…to see and understand how we solve the climate crisis.
How does growing a little bit of duckweed at home or in our places of study or at work solve the climate crisis? It is because it shows us individually how we can control the carbon in the air.
The reason we are not doing what is necessary for our future, and for the survival of the planet as a life supporting entity, is because the fossil fuel industry has become more powerful than a superpower state, plus the simple fact that we cannot see their deadly biproduct. If CO2 was a red gas we would all be clamouring for our governments to do something to reduce the gas that is turning the atmosphere more and more pink as the planet heats up to a point whereby, we all die!
So how do we change from that course in time, to save ourselves and restore the planet to its life-enhancing best? We need to learn, unite as a species and act decisively to get the CO2 level in our atmosphere back to the scientifically suggested ideal level of 350ppm.
We currently are at between 426 and 427ppm, with the exact daily reading varying. This is the highest level seen in at least 3 million years and that number of years is far before humans even evolved.
The Earth over the eons developed the carbon cycle to control and regulate the level to be perfect to support the vast diversity of life we see today. Pushing the ppm of CO2 this high threatens to cause the planet to become hostile to survival of virtually every life form we know.
As humans, we currently put over 36 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere, in the form of CO2 (carbon-di-oxide) or CH4 (methane), annually over and above what the Earth’s natural carbon cycle can cope with. That 36 billion tons is a totally unimaginable amount, so it has little conceptual relevance to us when it is stated as a fact. However, there are over 8 billion of us alive on the planet and that means about 4.5 tons each a year. Now, we are getting closer to a figure we can relate to.
By growing a small amount of duckweed each, we will get to know what we need to do in order to survive. Duckweed is the only plant that can be grown in sufficient quantity safely and stored, to bring the CO2 level back down to the ideal 350ppm. It is because of its very restrictive growing requirements, its exponential growth and the fact that we can provide for it very easily, extra surfaces of the Earth, by growing it in shallow stacked trays. Only duckweed solves the critical equation for carbon sequestration by plant form of: Mass x Time x Equivalent surface(s) of the Earth.
Everything that we develop successfully nowadays requires the process to be economically viable. Duckweed meets this because it has so many uses for us after it has got that carbon in the air under control.
- Did you know that duckweed is already used by some water sewerage companies? It loves ‘dirty’ water; that is water full of lots of ‘lovely’ phosphates, nitrates and sulphates.
- Were you aware that there are 5 varieties (of 48) of duckweed that we as humans can eat and 12 that livestock can consume. There is 30% more protein in duckweed than soya.
- Duckweed has been developed to make the perfect biofuel.
- Are you aware that duckweed growing towers in cities would take in CO2 and pump out pure oxygen to make our cities’ air more pleasantly breathable.
Farmers will be happy because not only do they have a cash crop unaffected by the weather that they can harvest every two days, but it also needs very little machinery, and the equivalent of multiple fields can be produced by vertically stacked 2cm growing trays to whatever height they want. By
using captured flash flood water from the other fields and fed to the duckweed will enable them to recycle the otherwise lost fertilizers. This leaves all their other fields for growing more traditional crops.
With duckweed we all win. This can start from just a small tray of duckweed grown at home, in your school classroom or university or in your workplace so we get to know the simplicity of the answer to the climate crisis. We must get our governments to do the same, but on an industrial scale. It could start not only on farms, but by recommissioning disused warehouses to grow the duckweed.
Please join The Earth Restorers (www.earthrestorers.com) and let all whom you love and know, how it is possible to solve the problem of climate change, if we all get involved. A great way to do this is to get involved in ‘PROTECT OUR PLANET, 24/7’ Day, on the 24th day of the 7th month, (the date is in the title so all can know when it is), 24th July 2026.
Remember, joining us is free, although if you wish to provide finance, we encourage you to join any organisation you want in the Climate Coalition (link here).
We record no personal data and to join us you merely need to say or think the statement: “I for one will not stand by and let our Earth die” and mean it in your heart, and you are in. To join us is as simple as that.
