Reducing Carbon
In response to the movie The Inconvenient Truth, it would seem that the most important action we can do is to consider how we can influence the amount of carbon dioxide released by our actions. Water use, battery disposal and CFCs are important but do not address the main issue raised in the movie.
Transport has already been addressed and represents the biggest source of emissions we create individually. Reconsidering recreational air travel is a toughie.
But one of the other things that we can do is get involved in tree planting or increasing the number of plants in our environments. The councils do some volunteer tree-planting (http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/outdoors/volunteer/treeplntng.asp) but it seems we missed the bus on it (it finished for this year in August). It might be something to get into later. I did tree planting on two occasions with the council - on that hill next to the motorway (near the South-Eastern Highway exit) and also on Waiheke. The speed at which the reforesting of such areas is restricted by the number of volunteers.
Another factor is to buy locally. All things from abroad have had carbon release to transport them the distance.
Any other ideas?
posted by Crypticity @ 1:27 PM
1 Comments:
Methane is an interesting one, mainly because its relationship with climate and temperature is unknown. By itself, it is a stronger greenhouse gas - but it is reactive (CO2 isn't), only living 10ish years in the atmosphere and it can change into different things. For the last few years, the level of methane in the atmosphere has levelled off and no-one really knows why. Check this out:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1684378,00.html
(it is important because it shows how little we really know about methane in the atmoshpere.
It suggests that recent deforestation has caused the amount of methane to decrease!
To be honest, I was a little suspicious of EarthSave just because they have an ideology which affects the way they'd interpret the information. Assertions like this: "Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together" are simply impossible to make. No-one yet knows the real effect of methane in the atmosphere.
CO2 as shown in the movie has been demonstrated to have a direct correlation with the global temperature. Methane, though likely to be involved, cannot yet be said to have any dramatic effect.
Ideological vegetarians (EarthSave) would make a bigger deal of methane because it suits their dislike of agriculture. But the EPA seems to think in the same vein (although not as hysterical) so it is well-balanced.
Either way, regrettably us two can't save much by changing our diets, except by buying more locally.
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