Working to preserve our planet’s health for our Children, Grandchildren, and all Life.
With Covid ravaging our health and climate change ravaging our weather, and so many people not wanting to do anything about it, it is hard not to get depressed. Unfortunately, depression can lead to apathy and inaction. The whole attitude of I don’t make a difference can be disastrous for our future. I don’t have a cure for depression, but I do have a cure for inaction.
Dear Friends,
The historic COP 26 climate meetings are over, and the results are a mixed bag. Limitations on deforestation, methane gas emissions, and investments in fossil fuel industry are big wins.
But setting hard targets for reducing global GHG emissions was disappointing. While some still think we can limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degree celsius over pre-industrial levels, many others think we are headed to 2.0 to 2.5 by the end of this century.
What exactly that would mean is up to conjecture, but certainly would result in hotter temperatures, more intense storms, more frequent droughts, sea level rise, food shortages and other climate related problems.
What worries me most though is the political divide on this issue.
Continue reading “Bill’s Climate News -COP 26 – and the political divide”
You have all heard about the dangers of single use plastics, and plastics in general, how they contaminate our Oceans, fill our landfills, and pollute our environment. Less than 9% of plastics are recycled. You have probably heard all this. But what you probably haven’t heard is the environmental and social damage done by the production of plastics. By 2030, the emissions released by the production of plastics will exceed the emissions produced by the production of Coal in the United States. Currently, plastics production releases 232 million tons of CO2 per year, or the equivalent of 116 (500 megawatt) COAL fired power plants. New plastic manufacturing plants currently in production will release another 55 million tons of greenhouse gasses (GHGs). This is release of GHG’s in plastic manufacturing makes our climate crisis even worse for years to come.
Continue reading “Bill’s Climate News – Reflection on Plastics”
Dear Friends,
As I enjoyed the beautiful weather the past few days, I wondered how anything could possibly be wrong with our climate. The air was clear, birds filled our back yard and life seemed idyllic (at least in Northern California). But a grim reminder hit us as Beth and I drove to a nice dinner out.
Smoke on the horizon, a controlled burn gone bad in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s easy to be alarmed when smokey haze fills the air, or the paper is full of climate related disasters.
But humans seem to have a short term memory problem as soon as things clear up. I think it’s the same with Covid. When someone in your family gets it, you become extra careful and concerned, like when my brother came down with it.
But now that he is healthy, and most of my friends and relatives hopefully are as well, it is difficult to maintain that resolve.