The following content was included in our October 15 Newsletter. Over the past week, several more articles have been published raising the importance and urgency of the problem. In order to increase awareness of the issue and the strategies that can help us solve the problem, we have added a new a section on our website that will be dedicated to the climate crisis. This will summarize all of our related posts and include links to relevant resources. This is a good complement the rest of our site which will still focus on sustainable transportation.
If you have suggestions for articles to link or information that you’d like to publish, please let us know.
Our Climate Crisis
On October 8, 2018, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report that made our climate crisis even more urgent. The gist of the report is that we have a little over a decade to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius/2.7 degrees Fahrenheit rise). Two degrees Celsius is the goal that was set at the Paris Climate Agreement but the IPCC report warns that beyond 1.5 degrees C, we will see escalated environmental insults – droughts, temperature extremes, flooding,… – and significant impact to millions.
Extreme weather events have visited many parts of our globe this year and they’ve become increasingly devastating, unpredictable, and (unfortunately) common. I hesitate to imagine the worst-case scenario and its impact to humanity.
Based on the media reports from across the globe, governments and the general public are paying attention to the urgency. This is very positive. However, we must not be complacent and fatalistic. This is especially so in our country where not enough attention is paid to this matter and the media seems to be distracted by more sensational events.
Much more must be done to shift consumption away from products and services that contribute to the climate crisis – those that contribute to CO2, methane, N2O. This can all be daunting but with everyone pitching in – teaching others about what can be done and ‘walking the talk’ (driving electric, ride sharing, car pooling, walking, conserving energy, installing roof top solar, buying local, supporting the initiatives like the Carbon Fee and Dividend, etc…), we WILL make a difference.
Related Reading:
- IPCC Press Release
- Carbon Fee and Dividend
- Mother Jones: New UN Climate Report Dims Hope for Averting Global Warming Catastrophe
- CNN: Planet has only until 2030 to stem catastrophic climate change, experts warn
- Majority of top U.S. newspapers failed to feature bombshell climate report on homepage
- Climate Change: Tough Choices (BBC Radio Program)