Combating Global Warming
JK was asked to contribute to a discussion started by Leonardo Dicaprio on Yahoo! on global warming.
Leo’s question was:
What are some simple steps or creative ideas that people can take at home and work to combat global warming?
Global warming is not only one of the most threatening environmental problems, but one of the greatest challenges facing all of humanity. Danger signs are surfacing worldwide as temperatures increase (the last ten years have been the hottest years ever recorded causing glaciers and the polar ice caps to melt, coastal areas to flood and storms to become more severe). If left unchecked, global warming will continue to have a profound impact on our planet that will eventually cause catastrophic results. Fortunately, there are things each of us can do. Buildings
- including our homes -are major contributors to greenhouse gases they’re responsible for up to 40% of all energy and resource use and approximately 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
JK’s response:
In the last year Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” has brought the science of climate change to millions of Americans in a dramatic and persuasive way. It’s terrific what he’s done. Here’s the bottom line: within the next decade, if we don’t deal with global warming, our children and grandchildren will have to deal with global catastrophe. We need big changes to fix a big problem. We can’t “middle” our way there.
As individuals, the change can be as simple as replacing traditional light bulbs with efficient fluorescents. In our communities we should require that new buildings include lights that turn off when people leave the room. We should follow the lead of Tokyo and their energy efficient escalators that shut off when they aren’t being used. There are literally thousands of things to be done, too few of which we are being asked to do. Each of us can do something.
We must insist on leaders who secure our energy independence, not ones who barter it away. We wouldn’t elect a candidate who said terrorism wasn’t a threat. We wouldn’t tolerate a candidate for national office who didn’t say he was committed to capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden. But for too long we’ve tolerated those who treat the threat of energy insecurity and the truth of global climate change as an inconvenient myth. We had a whole host of people in Washington who don’t know how to tackle climate change, and a whole cast of political consultants who will counsel their candidates not even to try.
Just think what we could do with decent leadership. Other countries already know something we don’t. Actually they’ve been doing something we won’t
- something influential interests don’t want us to do. Thirty years ago when Brazil faced an energy crisis they got serious about alternative fuels. Relying on new stocks of homegrown fuels in addition to its own oil production, this year Brazil will achieve energy independence. If Brazil can do it, why can’t we? If a developing country can go from 90 percent dependence on foreign oil to zero percent dependence in three decades, then we -the most powerful, creative, industrial country on Earth—we can change the destructive course we’re on.Put Washington to the test. Tell powerful interests that the old era has ended and so have their easy arrangements. Then instead of empty slogans and long laundry lists of bite-sized ideas that tinker at the edges of outdated policy, we can embark on revolutions that will put our energy future in our own hands and put global climate change at the top of the national agenda where it belongs. We need a plan that actually does what the science tells us we have to do to.
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How would you answer Leo’s question?
21 Comments
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Changing behavior and long-time habits require teaching and hands-on practice. :) As a teacher, I think the most important thing we can do is model better environmental practices (like the ones Senator Kerry spoke of) for our children.
Remember how we got seat belts and car seats to be used in cars for safety purposes? Some segments of the public were un-educated on the issue, some couldn’t afford the ‘technology’ and some were just plain stubbornly resistent to someone telling them that they HAD to wear a seat belt.
The public was educated in various ways (T.V. ads, doctor brochures, etc.), money was made available to see that EVERYONE with children had the car seats, and incentives were given to car manufacturers to equip cars with the technology. Eventually seat belts and car seats were demanded by both the consumer public and by law.
On the issue of global warming, I think we start by DOING so that the next generation SEES us taking action. We should start right away teaching our children how to recycle, using energy saving lightbulbs and technology, buying a flex-fuel car (when available) and explain the reasons for doing so. When President Kerry gives us other tasks, we should follw his lead. :) Schools should help…but don’t leave it to the schools alone (they are overwhelmed with other things).
What is different about this issue, as compared to the seat belt issue, is that ‘time is of the essence.’ We need to ramp it up…the sooner the better.
Excellent place to start and simple enough for everyone to do, and a big energy saver. In fact, Wal-Mart is being praised for its light bulb initiative: http://www.nathannewman.org/log
It may not contain too many suggestions, but this video from Blue Man Group is awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALBY7DLHwv0
This is a subject near and dear to my heart. The key is, what can people do in their own everyday lives? This is so important, because it is a matter of people living their values. A lot of people seem to want “someone to do something”, but they really mean, “someone else to do something”! Well I say that YOU are “someone”, and YOU can do something.
The first thing that I suggest is to realize that the problem of global warming is intertwined with every other environmental problem (and probably every other social problem, but that is going deeper than we need to). So, there are actions that may not seem directly applicable to the global warming problem, but they are, by reducing energy consumption which ultimately (in essentially all cases) reduces the generation of greenhouse gases.
Many possible home and workplace actions are expensive and therefore out of reach of many people. But others aren’t, and in fact will save you money. Here’s a short list of a few items that come to my mind. Most of these I do myself to the extent that I can, so don’t think they are too farfetched or idealistic.
1. Use canvas shopping bags at the grocery store. I still can’t believe that I hardly ever see other people do this, because it saves hassle with recycling bags, and canvas bags are way better at the job of carrying groceries anyway. I list this first, even though it may seem trivial, because it is easy, it will save you money, and if enough people do it, it will make a difference.
2. Buy local produce and other products whenever possible. This can be difficult to do, because produce is not always labeled for origin. (That would be a good legislative initiative, btw.) But, it is becoming a more popular tactic, and many good natural foods stores are trying to carry as much local produce as they can.
3. When buying products that aren’t possible to procure from local sources, buy Fair Trade certified products, or organically grown products, when possible. Sustainably grown products will tend to use less net energy for their production.
4. When replacing appliances, consider energy efficiency. Use the Internet and sustainability organizations such as Co-op America to look beyond the usual big stores for appliances that use radically less energy or alternative energy sources.
5. Consider doing without a few things, embracing simplicity. Do you really need that big-screen TV?
6. When it’s time for a new car, of course go for the most efficient model you can afford. (I am currently trying to overcome my aversion to large expenditures to retire the old Ford for a Prius. The next big repair bill will probably do it.)
7. When possible, buy paper products that are made from recycled paper. Look on the label for the “post consumer recycled content” - although “100% recycled” is good, even if the post-consumer content is low.
8. Wood products - look for approval of the wood content by the Forest Stewardship Council. I believe some big stores participate in this program.
9. If you live in a state that supports energy choice, look for an energy supplier that provides energy from renewable, environmentally healthy sources, such as wind, solar, and small hydroelectric.
10. If you really have the money and personal energy to invest in a home improvement project, consider installing an alternative energy source at your own home. Having looked into this a few years back, I would say that there is a fair investment of time required to understand the choices, find a good contractor, and figure out how to make it work with your lifestyle. But, if you can do this, it may be the single most impactful thing you can do. And just think, the next time everyone else loses power, you will still have lights, and maybe more.
Well, that’s about what I can think of for now. Hopefully these ideas are helpful.
I know that was kind of long. If you want ONE thing you can do right now, I would say, go sign up at Co-op America and start reading, then do whatever works for you out of all their great suggestions.
Good post, MH. I’d like to add to your grocery bag idea: All people need to do is simply remember to take a handful of used grocery bags back to the store with them when they go shopping. It costs nothing, and the bags can go back and forth many times before becoming worn out. It feels good, and you never have to face the “paper-or-plastic” dilema. I find that paper ones hold up better than plastic, but to each his/her own.
Posted by YvonneCa | January 6, 2007 2:00 PM
Yvonne, I think you are very right on the importance of teaching, and modeling behavior for children (and others).
The hard thing about living in an environmentally responsible manner is that it isn’t the norm in our society. Most of us would find it hard to identify more than a couple, if any, examples among our friends of people doing things in a more environmentally responsible manner because it is environmentally (or socially) responsible.
So, those models have to start somewhere. As you say in your post, they have to start with us, DOING so that the next generation SEES. Or, as Gandhi said, “you must be the change you want to see in the world.”
How about we elect a President who will actually pay attention to the importance of protecting our natural resources and appoint people who will be good stewards of the environment?
I have some thoughts on that.
:-)
I doubt Bush, who selected the God-awful Gale Norton as Secretary of the Interior, will pay serious attention to climate change unless and until his pants actually do catch on fire.
Speak of the devil, I heard Gale got a new job last week. I expect she and her new employer Royal Dutch Shell will be very happy together.
Of course, the administration named Kempthorne to replace her, a man who’s been called “Gale Norton in pants”.
They just don’t get it.
So I’m not hopeful when it comes to Bush’s gang that they’ll ever take the environment seriously. It’s up to our new Democratic congress and ‘we the people’ to stop the bleeding and reverse the damage.
Here’s one way:
http://www.coolcities.us/
Cities across the United States are joining the Sierra Club’s Cool Cities Campaign. Urge your mayor and local officials to join. Contact information is at the link.
The small things we do in our daily life since years and which are so natural to us that we don’t even think about them anymore:
We have these energy efficient light bulbs since I was a teenager. I can’t even remember when exactly my dad brought them home for the first time.
We always switch the lights off when we leave a room; that’s an automatic reflex.
We close the doors when we leave or enter a room to keep the heat in the room. We switch the heaters off when we don’t use a room or leave for the day.
We switch our electronic devices (TV, DVD player etc.) off when we don’t use them - not leave them on stand-bye.
We use the washing machine, dryer, dish-washer etc. only for a full load and not several times a day.
We use recycled paper for the printer, for letters and envelops etc.
We bring our own bags when we go shopping because neither in Germany nor in France you get them anymore in the supermarket.
We have several trash-bins to separate trash because it’s recycled.
And I will be honest here and tell you that I was completely shocked when I lived in California for a while with an American family. I just couldn’t believe how much energy they wasted! When they went out, they left all the lights in the whole house switched on, also the TV (not even on stand-bye!), had always all the doors open, used the washing-machine several times a day just for some clothes, left the water running from the water-tap while doing something else in the kitchen, drove several times the day to the grocery or some other store because they didn’t make a shopping-list, had a subscription to 20 or more magazines which arrived weekly, piled on the living room table and were never read.
When I tried to tell them that they wasted energy (and money!) they didn’t even seem to understand what I was talking about. It was a kind of traumatizing experience for me and made me realize how normal energy saving has become for most Europeans.
There are a lot of things we can do, and some are amazingly simple.
I agree with Yvonne, ProSense and Sen Kerry about changing out light bulbs (and of course with the rest of the fabulous suggestions presented here).
According to ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, lighting accounts for 1/5 of our energy consumption.
Changing light bulbs to CFLs is one of the easiest and cheapest way to conserve energy. I buy mine at Costco. They have great prices on CFLs and they’re a blue company, so I can feel twice as good about it!
Oh, and they last much longer than incandescents.
Is it hot in here, or is it just me?
Otter, if it is a John Kerry site, of course it is hot. If he is on the ballot, he will get my vote. The head of household here bought the Walmart green special light bulbs this week and replaced at least three bulbs. The bulbs are clear glass and have a wavy three quarter circle neon shaped yellow glow element. The ice break brought the gravity to global warming. Public school teachers (-Ds), students and curriculums are turning up the heat on this issue now.
Manufacturers feel that environmentalists want them out of this country and they feel that businessmen want to outsource manufacturing to other countrys for the money. (I actually know people who have relayed that statement to me.)
So is it possible for an envirnomentalist and manufacturers to co-exist?
I completely agree with John Kerry, climate change is a real problem and things must be done to protect the environment. More people both here and around the world need to take this much more serious. I was reading something very interesting about climate change on a website in the link below. Check it out folks.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/climatechange
I want to second the suggestion to replace your light bulbs with flourescent. Right after I saw an Inconvienent Truth, I went out to do that, and this month, which is when they adjust my electric bill - I am on a plan that averages it out so I have the same bill every month, my bill is going down by about $20 a month, plus I didn’t have to pay my electric bill of about $75 this month.
So it’s good for saving expenses in addition to global warming.
They’ve also improved compact flourescent a great deal in recent years - when I was in college about 15 years ago after an environmental studies class, I bought two of the bulbs and they were impossible to read with - so I was hesitant to try them again, but they are much improved - and actually, I think brighter than incandescent now - plus since they are lower wattage, I can put a brighter bulb in my fixtures than I used to be able to with incandescent.
Meg
EuropeGirl
I noticed the same difference between Europe and America re energy wastage - we’re getting better here but still shockingly different & more wasteful, like there’s no tomorrow & we own it all. It’s sickening. At work, people use 4 lightswitches in a room where 1 is enough. Or they leave the lights on when the room has huge windows and it’s daytime. It’s crazy!
Global warming is real and threatening our nation.
In my household we have replaced many of the bulbs with the fluorescent types that use lower wattage and last longer. However, I am concerned that we may be creating another problem—mercury pollution.
Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin associated with power plant emissions. The Bush administration has been lax in enforcement and actually has forced some states, like my homestate of Wisconsin, to adopt weaker standards than they had previously as national standards took precedent.
It is important for us to be aware that these fluorescent tubes need to be properly processed on disposal to minimize the environmental impact that they may have in the future.
As reported: http://www.informinc.org/fact_P3fluorescentlamps.php
“Although a single fluorescent lamp contains only a small amount of mercury, so many of these lamps are used that their overall mercury content is very large. According to one estimate, 620 million fluorescent lamps are discarded annually in the US, releasing from 2 to 4 tons of mercury per year.1”
But the best thing we can do to address global warming, is to elect a President who believes in Science, who doesn’t hire lawyers who rewrite global warming reports and then get jobs for Exxon-Mobil, and who has a record of knowing that there are more important things than the total deregulation of business—for instance requiring automobiles to be more fuel-efficient, and reducing our carbon load on the environment.
Senator Kerry, are you listening?
Robert Freedland
John Kerry for President 2008
While true individuals can do many things to help, the most important step is to get Congress and the President to take action. It would show great progress to the country if action were to be taken in this Congress. Senator Kerry, lead the charge!
I have a teenager coming to visit for 10 days and I’ve told him that while he’s here he has to make one pair of jeans last 2 or 3 days, instead of his usual 2 or 3 pairs in the wash in one day! I haven’t heard from him since I said that. Perhaps he’s not coming. As I pointed out, we live on the driest continent on the planet and no more water-wasting. DiAnne, you’re at the point I am. I don’t like waste at all now. I have been recycling for more than 20 years but there are still people who can’t be bothered.
I’m impressed with the Coles supermarket chain here which has changed packaging and recommends the reusable bags which only cost $1 and you can take them with you when you shop. Or, if you have a memory like mine and you shop for one, you can end up with 31 shopping bags in the cupboard. Yes, you can reuse the plastic ones but only a couple of times. These ones seem to be indestructible, but they’re fabric and break down fast if they do end up in land fill.
Right now I’m working on ways not to have water run down the drain while I wait for the hot to come through. I collect it to water plants or throw into the garden.
Try to eat food that requires the least amount of processing. It requires an enormous amount of energy to create processed foods and their packaging, not to mention the package waste that is left behind once the food is consumed. (Sometimes it can be recycled, but often times not.) This is challenging in today’s fast-paced world that is geared toward convenience, but it is one of the goals that I’ve set for myself this year. An added bonus of course, is that this is a healthier way to eat.
Another idea for reusing plastic grocery bags (if you should find yourself with an over abundance) is to see if there is a thrift store in your area that could use them. Our local thrift store is always happy to have them to use for their customer’s purchases.
I was discussing light bulbs with a friend (Now don’t you wish you had invited me to your last cocktail party?), and we both have the same problem finding CFLs other than the standard size and shape. A lot of fixtures in our homes take candle style bulbs.
I found a page at the environmental defense site that provides information on bulbs of various sizes and shapes, including prices and online retailers. Although the standard size has really come down in price, the odd sizes are still a bit expensive. They really do last much longer than incandescent bulbs, though, in my experience.
http://tinyurl.com/yejxzw
We’ve been really blessed over the years to live in a couple of different towns that have allowed us to essentially give up driving, and it’s been a great experience. We can shop locally, get lots of exercise, support public transportation, and really just participate in our community in a way we wouldn’t be able to if had to get in the car every time we needed something.
I know Americans are supposed to love their cars, but the lifestyles that have grown up around that are pretty unhealthy on so many levels. If recommend cutting down car use for anyone who can swing it, even a couple of times a week.