Bamboo is no longer the “poor man’s timber” – climate experts around the world are now recognising bamboo, the fast-growing grass plant, as a tool for climate change mitigation.

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An action as simple as drinking your coffee from a bamboo cup can make a positive impact on the environment. Not just coffee cups, using other bamboo products– from textiles to furniture– made of bamboo also can pave the way for a green future.

Bamboo has long been popular amongst the less fortunate in the world. As a good substitute for wood, bamboo is an additional source for livelihood among forest-dependent populations, especially in Asia and Africa. Now, as the fast-growing and most renewable forest-based material, there is an increasing interest among the people from other parts of the world to use bamboo as a tool to save the earth’s eco-system.

How Do Bamboos Fight Climate Change?

Bamboo plays an important role in reducing pressure on other forestry resources, including timber and plywood, by indirectly reducing deforestation. The plant is highly efficient in carbon sequestration with its ability to store the highest amount carbon than any other trees.

It is however vital that the bamboo is harvested and then utilized before reaching a state of deterioration so that the total accumulation of carbon in a solid state exceeds the carbon released into the atmosphere. This can be done through sustainable management and selective harvesting practices, both essential for the bamboo plant to operate at maximum capacity with regards to carbon storage.

Compared with other durable materials, the environmental costs in terms of the production of bamboo can be almost carbon negative. A report released by INBAR reveals that bamboo does not produce a net carbon emission. Carbon storage in bamboo durable products can be kept for decades, even for hundreds of years.

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Bamboo is an excellent alternative to fossil fuels. Its biomass can be processed through thermal or biochemical conversion to produce different energy products like charcoal, syngas, and biofuels, which can be substitutions for existing fossil fuel products. If it replaces fossil fuel on a massive scale, the global carbon footprint would be reduced drastically.

Bamboo also plays a vital role to protect biodiversity by providing habitat for a number of animals like the giant panda, red panda, mountain gorilla, bale monkey, and the greater bamboo lemur. All these animals rely on bamboo for food and shelter.

Made up of over 1200 species, naturally distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world, bamboo is commonly found in Africa and Asia, as well as Central and South America.

The new consumer interest in bamboo has resulted in a growing sector now estimated worth $60bn a year. China leads the world’s largest bamboo and rattan sector, at a total estimated output of $32bn a year. With the rural communities becoming part of the production of bamboo goods, this growth is now playing a vital role in improving the livelihoods of millions of people across the world.

It’s the small changes in our lives that will ultimately make a difference. So why not choose to have your daily coffee from a bamboo cup over your usual polystyrene option. Not only will you help mitigate the increasingly alarming impact of climate change but you’ll also be lowering your carbon footprint and supporting the livelihood of the developing world.

The post Climate Change Mitigation: How Drinking Your Coffee From a Bamboo Cup Can Make a Difference appeared first on Earth.Org.

It is a never ending discussion whether organic food is healthier than conventional food (produced by common agricultural methods). Several studies have compared the nutritional composition of different organic and conventional food products. So far, neither seems to have won the battle! However, researchers overwhelmingly agree that agriculture and what is on our plates is a major contributor to one of humanity’s biggest challenges: Climate Change.

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Plants do sequester carbon through photosynthesis, but agricultural activities overall release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they prevent or capture. Animal husbandry, production of chemical inputs, deforestation for agricultural conversion and rice production are prime examples of natural capital depletion.

Politicians, farmers and consumers have teamed up in the last decade in an effort to implement mitigation policies. Yet, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2011 the agriculture sector was still the second largest carbon emitter to the atmosphere.

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The environmental impacts of agriculture

It is estimated that around 10-12% of total annual Green House Gases (GHG) emissions and 75% of global deforestation come from agriculture. Developing countries are the worst offenders. Southeast Asia (SEA) emits annually almost 315-627 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). Indonesian agriculture tops the charts as the largest single contributor of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in the region and is responsible for 84-247 million tons.

Synthetic fertilisers alone, which are a petroleum dependent product used in conventional agriculture, account for a 13% percent share of global agricultural emissions. But alternatives are not necessarily rosier. A recent study showed that organic farming practices may actually contribute more to GHG emissions due to the need for additional land to reach the same crop yield. This particular recent study, however, has compared single crops, and its findings cannot be extended to all organically-farmed produce. 

Cutting meat production and diets is a sure pathway to reduce humanity’s carbon footprint, along with avoiding food waste, using renewable energy, applying good manufacturing practices on farms as well as enforcing environmental friendly harvest and processing standards will halt deforestation.

Does organic agriculture a count as a “good manufacturing practice”? Certainly, organic agriculture has been proven to indirectly support climate change mitigation. As part of the natural carbon cycle, most of the carbon sequestration occurs when carbon from the atmosphere is absorbed and stored in the soil. Soil from organically managed farms is found to be higher in substances able to capture and store much higher levels of carbon and for longer periods of time.

According to a paper published by the Soil Association, organic farming can store an average of 28% higher soil carbon levels in the organic farms in Europe, and around 20% in the organic farms world-wide (source 3). In addition to its climate change mitigation factors, organic agriculture also supports biodiversity through organic farm management practices and increases animal welfare. Avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides protects the soil, reduces water pollution and supports human health through fewer concentrations of harmful chemicals, pesticide residues and cadmium in the food.

In addition to these benefits, organic farming also reduces the pollution associated with the use of chemicals on conventional farms. We have yet to prove organic food to be more nutritious, but it is a healthier pathway to maintaining fertile soils, with benefits extending to environmental protection, climate change as well as animal welfare.

Consumers grappling with ethical dilemmas about what food to put on their plates can indeed find solace in organically farmed produce, which offers an eco-friendly alternative to standard food and has less of an impact on climate change.

Mindful that both agricultural practices accelerate the discharge of carbon into the atmosphere, organic food still takes the podium as the least harmful option for the Planet.  

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