How can we mitigate global warming?

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ekk1 said:
I find this to be an interesting statement, in light of a lecture I just finished concerning the difference in perception between private goods and the commonwealth. If something is held in common, such as natural resources like water, air and forests, then the depletion is often perceived as having little or no cost. People who have tried to put a real number on natural resource depletion, put it at about $2.5 Trillion right now. This is equivalent to the economic crisis of 2007-08 occurring every year. But because, it is not money deposited in a bank, we don’t count it. One thing is certain. It is not a sustainable economic model, and it may well collapse catastrophically in the next 50 years.

Global warming is only a part of the problem. There is acidification of the oceans occurring at an alarming rate, from surface interaction with the hydrocarbon being spewed into the atmosphere. …

We are consuming resources 30-50% on average faster then they can be replaced. This has obvious implications, as we realize those resources are finite. This same spending model has been adopted by our society in general. The combined spending of local, state and federal governments is $1.30 for every $1.00 collected in revenues. That is not a sustainable model either. If we time it right, maybe we will see massive government failure as the environment collapses on us, and most species on the planet have died.
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Since our gov refuses to do much about this problem, I’m just trying to appeal to people, and sweeten the pot by telling of the cost-savings. Going after finite resources is more expensive than reducing, reusing, recycling, and becoming resource/energy efficient/conservative (Lovins refers to those savings as “negawatts”).

I agree AGW is only one of some 9 or so very serious environmental problems confronting us, plus resource depletion and entropy.

Here are some links to the “Safe Operating Space for Humanity & the 9 Planetary Boundaries” – several of which we have already breached:
 
Mimi said:
Just jumping in here after reading a couple pages of posts.
I’m all for conservation and reasonable ways of helping the environment. The earth is my only home (until I hopefully matriculate to my Heavenly home). 😃

Anyone hear of Agenda 21? Here’s what I wrote on another thread.

Smart Growth, smart meters, etc. are all part of this move toward total control over many by an elite few.

Mimi
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Which just goes to show you, it’s best to get off the grid – which hardcore environmentalists have been saying for decades.

I did hear that smart meters might have some health impacts, esp for people sensitive to them, but I don’t think the smart grid would have that. It is a bit scary how complex and computerized everything is becoming. Our Volt is extremely computerized, and they keep it monitored from somewhere in Voltland, and send us reports every month about its maintainance status. Seems that’s good, but pretty eery. Like what if there is a glitch in the computerized thing. What is some bad people do something bad, or the gov uses our computerized system to spy on us (the way advertizers and biz do now).

The point is re Agenda 21 and the Earth Charter, etc, it really don’t have any power at this point to do anything against us. If we do the right thing and stave off environmental harms to other people and their children, then they won’t be trying to control us. We have to look more at the good we can and should do, and less at the bad that others might do.
 
Here is something I received from Rocky Mountain Institute (which we’ve been supporting with our $10 to $20 per years donations for the past 20 years) – afterall they were the ones that put me onto Sunfrost frig, which paid for itself and has gone on to saved us $1000s in that same time frame.

This is actually their fund-raising appeal, but it is also a good overview of what they do: blog.rmi.org/blog_rmi30_what_weve_created_together

RMI, independent of gov, has a very positive approach – only suggesting measures that save money – that even people afraid of climate change as a hoax to take over the world should be supportive of.
 
THE BAD NEWS: the U.S. ranks very low on energy efficiency according a recent American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy report ( see aceee.org/research-report/e12a ).
http://aceee.org/files/image/topics/scorecard-comparison.jpg

THE GOOD NEWS: There lots of gold in them thar hills of energy efficiency – both at the individual/household level and for businesses, schools, churches, governments (local to national). That means we could be reducing our energy use by ? at least 50% while saving us money and the environment, without lowering productivity and living standards.

It almost seems to be a sin to be that inefficient. Is profligacy a sin? It seems to be, esp in the context of that profligacy contributing to the harm and death of people thru local to regional to global environmentals harms.
 
lynnvinc said:
THE BAD NEWS: the U.S. ranks very low on energy efficiency according a recent American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy report ( see aceee.org/research-report/e12a ).
http://aceee.org/files/image/topics/scorecard-comparison.jpg

THE GOOD NEWS: There lots of gold in them thar hills of energy efficiency – both at the individual/household level and for businesses, schools, churches, governments (local to national). That means we could be reducing our energy use by ? at least 50% while saving us money and the environment, without lowering productivity and living standards.

It almost seems to be a sin to be that inefficient. Is profligacy a sin? It seems to be, esp in the context of that profligacy contributing to the harm and death of people thru local to regional to global environmentals harms.
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Well, it does help one’s energy efficiency when one doesn’t heat one’s buildings, as any American tourist visiting Europe in winter can tell you when he/she stops shivering. Are we really ready for that? Do we need to be?

And, too, when everything is so close together, as it is there, transportation costs are aided.

But it may be noted that the lowest cost of electricity/kilowatt hour (other than Finland which gets it from hydropower) are in the U.S., Australia and Canada. And it’s cheaper in those countries by quite a lot.
 
I was watching Dr. Hugh Ross on TV a few days ago and he had some of the most amazing theories on how climate change could be altered based on ideas in the book of Job.

For one, we should be eating less beef and more ostrich. Ostrich meat is healthier and they require only about ten percent as much pasture land as cattle do. This would help us to stop cutting down so much of the Brazilian Rain Forest!
 
Scientists already have plans not to mitigate what I believe to be false data, but to deal with an earth that has atmospheric behaviors they don’t understand. Unless the very wealthy want to die or see land they own reduced to desert then there will be action.

Peace,
Ed
 
Ridgerunner said:
Well, it does help one’s energy efficiency when one doesn’t heat one’s buildings, as any American tourist visiting Europe in winter can tell you when he/she stops shivering. Are we really ready for that? Do we need to be?

And, too, when everything is so close together, as it is there, transportation costs are aided.

But it may be noted that the lowest cost of electricity/kilowatt hour (other than Finland which gets it from hydropower) are in the U.S., Australia and Canada. And it’s cheaper in those countries by quite a lot.
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And the water heaters in Europe are also the gyser type (which gives you a hot&cold shower).

And you are right about our transportation issue. For instance, LA was largely developed after the advent of the automobile.

And our energy is cheaper (partly bec it is highly subsidized and given tax-breaks).

All of which present a more uphill battle for us.

But I do think we have a really long way to go in terms of becoming efficient (and conservative) without freezing in the dark or shower, without one iota of reduction in our living standards or productivity – most of which actually save us money and make us more prosperous. At least we should do those things…

We can talk about sacrifice in 20 years, once all those other things are done. By that time (when Chicago is sweltering in 120F heatwaves and a few more people have come to accept AGW), then we can think about sacrific – like turning the thermostat down to 68 in winter and up to 80 in summer.
 
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