How to Save the Planet
Report after report tells us our planet is in trouble. Most recently, two teams of researchers concluded that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet’s gradual collapse due to global warming has become unstoppable; as a result, sea levels will rise by feet, not inches, in the centuries to come. This is just one of the many frightening effects of climate change.
Yet Americans remain unfazed. Only 40 percent of us are concerned, a Gallup poll recently found. Twenty-five percent remain global warming skeptics. Legislative attempts at climate action are inevitably derailed, and political hopefuls increasingly play the science denial card to win support.
So what can we do?
We reached out to a handful of scientists, policy experts, writers and activists to ask: “If you could require America to do just one thing — any one thing — to combat climate change in 2014, what would it be?” Here’s what they said:
David Suzuki
Faced with the magnitude and seriousness of global warming, and the tremendous opportunities in addressing it, we need the kind of leadership America is known for. We need an all-out effort as great as or greater than the determination to pull ahead of the Soviet Union in the Space Race. The America that set me on my path would never deny the reality of a scientifically proven problem, or claim nothing can be done about it or that meeting the challenge will destroy the economy. By committing to seek solutions, we will reap benefits — expected and unexpected. It’s time to revive the American know-how and gung-ho enthusiasm that has long characterized this great nation.
William D. Nordhaus
People ask, what can I do? My answer is that people should address the threat of climate change in ways that best fit their personal interests and capabilities. Students can learn, and teachers can teach. Citizens can inform themselves. Engineers can develop low-carbon technologies. Politicians can confront the realities and speak the truth. Media can avoid meaningless balancing of good and bad arguments. As an economist, I can explain why carbon pricing (such as through carbon taxes) is the most effective mechanism to reduce emissions. There is much to do, for everyone.
Annie Leonard
If I could require Americans to do one thing, it is to get active! Already millions know and are concerned about climate change, now we need to move that passive concern into action. That action could take many forms depending on each person’s skills and interests: shut down coal-fired power plants, get your university to divest from fossil fuels and invest in a clean energy economy, encourage companies and state and local governments to switch to renewable energy, demand leadership from our elected officials. It doesn’t matter so much which thing we do, as long as we all do something.
Kerry Emanuel
If I could be a czar for a day (or a few days!) I would direct substantial federal resources toward research and development in a) next generation passively safe, modular nuclear fission reactors, and b) carbon capture and sequestration technology. I would implement a carbon tax to fund these ventures and otherwise encourage migration away from fossil fuels. At the same, I would force all industries to pay for their externalities; for example, the coal industry would be required pay for the health problems and premature mortality that arise from dumping waste into the atmosphere and waterways. I would provide strong incentives for producing more energy-efficient vehicles and buildings and for developing more efficient and effective renewable energy sources. Finally, I would start a movement to amend the Constitution to make it illegal to influence (whether by voting or through money) elections outside one’s own district.
Kumi Naidoo
Throughout history, when people have faced the greatest injustices, from apartheid to slavery, positive social change has happened as the result of peaceful civil disobedience. We are at the point in the struggle to save the climate where we must put our lives on the line. I would encourage Americans to follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. and take peaceful action to stop the burning of fossil fuels and the collusion of our governments with industry interests, joining in the great worldwide tradition of civil disobedience. When we stand up together we can make the greatest change.
Sandra Steingraber
Thanks to the heat-trapping gases already stashed in our atmosphere from two centuries of fossil fuel dependency, we are rapidly approaching the last-straw-breaks-the-camel’s-back moment in the story of climate change. To stabilize the situation, we need to control methane. The best science shows us that methane is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over the short term — the only timeframe now left to us. Thus, to sidestep disaster, my single act would be to declare a ban on fracking and redirect toward renewable energy projects all the capital investment now invested in blowing up our nation’s bedrock to extract the vaporous, inherently leaky, climate-killing fossil fuel called natural gas — which is the leading source of methane emissions in the United States. Cement well casings leak, crack, age, shrink and crumble over time. Each gas well is a methane chimney that can never be completely turned off. Stop drilling, baby.
Yet Americans remain unfazed. Only 40 percent of us are concerned, a Gallup poll recently found. Twenty-five percent remain global warming skeptics. Legislative attempts at climate action are inevitably derailed, and political hopefuls increasingly play the science denial card to win support.
So what can we do?
We reached out to a handful of scientists, policy experts, writers and activists to ask: “If you could require America to do just one thing — any one thing — to combat climate change in 2014, what would it be?” Here’s what they said:
David Suzuki
Faced with the magnitude and seriousness of global warming, and the tremendous opportunities in addressing it, we need the kind of leadership America is known for. We need an all-out effort as great as or greater than the determination to pull ahead of the Soviet Union in the Space Race. The America that set me on my path would never deny the reality of a scientifically proven problem, or claim nothing can be done about it or that meeting the challenge will destroy the economy. By committing to seek solutions, we will reap benefits — expected and unexpected. It’s time to revive the American know-how and gung-ho enthusiasm that has long characterized this great nation.
William D. Nordhaus
People ask, what can I do? My answer is that people should address the threat of climate change in ways that best fit their personal interests and capabilities. Students can learn, and teachers can teach. Citizens can inform themselves. Engineers can develop low-carbon technologies. Politicians can confront the realities and speak the truth. Media can avoid meaningless balancing of good and bad arguments. As an economist, I can explain why carbon pricing (such as through carbon taxes) is the most effective mechanism to reduce emissions. There is much to do, for everyone.
Annie Leonard
If I could require Americans to do one thing, it is to get active! Already millions know and are concerned about climate change, now we need to move that passive concern into action. That action could take many forms depending on each person’s skills and interests: shut down coal-fired power plants, get your university to divest from fossil fuels and invest in a clean energy economy, encourage companies and state and local governments to switch to renewable energy, demand leadership from our elected officials. It doesn’t matter so much which thing we do, as long as we all do something.
Kerry Emanuel
If I could be a czar for a day (or a few days!) I would direct substantial federal resources toward research and development in a) next generation passively safe, modular nuclear fission reactors, and b) carbon capture and sequestration technology. I would implement a carbon tax to fund these ventures and otherwise encourage migration away from fossil fuels. At the same, I would force all industries to pay for their externalities; for example, the coal industry would be required pay for the health problems and premature mortality that arise from dumping waste into the atmosphere and waterways. I would provide strong incentives for producing more energy-efficient vehicles and buildings and for developing more efficient and effective renewable energy sources. Finally, I would start a movement to amend the Constitution to make it illegal to influence (whether by voting or through money) elections outside one’s own district.
Kumi Naidoo
Throughout history, when people have faced the greatest injustices, from apartheid to slavery, positive social change has happened as the result of peaceful civil disobedience. We are at the point in the struggle to save the climate where we must put our lives on the line. I would encourage Americans to follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. and take peaceful action to stop the burning of fossil fuels and the collusion of our governments with industry interests, joining in the great worldwide tradition of civil disobedience. When we stand up together we can make the greatest change.
Sandra Steingraber
Thanks to the heat-trapping gases already stashed in our atmosphere from two centuries of fossil fuel dependency, we are rapidly approaching the last-straw-breaks-the-camel’s-back moment in the story of climate change. To stabilize the situation, we need to control methane. The best science shows us that methane is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over the short term — the only timeframe now left to us. Thus, to sidestep disaster, my single act would be to declare a ban on fracking and redirect toward renewable energy projects all the capital investment now invested in blowing up our nation’s bedrock to extract the vaporous, inherently leaky, climate-killing fossil fuel called natural gas — which is the leading source of methane emissions in the United States. Cement well casings leak, crack, age, shrink and crumble over time. Each gas well is a methane chimney that can never be completely turned off. Stop drilling, baby.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.