Greenpoint: not enough in the fight against climate change

For years, I advised that if everyone took action to solve their own problems – carpool, recycle, turn off lights, reduce waste and energy consumption, avoid pesticides – in the long run, that would bring about great changes in our world. . Together we can reverse climate change, clean up the air, the oceans and groundwater, and save endangered animals – that was my thought.

Then a friend energy consultant and a thoughtful person calculated her carbon footprint and realized that everything she did to live lightly was offset by the impact of her annual trip to India to visit her family.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately. How does our urge to refuse a straw change the fact that more than 8 million tons of plastic are found each year in the ocean? It is clear that the straws will not suffice.

It's the same for me, forcing my family to turn off the lights and close the blinds. How does it help when I travel 50 km to work?

A major international scientific report released last week warned of serious warnings: if the rate of global warming is not drastically changed, the effects on the planet may be irreversible.

The report is an analysis by 90 scientists from 40 countries from nearly 6,000 previous studies. It has been published by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Essentially, it concludes that previous warming targets are not enough to prevent permanent damage: coastal flooding, food shortages, increased forest fires, destruction of coral reefs and forests, and loss of Arctic ice.

"The report's authors stated that" rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes are needed in all aspects of society. "This means reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent. % by 2030, reduce the global use of coal plants by 40% to one digit and triple the reliance on renewable energy sources.

Do we already see these changes? Europe has experienced an unprecedented heat wave: the "wild season" of western states now lasts all year; Deforestation of the world's tropical rainforests means that they are losing their ability to sequester carbon from the air, constantly setting new records for floods and rainfall.

So what can we do as individuals? Turn off the lights and carpool, of course. But that will not be enough. To make the kind of changes needed to avoid permanent damage to our planet, our only home, will require policy changes, lifestyle changes and public and political will.

We can make changes to our privacy, but also advocate for greater change: more alternative energy, more public transit, more protection of our air and water. We can arm ourselves with information and use our voices to push for change.

Greenpoint appears every Sunday. Look for it on October 28th. Contact Margaret Hartley at [email protected] or @Hartley_Maggie on Twitter. The opinions expressed in Greenpoint are his and not necessarily those of the newspaper.