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Pitch

Mitigate climate change by a rapid reduction of the short lived warming gases by advocating for less meat consumption globally


Description

Summary

To mitigate climate change by proposing reduced meat consumption globally in order to bring a rapid reduction of the short lived warming gases including: Black Carbon, Methane and Ground Level Ozone.  This can be achieved by education through the already successful Meatless Monday, Meatfree Monday and other global organizations.  This proposal requires no financing and no government consensus.  It requires only public education which can be achieved through non-profit entities. 

Team

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What

Most actions for mitigating climate change and slowing global warming temperatures have relied on reducing C02 emissions.   C02 emissions remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years,  so even if we went completely C02 neutral today, there would still be the damaging remains of the past use of C02 lingering in the atmosphere preventing us from stopping the most damaging effects of Climate Change. We need a short term solution which will reduce short-lived warming gases to buy us the time to take the long term solution of reducing C02.

The FAO of the United Nations released it's seminal study Livestock's Long Shadow in 2006 www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM  which states that 18% of antropologic greenhouse gases are due to livestock production.   To augment that study the FAO recently released their findings regarding dairy production which they attribute to 4% of antropologic GHG emissions. www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/41353/icode/ .   Environmental Working Group www.ewg.org/  has also released it's recent study which accesses the environmental footprint of 20 types of meat, fish, dairy and plant protein .  www.ewg.org/release/ewg-meat-eater-s-guide-spotlights-meat-s-outsize-carbon-footprint

I have been working to promote this solution for three years through blogging hosted by Daily Kos and supported by Meatless Monday www.dailykos.com/news/meatless%20monday.  It has been a phenomenal success with 50% recognition and 18% participation nationally  www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/17/986069/-Front-Page-Of-The-New-York-Times,-Baby!.    There are already entire  countries, cities and school systems promoting reduced meat consumption.  The news that global meat sales have dropped as education has increased shows the enormous portential of grassroots education.  www.meatlessmonday.com/global-meat-sales-drop-as-mm-movement-rises/.   I propose a rapid acceleration of education through the existing organizations with emphasis placed on larger institutions and governments.

source:  www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/03/1013175/-Climate-Change-Fast-Solutions-Are-All-We-Have-Left-Updated-Obama-Ozone-decision

How

This can be achieved.  When I first started working to educate there was initial resistance but as information about the severity of the effects of climate change are starting to resonant people are looking for solutions.  This requires participation on an individual level to influence the market to reduce production.

The benefits are enormous including improved public health and challenge of feeding projected 9 billion in population growth  in addition to mitigation of climate change.

Plant Based Diets A Solution To Public Health Crisis (pdf)

www.worldpreservationfoundation.org/Downloads/Plant-Based%20Diets%20-%20A%20solution%20to%20our%20public%20health%20crisis.pdf

Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion

www.sciencemag.org/content/327/5967/812.full

 

<frame width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r7HllgQ4LkM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Text for video here (pdf):

www.worldpreservationfoundation.org/Downloads/ReducingShorterLivedClimateForcersThroughDietaryChange.pdf 

This video prepared by World Preservation Foundation

http://www.worldpreservationfoundation.org/blog/wpf/