Each year, when his children were young, Peter Fiekowsky took them to Yosemite for the 4th of July.

Fiekowsky: “The high country was closed usually at the beginning of our vacation because there was still snow on the road. And that was in the early 90s. And by the mid-2000’s, the snow was gone long before vacation.”

Such rapid change makes him sad, and he worries about wildfires and extreme weather around the world.

He wants to give his kids a safe climate … and for that to happen, he says we must take carbon out of the atmosphere – not just reduce emissions.

As the founder of a group called the Healthy Climate Alliance, he’s advocating to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere back to pre-industrial levels by the year 2050.

Many see the idea as impractical, but Fiekowsky says viable methods are already being developed – such as storing carbon dioxide in mineral form.

Fiekowsky: “What we’re proposing is we agree on the outcome we want and then let a lot of people find methods to get there.”

For Fiekowsky, the challenge is personal:

Fiekowsky: “I remember when I was a child and visiting my grandparents in Michigan, and I remember what the summers were like. I remember what the winters were like. And I want that back.”

Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media.