Posted on 04/20/2024 11:56:56 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Planetary warming, also known as climate change, continues to accelerate. The last eight years have been the warmest on global record, which is well-documented, with information dating back to 1850. Additional warming will continue in the years to come, but how much more warming depends on the decisions we make in the coming decades about energy use.
For those looking to take individual actions, and in recognition of Earth Day, there are many that are relevant across income levels:
1. Reduce food waste
This can be as simple as being sure that food is consumed before it goes bad and preparing only what you plan to eat. Wasted food means the energy and resources used to produce and transport food also go to waste. More viscerally, rotting food produces methane — a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.
2. Eat less meat
No one is going to take away your burger, but the energy needed to raise animals for food is much higher than what is needed for plants. Every farming and ranching operation is different, but in general, beef and lamb require the most energy and resources to raise, and thus produce the most greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Change your light bulbs
Lighting from LEDs (light-emitting diodes) uses less energy and lasts longer than both incandescent bulbs and CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). Plus, LEDs do not contain the poisonous mercury found in CFLs.
4. Install a programmable thermostat
Replacing the thermostat in your home will give you more control over when and how much your home is heated and cooled, allowing you to save energy — and money — when you are not at home.
5. Use public transportation
In smaller cities and towns, this is not always an option. But using a bus or passenger rail takes an additional vehicle off of the road. At minimum, this decreases congestion and increases the efficiency of travel on roadways. And if you have a gasoline or diesel car, it eliminates another source of greenhouse gas emissions. Where feasible, walk or ride a bicycle.
6. Consider an electric car
The price of all-electric cars has fallen substantially in the last few years, now competitive with gas and diesel cars. Charging infrastructure continues to expand, making them more feasible for longer trips. For commuting and running errands, the battery life between charges is more than sufficient.
Where you charge an electric car matters, so find out how electricity is generated where you live.
7. Plant some trees
Trees also have an impact at the local level, as their shade helps cool communities in the hot summer sun, and their root systems create more permeable soils — decreasing the amount of water running off into streams and creeks during heavy rain. Trees also take in carbon dioxide, although the sheer number of trees needed to appreciably bring down atmospheric carbon dioxide is overwhelming.
8. Replace gas appliances
Natural gas — mostly methane — is a fossil fuel that releases carbon dioxide when it is burned. When used for cooking, it also releases carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, both toxic in high enough concentrations. Additionally, evidence continues to mount indicating the use of gas stoves in the home raises the risk of pediatric asthma. If your budget allows, explore the newer generation of conduction ranges for cooking at home.
Many of these processes do add up. Leah Stokes, professor of Climate and Energy Policy at the University of California-Santa Barbara, refers to the collection of these solutions as deep decarbonization, “Electrifying everything, and powering those electric technologies with renewable energy sources like wind and solar, can slash carbon pollution by 75 percent, and individuals have a crucial role to play in making it happen.”
9. Support solar energy
The price of solar energy has plummeted over the last decade. According to Joey Marquart at Silverline, a Virginia-based clean energy communications firm, “Utility and business-scale power plants are the biggest way to mitigate climate change with solar, but rooftop solar is also an essential part of our energy arsenal — as well as a great way for customers to lower utility bills and, when paired with batteries, keep the lights on during power outages.”
If your rooftop orientation is conducive for solar, an investment in rooftop panels will often pay for itself within a decade.
10. Do not despair
About 20 years ago, there was grave concern about the worst-case scenario — a global increase in temperature of 9 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. With coal use on the decline, especially in the United States, that scenario is on the verge of being eliminated.
Climate scientists will differ on the precise details, but current global policies — if we adhere to them — put us on track to see about 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit of warming by the time today’s newborns are ready to retire.
This means that there is still more work to be done if we are to slow the pace of planetary warming below the 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) threshold that nations agreed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
At its core, additional warming puts more energy into the climate system. While Earth is not in danger of turning into the hellish landscape of Venus, every little bit of warming increases the risk to people from temperatures that tend to be hotter, rains that tend to get heavier, seas that tend to rise further, and droughts that tend to develop more quickly.
Earth has already warmed about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the end of the 19th century, with most of the warming coming in the last half-century. The decisions we make about energy use in the coming couple of decades will effectively set the thermostat for the decades to follow.
In honor of Earth Day, and dedicated to Greta Thunberg, I plan to be as flatulent as I can on Earth Day.
Throw politicians in a volcano.
CO2 as a percent of the atmosphere in 2021 (average):
418 ppm or 0.0418%. See GML.
Current reservoir of CO2 in the atmosphere:
850 Gigatonnes. See NASA, 2017.
Current global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in 2021:
36.3 Gigatonnes. See IEA.
CO2 fossil fuel emissions as a percentage of the current reservoir: 36.3 GT /850 GT = 0.0427 or 4.27%. QED.
4.27% from fossil fuels, 95.73% from nature.
I don’t even have a thermostat. In the Winter I burn wood in the wood-stove and in Summer turn on the swamp cooler.
Agreed.
The zealot acolytes of the religion of Anthropogenic Climate Disaster should show their true dedication to the cause and act now! Jump into a wood chipper and become compost.
All the people who are making these predictions about 2100 will be dead by then, so they’ll never have to answer for their lies.
I remember the Soviets complaining about that one.
11. Put all the climate activists in a huge detention camp and cut them off from the rest of the world...
Excellent points. I always refer to the hypocrites and their own ‘lifestyles’ when the subject comes up.
Also, I’ll worry about running out of gasoline when NASCAR goes belly-up and cruise ships and air travel are banned.
Nobody - but NOBODY is taking my propane-fueled stove away from me!
And don’t forget the Kobe Beef! We raise our own. Grass-fed for the most part. ‘Chuck’ recently returned from ‘The Spa’ and is tucked away in the freezers for our non-climate changing dining enjoyment. :)
I sure hope Summer comes on a Saturday this year! ;)
For a supposed ‘meteorologist,’ the lack of science and blind acceptance of some of his beliefs about the climate et al is stunning.
It’s all about power, control and MONEY. Government money to perpetuate these lies and false impending disasters.
‘Cannibal Sandwiches’ are a thing at Weddings and Wakes where I come from.
Freshly ground raw beef; the best you can afford. S & P. Thinly sliced raw onion. Serve on small dark rye bread rounds.
Yummy! :)
Sounds like steak tartare...which I ordered once by mistake (thinking I was ordering steak au poivre—brain fart). It was surprisingly good, but not at all satisfying.
“Many of these are ways to save money.”
I was going through the list to see how many of their recommendations I already DO living my small, little life out here on the farm - and I pretty much do them all, already.
So, I’m good. :)
I can’t even tell you how many TREES I’ve sold/and or planted through the years. Hundreds and hundreds.
Yep. That’s the ‘fancy’ name for it. We’re not fancy. ;)
Don’t they understand that you can’t see or feel real climate change in a lifetime?
Warmer for last 8 years is weather. Colder month than 50 years ago - Yep still weather.
Since China and India exist, there’s nothing I can do for The Climate, but I do a number of things to reduce pollution in my area *and* save money.
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