The United States has known that greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming for decades, and has chosen to continue increasing those emissions ever since. Now, data shows that the past 7 years have been the hottest ever recorded on planet earth. In fact, according to a recent report, earth's temperature is 73% of the way to the horrific 1.5 degree threshold that scientists argue we must stay under at all costs.
And there is one powerful player not being utilized in the fight against climate change – the mighty mushroom.
Sign now to demand the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invest federal research dollars into using mushrooms to clean up oil spills, reduce pollution, and reverse climate change!
The climate crisis is no longer something we can talk about in terms of the "future." It is already here now. It is time for the United States -- a country responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions total over the past century -- to start acting like it.
While structural changes to implement climate solutions are clearly necessary, mycelium – found in fungi – provides an easy, risk-free way to reduce many of our worst environmental impacts. First, mushrooms can easily be used to create various building materials and packaging alternatives, reducing plastic waste and offering a biodegradable option for consumer goods. Perhaps most importantly, though, mycelium stores carbon in the soil – meaning it has the potential to be a crucial natural agent of carbon sequestration. Regardless of how much we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we will also have to start sequestering carbon because of how much has been emitted already. Mushrooms can help us do this.
Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause roughly 250,000 additional deaths per year. This is because the climate crisis affects public health in innumerable ways -- from increasing heat stress, to decreasing food security through droughts and crop loss, and even making infectious disease spread worse through warmer global temperatures. Why are leaders not taking this simple action to prevent millions of unnecessary deaths?
There is no reason not to invest in research to help understand the many potential benefits of mushrooms on our planet. The EPA should be taking every measure possible to address the looming climate crisis and protect the millions of lives – human and non -- that are at risk as a result. Sign the petition now if you agree!
