Code Red or Green Light?

Wildfire smoke fills the summer sky

A new report describes the beginning of the end,

giving us all permission to get going.

The last few weeks, my home town of Reno has been choked by apocalyptical smoke from 3 wildfires burning in California and Oregon. One, the Dixie Fire, has just been declared as the second largest in state history. Last week, my second home, Brazil, saw snow, threatening coffee, citrus, and sugar cane crops not only this year but perhaps for several years to come. Parts of China received a year's worth of rain in 3 days.

With extreme weather events impacting every corner of the globe it's a wonder that some can still wonder if climate change is really happening.

According to a landmark study published yesterday by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), human activity has "indisputably" warmed the planet and, in the years ahead, we can only expect more frequent and more severe extreme weather events.

The UN describes this as a "Code Red for Humanity." I agree: it certainly doesn't look good.

But what if, instead of a Code Red, we viewed this as a Green Light?

What if, instead of seeing this was a warning, we chose to see this as blanket permission to stop dragging our feet and finally DO something?

The time for debating the climate crisis is over. It's time for action!

And, since the situation is so dire, revolutionary ideas are required.

This race cannot be won in small steps, but demands

giant leaps of ingenuity and innovation.

Some of my favorite ideas include:

1. Carbon Removal

2. Climate Repair (including refreezing the poles)

3. Regenerative Agriculture (with a potential connection to blockchain)

This race will not be won in individual isolation and instead should become

a relay between non-profit, for-profit, government, and academia worldwide.

All eyes are on the UN Climate Change Conference, scheduled to happen in Copenhagen in a few weeks. It's unclear if funding or political will might materialize.

While we wait to see what happens, here are a few of my favorite organizations already working to unite sectors, connecting ideas and actors, in the race against a ticking climate change clock:

1. The Unreasonable Group (and Unreasonable Capital)

2. Urban Future Lab (and their ACRE program)

3. The Climate Pledge (from Amazon)

This is a race not for space, but for earth.

Is there a better prize?

Ready? Set. GO!