Will Sustain the Human Race Paperback – April 21, 2022

This book is beautifully written, clear as a bell, and stunning in its message.Before I read it, I was a doomer/gloomer about the future of humanity, so much so that my son called me “Chicken Little” of “The sky is falling!” fame. Since reading it, I see a bright future for humanity as a real possibility.It is perhaps the most revolutionary book I have ever read. I suspect historians will endorse it as one of the most important books ever written—one whose practical wisdom and creation of almost-unthought-of possibilities altered the course of human history.Fiekowsky’s main message is that our world’s sole commitment to a world goal of “Net Zero” emissions by 2050 is utterly inadequate.And this goal, useful as it has been, even if attained, will result in a CO2 of 460 parts per million. That is 40 ppm greater than at the present 420— the highest it has been in five million years. This, of course, raises the question if humanity has the possibility of surviving at 460 ppm.Rather, humanity must change its thinking and raise our goal. The author shines at clearly delineating Innovative solutions.He, MIT-educated physicist and engineer, holder of 27 patents, and a visionary philanthropist … along with many other visionary experts … proposes that one leg of the three-legged stool of climate-fix-focus (the other two legs being Mitigation and Adaptation) is of enormous importance, but it has been virtually ignored—climate Restoration. His thinking and research points out the necessity that we must remove the legacy CO2 we humans have emitted since the Industrial Revolution began, a few hundred years agoThe specific goal he espouses is to remove one TRILLION tons of that thousand-year-lasting greenhouse gas by 2050. Only by doing so can we get our present 420 level down below 300 ppm; thus, providing a livable atmosphere for our children, grandchildren and their grandchildren. And for humanity itself.Further, he provides convincing evidence that restoration of our climate is feasible, that nature has shown us its millions-of-years-old secrets of lowering planetary temperature. Further, he explores the technology in real terms, early but existent, to accomplish just that. He insists that these technologies for CO2 removal must meet three criteria—permanent, scalable and financeable.These new technologies fit into three categories— ones that I loosely call Rock and Kelp and Iron Dust. The most promising, at present, seems to be the storage of CO2 in low-carbon concrete, the most-in-demand substance on earth, second only to water. The author calculates if the world were to utilize only low-carbon concrete, that shift alone could pull 47 billion tons of carbon from our atmosphere per year and store it permanently.The second technology is based on the observation that kelp, called the “forest of the seas”, can grow two feet per day and a single acre of kelp pulls down 15% more CO2 than an acre of a tropical rain forest. There are demonstration projects in the Philippines and in Australia, taking advantage of deep-water irrigation to allow the kelp to grow four times faster.The third, the author refers to as the “third silver bullet”, a critical distinction between the blue ocean, barren, and what he calls an “ocean desert” and the healthy green areas, ocean eddies, those with a plenitude of phytoplankton and their feeders-upon, up the food chain to seabirds and whales. He points out that iron levels in the blue ocean has become so deficient that a single pound of added iron dust can trigger a phytoplankton bloom weighing 50 tons.There is a fourth, Enhanced Methane Oxidation, which Fiekowsky details convincingly.Not merely a theorist, toward the end of the book, he lists a set of practical action steps that can be taken, some by non-profits, others by major investors, scientists… and a list of actions that “every citizen can take”. He makes the case that there are no enemies on this path and that “We’re All in This Together”.In sum, Fiekowsky both endorses CO2 mitigation and the goal of “net-zero” by 2050, yet makes a substantial argument that it, alone, is utterly insufficient and that climate-restoration is critical. Our world goal must not only be net-zero by 2050, but much more powerfully— to restore our climate by reducing the atmospheric carbon dioxide from today’s 420 to below 300 ppm by 2050.I am convinced that his title is accurate — Climate Restoration: The Only Future That Will Sustain the Human Race.

I’m so glad to recommend Climate Restoration! It’s a great way to introduce people to the concepts and solutions for, as the book’s title says, "The Only Future That Will Sustain the Human Race.” One of my favorite concepts is to judge strategies by whether they match the speed, scale, and scope of what we need. This book does that.I’ve already given away over a dozen copies — I carry them with me to the still-infrequent in-person events, and I send people copies. I hope others will join me: spend a few hundred dollars on gifts of the book to your friends and colleagues. Say, “if you like the book, you could to do the same."This is a a repeat of what I did in 2017, when I gave away over 150 copies of "Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.” As it happens, it was at the Bay Area launch event for that momentous book that Peter Fiekowsky asked me, “Do you thiink it’s possible to go beyond drawdown to restoration?” I answered, “technically, yes.” He followed up by suggesting, “Why don’t we make that our goal?” That led me to work on spreading the word and advising the group that became the Foundation for Climate Restoration (F4CR).Now I’m highlighting supporting climate restoration as I start WeCantWait-dot-World. We're encouraging people to respond to our climate emergency by donate NOW 10X the greatest amount they've ever given to a single organization they already love or they find though We Can’t Wait. OR matching the amount the amount they invest in one or more We Can’t Wait-connected startups 1:1 with donations to organizations they already love or find though We Can’t Wait. F4CR is on our list!Amid the dire news and worries, it helps to imagine the flourishing future we can build once we decide to do it. Enjoy the book!

The idea of Geoengineering simply insults my sensibilities. So, I knew, going in, that reading this book would probably take me outside my comfort zone.In short, I was pleasantly surprised by how thought provoking it turned out to be.Did it change my mind? In the sense that I was a bit lit up (in a good way) - yes. Did it move my needle in favor or against Geoengineering? Hard to say, certainly not much.Reading this book was a very positive experience. Five stars? Maybe I'm just gaming the Attention Economy. 😄

Peter Fiekowsky and Carole Douglis offer us a vision and roadmap of climate restoration for a healthy and sustainable planet. This book is well researched and thoughtfully written. It provides an important foundational knowledge of climate change causes and presents us with a dire future without climate restoration versus a promising future where climate restoration allows earth's inhabitants to thrive.The extent of research undertaken to publish this book is impressive. One could easily spend considerable time reading up on the various sources cited. The tone is very compassionate, non-judgmental, and non-partisan which is appropriate given that climate change is everyone's problem to solve.Various sections are devoted to natural and technological solutions that, in their own right, can play a vital role in reversing climate change. One such solution is population restoration which can be a controversial topic. But the authors treat this topic thoughtfully by proposing that education rather than draconian government mandates can plan a key role to demonstrate how quality of life can be improved from population management.Although we already face severe consequences from climate change and will continue to see worsening conditions in the near term, the authors offer us hope with a wide array of solutions that already have demonstrated some viability. Their findings and recommendations provide us inspiration and a course of action as nations, organizations, and individuals.