Restaurants in California are banding together to fight climate change in an interesting way. Concerned restaurants can sign on to the Restore California Renewable Restaurant program, which pledges to add a 1% surcharge to diners' bills.

This initiative is managed by the nonprofit Zero Foodprint. It will funnel the money it raises into grants for farmers engaged in carbon farming—growing food with a focus on replenishing the soil’s health in order to increase the amount of carbon dioxide it can sequester. Farmers receive $10 per ton of carbon removed from the atmosphere. It has been estimated by the Perennial Farming Initiative that a mere 2 percent increase in the carbon content of the planet’s soils "could offset all greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere."

The surcharge is voluntary, which means that diners can opt-out, but as more people look for ways to make a difference in the fight to protect the environment, it seems likely to catch on.