Soil is the solution

August 27, 2012

One of the most important climate change solutions is emerging literally on the ground. The power of plant growth in rich soils to pull carbon from the atmosphere is drawing increased attention as this story, Climate Change SOS: Soil is the Solution, or the most important environmental story I'll ever write, demonstrates.

It’s about the success of San Francisco’s efforts to recycle food waste as compost for agriculture, including wineries. Besides replacing fossil-fuel-based fertilizers, the effort also builds carbon storage in soils.

The story notes that soils could pull carbon from the air equal to 20-40 percent of what the U.S. currently emits annually. Recycling organic residues is one of the key steps to make this happen, as the story underscores.

Author Bio

Patrick Mazza

A founding member of the Climate Solutions team, Patrick developed the knowledge base for much of Climate Solutions’ advocacy work and helped shape the sustainability and clean tech agenda of key policymakers, researchers and business leaders around the Northwest. Patrick served as Research Director until the end of 2013, and has now moved on to work through his independent global sustainability consultancy, MROC, and serves as 350 Seattle Sustainable Solutions Working Group co-facilitator and member of its governing Hub.

His series of papers on clean-energy technology and Northwest economic opportunity from 1998-2002 helped catalyze the past decade’s wave of policy activity and investment in the clean economy sector.

From 2002-2005, Patrick’s influential papers on emerging energy systems helped set in motion a powerful focus on the smart electric grid and electric vehicles. Those include The Smart Energy Network: Electricity’s Third Great Revolution; Powering Up the Smart Grid; and Carrying the Energy Future: Comparing Hydrogen and Electricity.

From 2005-2009, Patrick wrote several national papers on agricultural clean energy potentials including The New Harvest: Biofuels and Wind Power for Rural Revitalization and National Energy Security; and Community Wind 101: A Primer for Policymakers. He also served on Washington state working groups designing climate policy, and helped design 2008 Washington state legislation funding clean fuels research.
Since 2010 Patrick has provided the research basis for the Northwest Biocarbon Initiative with the Building the Biocarbon Economy series, and served as research-writing lead for the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest regional stakeholder process and its report, Powering the Next Generation of Flight. He is active in the follow-on Climate Solutions Sustainable Aviation Fuels program.

Patrick also co-authored Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change (New Society, 2001) with Guy Dauncey.

Patrick likes to spend his free time walking, reading history, and playing music. He lives in Seattle and ventures south regularly to sing in a Portland rock band.

Author Bio

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