Last time we discussed carbon footprint in very broad terms: energy that goes into your house, energy that escapes your house, and the energy cost of procuring and disposing of the things you use (food, packaging, water, garbage, etc. ). There are larger, "macro" issues that complicate the concept, and you should be aware of them. But beware-- the big issues change slowly, and they require many people acting in concert to work real change, even in a clear state of crisis.
If you acknowledge that Al Gore, the Prophet of Warm, is right about rising CO2 levels and the effect of the phenomenon on global climate, then you're the choir: you already believe the planet is in crisis. If you're one of the signatories of Global Warming Petition Project, an effort to debunk global warming as a looming crisis (reportedly signed by 31,000 scientists), you might still agree that using less energy and emitting less airborne pollution is a good idea worth pursuing. At least for the 180,000 people on this planet who die of asthma every year, mostly in industrialized and developing countries, too many of them children, you might support cleaner air.
Five things about your portion of this nation's carbon footprint that you can't fix overnight, that will change slowly if at all over time and require the efforts of a politically committed electorate?
ONE. Half of the electricity generated in the US comes from coal fired plants. We've got lots of coal, still, and it's the only thing that saves us from complete dependence on foreign oil. A change in coal burning technology, or a shift to nuke plants, or a massive conversion to solar or wind, will be frighteningly expensive and will increase the price of electric power over the short and the long haul for consumers. And you thought your bills were too high already.
TWO. Power generation, industrial operations, "transportation" (your SUV, big trucks, trains, shipping, your SUV, your other SUV) together account for just under 75% of greenhouse gas emissions and general pollution. You and I don't have easy access to power to influence the national infrastructure, and we have trouble agreeing about anything as an electorate, anyway. To top it off, none of us has ready solutions to the problem of national energy consumption. Let's sing together, from the Dire Straits song, "I want my, I want my, I want my SUV..."
THREE. Nearly all profound changes in economic behavior in this society are forced upon us by economic necessity. The balance of energy wastefulness (Styrofoam Happy Meals, Coal-generated power, electric clothes dryers) and energy awareness (your neighbor's Prius, lower thermostat settings, your car pool team) we've achieved in the last thirty years since the Great Artificial and Temporary Gas Crunch of the Mid-Seventies has been the result of painful price increases in the various forms of energy we consume. We howl, we whimper, we weep, we rail like Lear against the heavens, then we change.
FOUR. Blunt fact: this society does not admire or reward frugality. Wanna hear it again? Al Gore is a prophet, but he will become a pariah as the meaning of his warnings sinks in: we're going to be poorer, colder, more careful, less carefree, and un-entitled in our attitudes to energy consumption. When the message hits home, we will be howling for the immolation of the messenger. We'll roast Al Gore over a bonfire of GM share certificates for telling us the party's over. And we'll watch from a distance, safe in our SUVs, with the engines running. Americans want to be wealthier; we don't want to be more thrifty.
FIVE. The politics of energy will always be a shell game. Don't pretend it didn't cross your mind that a friendly Iraqi parliamentary government would naturally owe us cheap oil for liberating the country from tyranny. It crossed mine. Our foreign policy does not always take us to the cutting edge of freedom and human rights. Sorry. The hunger of the world's great nations for energy will continue to exaggerate the importance of societies living over energy deposits (oil and natural gas, coal). France (of recent Freedom Fry infamy) changed its foreign energy dependency from 75% to 8% in three decades. And, they were notoriously unaroused by our cry for the liberation of oil-rich Iraq. It's politics, and the big waves will be made by large numbers of people who agree with each other about at least one thing: we can't go on this way.
Next time we'll lighten up, pull the focus back, and talk about five things you can easily change about your carbon footprint. And then we'll look at your neighbor's Prius and my sister's Escalade. Until then, don't drive to Blockbuster's just for a movie. Download from Amazon.
If you acknowledge that Al Gore, the Prophet of Warm, is right about rising CO2 levels and the effect of the phenomenon on global climate, then you're the choir: you already believe the planet is in crisis. If you're one of the signatories of Global Warming Petition Project, an effort to debunk global warming as a looming crisis (reportedly signed by 31,000 scientists), you might still agree that using less energy and emitting less airborne pollution is a good idea worth pursuing. At least for the 180,000 people on this planet who die of asthma every year, mostly in industrialized and developing countries, too many of them children, you might support cleaner air.
Five things about your portion of this nation's carbon footprint that you can't fix overnight, that will change slowly if at all over time and require the efforts of a politically committed electorate?
ONE. Half of the electricity generated in the US comes from coal fired plants. We've got lots of coal, still, and it's the only thing that saves us from complete dependence on foreign oil. A change in coal burning technology, or a shift to nuke plants, or a massive conversion to solar or wind, will be frighteningly expensive and will increase the price of electric power over the short and the long haul for consumers. And you thought your bills were too high already.
TWO. Power generation, industrial operations, "transportation" (your SUV, big trucks, trains, shipping, your SUV, your other SUV) together account for just under 75% of greenhouse gas emissions and general pollution. You and I don't have easy access to power to influence the national infrastructure, and we have trouble agreeing about anything as an electorate, anyway. To top it off, none of us has ready solutions to the problem of national energy consumption. Let's sing together, from the Dire Straits song, "I want my, I want my, I want my SUV..."
THREE. Nearly all profound changes in economic behavior in this society are forced upon us by economic necessity. The balance of energy wastefulness (Styrofoam Happy Meals, Coal-generated power, electric clothes dryers) and energy awareness (your neighbor's Prius, lower thermostat settings, your car pool team) we've achieved in the last thirty years since the Great Artificial and Temporary Gas Crunch of the Mid-Seventies has been the result of painful price increases in the various forms of energy we consume. We howl, we whimper, we weep, we rail like Lear against the heavens, then we change.
FOUR. Blunt fact: this society does not admire or reward frugality. Wanna hear it again? Al Gore is a prophet, but he will become a pariah as the meaning of his warnings sinks in: we're going to be poorer, colder, more careful, less carefree, and un-entitled in our attitudes to energy consumption. When the message hits home, we will be howling for the immolation of the messenger. We'll roast Al Gore over a bonfire of GM share certificates for telling us the party's over. And we'll watch from a distance, safe in our SUVs, with the engines running. Americans want to be wealthier; we don't want to be more thrifty.
FIVE. The politics of energy will always be a shell game. Don't pretend it didn't cross your mind that a friendly Iraqi parliamentary government would naturally owe us cheap oil for liberating the country from tyranny. It crossed mine. Our foreign policy does not always take us to the cutting edge of freedom and human rights. Sorry. The hunger of the world's great nations for energy will continue to exaggerate the importance of societies living over energy deposits (oil and natural gas, coal). France (of recent Freedom Fry infamy) changed its foreign energy dependency from 75% to 8% in three decades. And, they were notoriously unaroused by our cry for the liberation of oil-rich Iraq. It's politics, and the big waves will be made by large numbers of people who agree with each other about at least one thing: we can't go on this way.
Next time we'll lighten up, pull the focus back, and talk about five things you can easily change about your carbon footprint. And then we'll look at your neighbor's Prius and my sister's Escalade. Until then, don't drive to Blockbuster's just for a movie. Download from Amazon.
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