By MARSHA MERCER
As if fires in the American
West, floods in Europe and more intense storms everywhere weren’t enough of a
wakeup call, a United Nations panel Monday issued a “code red” warning on
global climate change.
“It is unequivocal that
human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land,” states the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, urging immediate action to
avert more dire effects of climate change.
The report, based on
14,000 studies, the most comprehensive summary ever, was approved by 195
governments. It says human-caused emissions have pushed the average global
temperature up 1.5 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial average.
“We can’t wait to tackle
the climate crisis. The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. And
the cost of inaction keeps mounting,” President Joe Biden tweeted.
Biden wants to put the
United States on a path to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation is
a key contributor to emissions, and the bipartisan infrastructure bill the
Senate passed Tuesday includes $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging
stations and $7.5 billion to replace school buses and ferries with lower-emission
ones.
A separate $3.5 trillion
budget blueprint Senate Democrats passed Wednesday – dubbed the Build Back
Better plan – promotes sales of electric vehicles, clean energy manufacturing
and a Civilian Climate Corps.
Both bills face hurdles
in the House. To some congressional Democrats on the left, the bills are too
lean, and to congressional Republicans on the right, they’re too fat.
Republicans continue to
insist the climate is always changing, American jobs will be sacrificed, and,
besides, our Chinese competitors are worse climate offenders. Our reducing
emissions will only benefit them.
With COVID-19 again
surging across the country, this may seem the worst possible time to bring up
behavioral changes individuals can make to help ameliorate climate change.
But the changes the pandemic brought to our lifestyles over the last year and a half can be helpful as we consider how we want to live moving forward.
What can one person do to fight climate change?
n -- Contact
your elected representatives
n -- Eat
less meat and dairy
n -- Fly
less
n -- Leave
the car at home
Those are among nine
steps Imperial College London, a public research university devoted to science,
engineering, business and medicine, says individuals can take. It also proposes reducing energy use, protecting
green spaces and planting trees, investing responsibly, minimizing waste by
donating items, and talking about the changes you make.
It quotes Al Gore’s
mantra: "Use your voice, use your vote, use your choice."
I like the list because
it’s straight-forward. I found U.S. government sites so fearful of offending someone
they larded up very similar suggestions with “where possible,” “where
feasible,” “where affordable,” and “where practical.”
Yes, of course, no one
can do what’s impossible or unaffordable, but such qualifiers muddy the message.
Nobody pretends
individual actions alone can end climate change, but individuals can raise a sense
of urgency, which can lead to change.
Maybe we don’t resume
flying to in-person conferences and continue to meet virtually. Embrace Zoom? That,
I know, is a reach.
Go on foot or bike to the
store. Choose a plant-based diet and make ourselves and the planet healthier.
Explore charity organizations or Freecycle groups to give unwanted household
items a new home, rather than sending them to the landfill.
“While individuals alone
may not be able to make drastic emissions cuts that limit climate change to
acceptable levels, personal action is essential to raise the importance of
issues to policymakers and businesses,” Imperial says.
Bill Gates writes in his
new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster”:
“When somebody wants
toast for breakfast, we need to make sure there’s a system in place that can
deliver the bread, the toaster, and the electricity to run the toaster without
adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. We aren’t going to solve the climate
problem by telling people not to eat toast.”
Gates is right. Telling
people, “no toast” is a non-starter. But if more of us voluntarily take small
steps now, we can help reduce our carbon footprint and stave off disaster.
©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.
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