BRB w/ Nathan P - Carbon Capture, Pan Fried Dumplings & Drawdown

A climate tech with start-ups impacted by SVB, crunchy and fluffy bao dumplings made at home, and 100 climate solutions to inspire your climate journey.

Hi all,

Welcome back to BRB w/ Nathan P - a weekly newsletter featuring 1 Breakthrough, 1 Recipe, and 1 Book revolving around food & climate. (BRB, get it?)

Before we get started, here are some highlights of food & climate in the news this week:

• Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Threatens Climate Start-Ups (NY Times)

• Moooove over: How single-celled yeasts are doing the work of 1,500-pound cows (Washington Post)

• How Nepal Regenerated Its Forests (NASA)

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💥 Breakthrough: Carbon Capture

After the commotion with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) since last Thursday, the survival of many climate tech start-ups is in question. The bank run on SVB - where over 1,500 start-ups held funds - jeopardized many companies’ ability to make payroll, access their assets, and deploy capital for current projects.

One climate technology impacted is carbon capture. Carbon air capture is a process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the air and stored or used through different means. Capture6 - a Public Benefit Corporation - held $4M in SVB that are in jeopardy.

Let’s dive further into this tech, how it works, and whether it can move the needle.

Envisioned plant for direct air carbon capture (Source: Carbon Engineering)

First things first, is much easier and cheaper to prevent the emissions of 1 ton of CO₂ than to capture it from the air. Yet many industries like cement, steel, and transportation are notoriously difficult to decarbonize. So if we cannot reduce emissions fast enough without bringing global operations to a grinding halt, carbon sequestration needs to be a part of our climate change mitigation strategies.

Enter carbon capture.

There are two main approaches to carbon capture: biological and industrial. Today we’ll focus on the latter, which falls into two categories: Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage (CCUS). CCS seeks to sequester carbon and store it away, while CCUS captures carbon and upcycles it into new products.

In direct air capture, air is first sucked from the atmosphere and progressively concentrated, where it can then react to form solid compounds like calcium carbonate (limestone / chalk). Capture6 is one such example, building industrial ecosystems where carbon can be captured and valorized into a range of different products. An example of CCUS.

Carbon capture technology was originally conceived for the fossil fuel industry, ironically, to pump CO₂ into wells to extract more hydrocarbons. And many start-ups often keep strong ties to the industry.

Carbon Engineering, for instance, captures CO₂ and combines it with hydrogen to make a theoretically carbon neutral fuel. They are currently building a larger plant that can sequester 1 million tons of CO₂ - equivalent to 40 million trees - at a cost of around $200/ton. Not a ridiculous multiple away from Europe’s now $100+/ton price on carbon.

Of course, if you burn the fuel the CO₂ will be emitted again - in a near carbon neutral process - but we haven’t gotten closer to removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. I fear this technology will be used to justify industrial players’ current emissions and divert attention from their operations that need to be reformed. Carbon capture is not a silver bullet.

My current thinking may evolve, but I currently believe that biological means of carbon sequestration are a more promising approach. Carbon capture plants stem from the same mindset that created these problems in the first place. Do industrial problems require industrial solutions? Why not biological ones?

It seems strange to think that the solution to reducing emissions from factories making cement and steel… is to build more factories made of cement and steel.

We must have a little humility and look to nature’s teachers. Photosynthetic organisms on land and in the oceans achieve better results using sunlight - and create ecosystems bursting with life along the way. Mangroves are one example.

Mangrove forest in a resilient marine ecosystem

So should we continue gassing up these start-ups (pun intended)? On the one hand, the technology has advanced tremendously and should be considered. On the other hand, our focus should be to reduce emissions and protect the habitats of photosynthetic organisms sequestering carbon.

We might need up to 40,000 of the plants that Carbon Engineering envisions to reach the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Suppose we turn our attention to agriculture, reforestation, and detoxification. If we can increase the carbon content of soils globally by 1% on land alone, we will have eliminated 75% of our emissions since the Industrial Revolution. Which direction are you more excited about?

🥘 Recipe: Pan-Fried Dumplings (生煎包)

For a fun family or date night activity, make pan-fried dumplings. Crunch, fluffiness, and umami in every bite (my mouth’s watering, too).

This versatile recipe allows you to swap different meat and veggie filling based on preference. I like to pan-fry mine at the end for extra texture.

If you saw Disney’s Bao short film and have been wanting to make some since, this is your sign.

PS: if you make it, please send pictures :)

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📚 Book: Drawdown

Flip through Drawdown, a book of 100+ inspiring climate solutions. Many of these seem simple, yet they can move the needle in a meaningful way.

Here are 5 initiatives from the book I believe are crucial in building a more sustainable future:

• Regenerative agriculture: industrial agriculture has ignored that soils are alive - and pesticide-spraying and fertilizer-loving monocultures are stripping soils of carbon and killing microbiomes. Regenerative agriculture can ensure healthier food, healthier soils, and a healthier atmosphere. It can reduce up to 23 Gt of emissions by 2050.

• Wave and tidal power: the motion of tides and sea currents could be harnessed to power coastal communities. The two key challenges are electricity transport via wires (depending on how far turbines are) and fouling (barnacles love finding new homes). Anti-fouling coatings like shark skins could be a key enabling technology here.

• Clean cookstoves: in addition to the many health hazards of dirty solid fuels, cooking fuel accounts for 2 to 5% of global emissions. Cleaner sources of heat for cooking - fuel or electricity or other - could increase health and prevent up to 16 Gt of emissions by 2050.

• Marine permaculture: many subtropical ocean areas have been decimated by agricultural run-off and pollution. Human intervention can revitalize these ecosystems by stacking kelp, oysters, scallops, and other sea greens or mollusks to capture carbon and create food. Once installed, marine permaculture systems don’t require inputs like fertilizer. They can be quite profitable for ocean farmers too - a productive 20-acre farm can generate over $100k annually.

• Industrial hemp: a versatile plant used for thousands of years, hemp yields up to 10 times more usable fiber by weight than cotton. It can be combed to have similar textures to linen or cotton and be an option for more sustainable textiles.

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That is all for today - BRB next week ✌️

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🥘 Recipe: Pan-Fried Dumplings (生煎包)

Ingredients (5-6 servings)

For the buns:

• 300g flour

• 40g sugar

• 7g of yeast

• 185mL milk 110F

• 20g butter

• 10g of sea salt

For the filling: the world is your oyster. This recipe is with mushrooms, but free to swap for pork, chicken, beef, or shrimp and spinach.

• 1/2 lbs of cremini mushrooms

• 40g cabbage

• 40g green onion

• 1 clove of garlic, grated

• 1 inch knob of ginger, grated

• 2 shiitake mushrooms

• 1 tbsp of soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Sesame oil

• 1 egg

Instructions (45 minutes)

1. Make the dough. Heat the milk to 100-110F, then stir in the sugar and the yeast. Let rest for 5-10 mins as the yeast blooms.

2. Mix in the yeasty liquid and melted butter with the flour, then mix to incorporate and knead until smooth. Let rise for 1.5H.

3. Make the filling. If you are using mushrooms, dice the mushrooms and cook on medium heat without oil in a pan to remove moisture. Use raw meat or veggies otherwise.

4. Mix the grated garlic, grated ginger, minced cabbage, sliced green onions, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Add 1 egg and mix to form a uniform filling.

5. Follow the instructions in this video to cut the dough into 16-20 pieces. Add a tablespoon sized filling portion for each piece and fold bao as instructed.

6. Boil water in a wide pot, then place baos on a circular wax sheet on each shelf of the bamboo steamer, 5-6 at a time. Steam for 12 minutes and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

7. Add some vegetable oil to a large pan, then sauté on medium-high heat for 4 minutes until undersides are crispy. Enjoy with your besties :)

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About Me

Hi there! My name is Nathan Paumier - I’m an avid reader, food enthusiast, and climate optimist. I started this newsletter after frequent questions on food tech, reading recommendations, and my secret recipes.

Want to get in touch or chat further? Any feedback or things you’d like to see more of?

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