It’s been approximately a year already since the bes conference in Belfast. My last conference in presence before these all big mess (for lack of better words) began. Thankfully the BES conference will be happening online , and even more thankfully they have made their traditional 12 months in ecology lecture open to all. And even recorded it for YouTube! 

This year it was Prof Jane Hill taking it, so what you will find in this post is merely my interpretation of it and so I recommend to go watch the original!

Carbon sequestration.. the buzzword of the last few years, been thrown in here and there in various conversations.. 
Sometimes for good reasons, other times just for fancies..

let's start with the basics..
What really is Carbon sequestration?
First of all, let me clear some terms for the beginners out there, I am sure you have all heard a lot of it, but just to all be on the same page, by carbon sequestration I mean  the long-term removal, capture or sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

Now, if we think about removal from the atmosphere: natural life on this planet (well on the surface of this planet, and not deep down in the oceans) is based upon photosynthesis. Plants do it. And with them other photosynthetic organisms such as micro and macro algae. What is photosynthesis? Just as a reminder for those who didn’t do well at school in biology: during the day, when light is available, plants take up co2 from the atmosphere and release o2 (At night they respire, so they release some co2, something to be mindful about - more on this later). Technically, though, also us animals sequester co2, not directly from the atmosphere, but from what we consume - but we would prevent it from going back out in the atmosphere. All ‘mass’ is basically a form or another of carbon atoms. Since, matter is neither created nor destroyed, the C atoms are bound to be coming from somewhere. If it’s in our mass it’s not in the atmosphere. So yes, when we take in O2 and release CO2 respiring we are respiring mass out (out of topic but yes, this is the principle behind losing weight - check this great  and inspiring ted talk  ) . And so on..  we read that whales are sequestering carbon  ( and it’s also published on the IMF )  , or  hear on the BBC podcast ‘people fixing the planet’ that also jellyfish have power to be carbon sequestering 

And at that point.. I really want to scream that, if we follow this logic, then everything is and that perhaps we are just abusing this buzzword… 

What are the problems with abusing carbon/CO2 sequestation? 

With most of Europe again under some kind of lockdown, it’s time to share some positivity. 
I want to be clear, the ‘war’ is far from over, but for just one second let’s sign an armistice. 

Biden has won, despite a long and suffered week. 
We are on the right track. 
America will enter the Paris agreement again, and while I am doubtful on whether it will be THE solution, it is something positive, and definitely a U-turn on the matter compared to the his negationist predecessor! And not just that, but a whole lot of other good promises and steps in the right direction (read more on the NYtimes here  for example ) 

So, today let’s celebrate by also pledging to be as sustainable as possible. 
And support each other in this journey, learning from each other.
As the cliche phrase says ‘We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly’ 
And well...let’s be these million people, together!