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If you’ve done any looking around, you might have noticed that our planet is a mess. How did we get here and how do we need to we move forward?
Thanks to years of burning fossil fuels and deforestation, humans have altered the makeup of our atmosphere and as a result, our planet is warming.
Over 40 scientific bodies agree. We release greenhouse gases as a result of using fossil fuels for transportation, using energy to light and heat our homes, and through other activities that support our quality of life like growing food, raising livestock, buying manufactured products, and throwing away garbage.
Just about every activity in our modern lives relies on a constant flow of fossil fuels like oil and gas for transportation, coal for most of our electricity, and all three of these to produce and transport the products and food we use and consume every day. For many years, using these fossil fuels was a very inexpensive way to get things done. As a result, most of the machines and processes that rely on energy use were not made with energy efficiency in mind. We’re not only huge consumers of energy, we are huge wasters of energy, too. Most vehicles, and older appliances and light bulbs we use are inefficient. For example, by the time electricity reaches us, half of what was generated was wasted in the transmission from the power plant to our homes. Just about every choice we make has an energy impact.
Using oil and gas has another down side. Most of our oil comes from overseas. This means there is a transfer of wealth to other countries every time we fill up at the gas station. But the solution can’t be found by simply drilling in our country either. A growing number of experts believe finding new oil will cost more and more as the easy-to-get oil has been discovered or used up. This is called Peak Oil, which means that our world has already reached the maximum production of oil and from here forward, there will be less and less oil that will cost more and more. For these reasons, staying on this path is in itself unsustainable.
Lets face it; some big things have to happen worldwide to combat global warming - the world has a lot of people and they use a lot of energy. Huge chunks of the problem will have to be addressed with public policy and global treaties. Fortunately, you have a stake in this solution, too. Going green also means speaking up and supporting strong comprehensive climate and energy policy, be it local, statewide, national and even global in scale. We have to scream louder and in greater numbers than the special interests and corporations who want to keep the status quo. Believe it or not, your political representative will listen to you, and becoming a part of the process will help to ensure that humans have a future on this planet.
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