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SOS: Restore Earth’s Balance, Be Carbon Neutral
by Jim Stewart, Ph.D.
For millions of years the earth was in perfect balance. All the carbon dioxide breathed out by animals was completely absorbed by plants via photosynthesis, while the plants produced just enough oxygen to sustain all the animals.
Then humanity discovered “fossil fuels,” which were millions of years of plant accumulations, preserved in the form of coal, oil and natural gas. We saw this treasure as a bonanza of almost “free energy, and have burned nearly half of those millions of years of accumulation in the last 200 years, increasing our rate of consumption every year.
The outcome is that these human-driven emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have been much more than current plant life can absorb, increasing the worldwide atmospheric levels of CO2 from the average, over the past million years of 280 parts per million (ppm) to nearly 400 ppm today, and levels are increasing exponentially.
The CO2 (and other human-produced emissions of “greenhouse gases”) have created a blanket around the earth, increasing its temperatures and altering its climate (just as the glass roof of a greenhouse increases the inside temperature).
The only way to restore earth’s previous balance is to reduce humanity’s emissions of CO2 (and other greenhouse gases) to a level that earth’s plants can absorb, which scientists calculate at only 20% of current emission levels.
This means that all emissions must drop 80%, which is an even bigger job because of population increases.
Many scientists say that if this goal is achieved by 2050, we might avoid the most catastrophic effects of global warming; others say it must be reached by 2030.
The most important thing is to start now! This means every individual, family, organization, business, and government must look at their carbon footprint and make drastic reductions as fast as possible. Individuals can go to www.CarbonCounter.org and enter your data for home, auto and airplane flights and it will show your tons of CO2 per year. The website allows you to sign up for a monthly contribution from your credit card to fund independently verified measures that can help offset your household’s carbon output.
However, these payments actually only fund a portion of the total costs of such offsets. And this website only includes about half your emissions.
The other half comes from the purchases and services you consume.
The facing article on the “Clean Dozen” lists some of ways you can reduce your footprint.
Going vegan is very helpful, but if you can’t go that far, at least you can stop eating beef. (Because cow burp methane as they digest grass, each pound of beef you eat has caused the equivalent of 36 pounds of CO2 emissions, far more than chicken or fish.)
Zero waste is very important, but even more important is purchasing less, especially things that have been shipped from long distances.
Or if you have to buy something, if possible buy from a thrift store or borrow from a friend.
If you have access to a yard, grow your own food.
The bottom line is to look at everything you do from a carbon footprint perspective. Reduce your consumption of fossil fuels in every possible way, from less driving to shorter showers to fewer airplane flights (vacation locally!). Install solar thermal panels on your roof to heat your water plus solar electric PV panels to power your house, charge your electric car, and send surplus electricity back into the grid.
In this way you can become carbon neutral (in effect offsetting your net carbon dioxide emissions by 100%), or better yet, you could become carbon negative, by removing more CO2 than your lifestyle produces.
But don’t stop with just your individual footprint: work with every government, business, church and organization you have any connection with to help them reduce their emissions.
They could also go carbon negative via the many technologies available.
A simple calculator for businesses is found at www.CarbonCounter.org. Local governments should join Local Governments for Sustainability at www.iclei-usa.org.
Your local Sierra Club’s Cool Cities campaign can help you sign up your city.
California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) is creating a model for the nation on how to stop climate change.
It is now being implemented by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). But there’s a potential problem: CARB is considering setting up a “cap and trade” system which could allow large polluters to get free permits for much of their greenhouse gas emissions.
Many organizations, such as the Sierra Club, are asking you to urge CARB to require industries to pay for these permits and use the revenue for the public benefit, such as for promoting clean energy and helping low income people pay high utility bills.
Your emails and phone calls to the Governor and legislators can make a big difference.
Similarly, you need to urge congress to take action to increase windfall profit taxes on oil companies, and use the money to provide tax credits and other support for renewable energy, such as wind, solar and geothermal.
In conclusion, first set an example by decreasing and offsetting your personal emissions, then convince your company, church, local and national governments, etc. to also become carbon neutral. All of society must move to use only 100% renewable energy as rapidly as possible, or we are cooked.
Jim Stewart is the Organizing Director of Earth Day LA. You can contact him at either 213-487-9340 or at Jim@EarthDayLA.org. Visit www.EarthDayLA.org for more info.