2020 will be the first year that humanity has reduce their carbon footprint by the amount needed per year to reach the goal of no more than 1.5°C rise in temperature by 2020 - a key goal of the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the UN, we need to reduce CO2 emmissions by 7.6% yearly through 2030 to be on track. With the Covid shutdown, the world is expected to be down about 7%... but bounce back post-Covid.
With the US likely to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, there will finally be a world-wide consensus that the carbon emissions must be reduced (note: something I strongly agree).
There are two primary ways we can meet the emission reduction targets; create more renewable energy or consume less. While the rate of new renewable energy has increased recently, it still is only a few percent of total energy needs and unlikely to play a meaningful roll anytime soon (see 2nd chart below). As far as per-capita energy use, Americans consume about twice that of Europeans and Chinese (see 1st chart)... and that doesn't take into consideration that much of what Americans buys is made overseas. Since almost every product or service consumed ultimately requires energy to produce, making meaningful reduction in emissions will require meaningful reductions in consumption.
Are you prepared to change your lifestyle to help make this happen?
Sustainable Eating:
[rmolivand.com]
Thank you for this. People often underplay the effect their food choices have on the natural world.
No to the Paris Climate Accord. Why in the hell we should stymie our progress when China and India are exempt from it?
Why would we adjust our efforts because others are not doing the same as we do? We do our dead level best and then diplomatically work to convince others of the same dire need!
Just went on a bitter diatribe about how we're too late and even I think this is a nonsensical argument.
Effective leadership is always from the front.
So why bother? Great attitude, there's not going to be a planet for me!!
Because of our activities we are rated the no. 1 overpopulated country in the world. It's not just about numbers but also our activities. Even though India has 4 times our population at about 1/3 our land mass we still have a much larger footprint than they do.
This survey is insane as it doesn’t even mention chicken and pork which are raised entirely on grains and other products which use a lot of energy to produce while a lot of the beef comes from grass or forages raised on marginal land not suitable for farming.
also, two regrets:
Unfortunately, there is not a reply button to all those who retorted to my comment but I will address all of them. None of you who replied addressed my main point setting our industry back in favor of China and India. Each one of them have more than three times our populations. China is polluting at a level seen only during the Industrial Revolution. India is getting there as more people join the middle class and buy automobiles. I do not like big government solutions. This will lead to carbon credits, an economic bubble unlike the world has ever seen, which will pass down higher energy costs to the consumer. Besides, everyone, including me, cans do their part like cultivation of a garden(s), planting trees, or grabbing a garbage bag and a pokey stick and picking up litter on the side of the road. Yeah, let’s hand more power to big, multinational governing bodies or corporations.
Something else?
Rapturously funny but still embarrassing to see so many allegedly rejecting nonsense of gods whilst continuing to cling to such androcentric scientism, 'cherry picked' like so many scriptures from the deluded public domain.
Can there possibly be another cleaner term to describe 'atheist' that would be free of ASSociation with these Chicken Littles?
Your point being that you don't believe in man-made global warming?
@JeffMurray Oh, don't stop there. The list is pretty long when it comes to not 'believing in'..
@Silver1wun I'm going to regret this, but what other things that a vast majority of experts in the respective field agree on do you think is a hoax? The Coronavirus? I heard Herman Cain tweeted yesterday that it was a hoax.
@JeffMurray I didn't use the word or even the think of hoax. Though a legitimate term if used accurately, it has been made into one of a number of triggering defense response mechanisms for you by your overseers. Take the wad out of your panties and read the words that are there and not those planted in your psyche.
@Silver1wun I'm asking questions, not making assertions...
@JeffMurray Your 'vast majority' is comprised of an (as mentioned) cherry picked pseudo-scientific demographic that ignores an equally valid scientific body of critics in a typically, dismissive fashion.
Corona virus, Herman Cain, tweeting and, of course, fixation with 'hoax' occupy (asserted) central places in the formulation of your questions and have NOTHING to do with me or my personal system of thinking. They are, however, not coincidentally central elements in 'group think' maintained and overseen by propagandists to keep their cattle corralled. Your questions reek of them.
Moo...
@Silver1wun So let's pick one topic and explore it instead of clouding the discussion with other things on your pretty long list. Which thing would you like to talk about, and what equally valid scientific evidence do you have to support your claim about that thing?
@JeffMurray Talk about? I was merely responding to childlike 'poll' offering answers limited to a narrow frame of reference plus an option for an opinion. The opinion was submitted. I'm not motivated to convert anyone to my views, only to express reactions to what I come across based on those views. I have no agenda to sell to anyone. Cattle don't make very discriminating shoppers anyway.
@Silver1wun Cool bro, I get you. Also, 9/11 was an inside job and those that don't believe that are sheep. I have tons of proof but I'm not going to share any of it because I'm not in the business of teaching farm animals calculus. See you at the club, unless it's been surrounded by gay, Jewish, 5G cell phone towers that turn you vegan and autistic.
@JeffMurray Sorry, didn't mean to be a catalyst for such massive regurgitation. Hope you feel better now.
Having cut most of these things anyway, (comes of being a pensioner) cutting anything more will only be meaningful if everybody does it. But as I said below, you can only lead effectively from the front.
It's going to take a lot of different measures to overcome the climate crisis.
We also should stop buying cheap stuff online, anybody ever thought how much airpollution all that " shipping and handling " produces ? Things that we realy need should be produced closer to home, as much as possible. And consumers should be willing to pay the price.
Also , leave your car at home, take the bus , walk, ride a bicycle.
Nice btw, that we are allowed to keep our current kids .
Not sure why the Admin uses India as an example that they are doing more than those of us who have actually reduced significantly our carbon footprint. Or if non-believers are better at it than religious people. That is just a ridiculous question given the fact that the majority of people in this planet follow some kind of religion, just India has about 1.4 billion people the overwhelming majority of them religious, while the whole world has only 1.1 billion non believers, out of almost 8 billion in tbe world. Simple math indicates this "concern" is bogus. But returning to the India case, they just set a target a couple of days ago to reduce its carbon footprint by 35%, a target nobody believes they can get closer to due to their completely lackluster performance to date. And definitely not to be set as an example to anyone. Not sure the reasons behind the Admin's disdain for those of us who are doing their part and saying so, perhaps because we just are, and say that India is doing more. Absurd. [downtoearth.org.in]
There are some bad worded alternatives here. I do all these things already, some by default due to age or having certain issues like retirement, income, etcetera. I drive a hybrid, consume sustainable beef only, have a tankless water heater, a/c consumption low using programmable thermostat during hours of operation despite living in Florida, no heat at all because of south Florida, live in energy efficient condo bought after selling a huge colonial home in Milton, MA. I fly overseas once a year round trip, and usually drive when going places within the USA or use train if long hauls. So I really doubt I can reduce it even more than what I am already doing.