Bryan Laprise
world
noun
the earth, [and] its countries and peoples.
April 1896, Prof. Svante Arrhenius. “Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could substantially alter the surface temperature through the greenhouse effect.”
April 1938, Guy Steward Callendar. “‘The first to discover that the planet had warmed, and suggested that this warming was related to carbon dioxide emissions.’”
February 1957, Roger Revelle. “The ocean will not absorb all of the carbon dioxide released in humanity's industrial fuel emissions and that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere could, therefore, rise significantly”.
June 1988, Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere. “‘Scientists first began in 1988 to insist that real action should be taken’”.
Scientists have been speaking out about the effects carbon dioxide has on global temperatures, the greenhouse effect and climate change for more than a century. It’s been exactly 127 years since Arrhenius presented his article to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Yet, here we are, at a point where we’re causing our own future demise.
People seem to be counting on governments to solve our “climate crisis”. Yes, political powers should be rushing to set more environmental standards, but it’s also up to industries to take it upon themselves to make sure they’re limiting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But it’s especially up to the everyday person to demand the changes that must be made.
There’s a phrase from Laure Waridel, Switzerland-born social activist that currently lives in Montréal. In her essay « Une cause café », she wrote that when you buy something, it’s a form of voting. Example: if you chose not to buy disposable cutlery made in China, it’s a way of showing your disapproval for its environmental impact. On the other hand, if you chose to purchase a locally-made, artisanal product, you’re promoting items with a lesser impact.
It is time to, as a society, vote no to items that so extensively damage our planet. Society needs to make it heard that we want changes made. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a growing environmental concern and movement. From protests in cities around the world to simply having the conversation. Now, it’s almost disappeared.
Travel
What are some concrete actions that can be taken to help the environment? Well, one of the main things is avoiding air travel. With new studies and research, it was shown that especially when travelling in a group, a car is the best way to go. If possible, taking the bus or train is even better.
Using the calculators available on myclimate.org, the environmental impact of travelling from Montreal to Miami was calculated for a group of 4 travellers. The flight produces 1.6 tons of CO2, not taking into account other pollutants, while a car only produces 0.978 tons. So, while flight is more convenient, land is usually a better choice.
The worst part is while planes release a lot of carbon dioxide, it is other pollutants they produce that have the biggest impact, such as nitrogen oxides (NOX). Such molecules have twice the impact and contributed two-thirds of the aviation industry’s environmental impact in 2018, according to the European Federation for Transport & Environment.
Cutting down on inter-continental tourism could significantly lower GHG emissions. It may be an inconvenience, but it may just be what we need to ensure we’re providing a healthy Earth for the next generations.
Food
Another solution is the veganism movement, which has been gaining popularity in recent years. What exactly does being vegan mean anyway? By definition, it’s someone who “abstains from using [or consuming] animal products”. This includes meat, dairy products, leather, honey among others. In comparison, being vegetarian means you don’t eat meat, but may eat dairy products, eggs, etc.
According to Greenpeace, around 80% of global deforestation is due to creating lands for raising livestock, which is responsible for 60% of GHG emissions. A global change to plant-based diets could reduce emissions by 70%.
An astonishing fact is that just 55% of the food we grow is harvested for human consumption. A majority of the remainder goes towards feeding livestock.
According to a study conducted by phys.org, it was found that vegans have 30% of the environmental impact from a “high meat-eater”. Animal-based products emit greater amounts of CO2 and N2O (nitrous oxide) and a substantial amount of CH4 (methane). It was found that for a single unit of food, the vegan option has three to one-hundred times less of an impact on the environment. Meat also requires an enormous amount of water to make its way to your plate.
In markets and grocery stores, you’ll usually only see “normal”, “aesthetic” produce. But what happens with the irregulars? Around the world, 1.3 billion tonnes of food “is lost or wasted” every year, equivalent to around 110.1 million loaded school buses. So, finding a way to make use of that food could not only diminish our ecological footprint, but also eradicate global hunger.
Manufacturing
Have you ever had an appliance that broke down or started malfunctioning a few years after it was purchased? Have you ever wondered how those made decades ago are still fully working when the washer you bought five years ago is starting to show wear and tear? As it turns out, this is a phenomenon known as planned obsolescence. Merriam-Webster defines this as “the practice of making or designing something (such as a car) in such a way that it will only be usable for a short time so that people will have to buy another one.”
Why did something that purposely makes an item bad, even emerge in the first place? Well, its origins go back to the 1920s with the Phoebus Cartel, a group of the biggest light bulb producers around the world. In simple terms, they had come to the realisation that their products were “too good” and their sales were dropping because the bulbs lasted too long. They agreed to lessen the quality of their products to increase sales.
This is a practice we still see today with products like cars and electronic devices (particularly Apple).
According to the NRDC, in the U.S. alone, 59 million tons of electronic waste is produced each year. One of the biggest causes is “upgrading”. As companies unveil new models of products each year, a consumer is most likely to want to upgrade their 1-year outdated model.
While this practice may help the economy and employment, it is horrible for the environment and it’s time we put an end to it. Around the world states are proposing laws prohibiting planned obsolescence, or at least making it easier to repair items.
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A recurring theme when it comes to saving the environment is it’s going to take a bit of sacrifice.
On search engines, a commonly asked question is “how will the world end”. If we’re talking about our world—one of human existence—how we know it, the answer is most definitely… us. There’s no sense that climate change is natural and we have nothing to do with it.
While the world, in the sense of the Earth, will go on, it might just be without humans. And according to most scientists, that’d be a good thing. It’s a harsh truth, but the only way we can make it through what scientists like Arrhenius and Callendar had warned the world about a century ago is by sacrifice. Without it, there’s no getting out of the doom we’re projecting upon ourselves. So, it may take some getting used to, but avoiding vacations on tropical islands, and instead going on a beach a few hours’ drive from home helps. So does cutting back on animal consumption, and putting in laws forcing companies to stop putting the Earth in peril.
But, unfortunately, none of that’s probably ever going to happen. Because nobody is ready to make those uncomfortable choices. The hardest thing is, they’re not really thinking about future generations. It seems those in decision-making power don’t realise that one day, their kids, or grand-kids will wake up and see a world where it’s a struggle to get food and water. In many places in the world, that’s already the case.
It’s time to stop hitting snooze on the environmental alarm and wake up.
References
Applegate, Z. (2013, April 26). Guy Stewart Callendar: Global warming discovery marked. BBC News. Retrieved July 25, 2023 from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-22283372
Clark, M. & Papier, K. (2023, July 24). Vegan diet has just 30% of the environmental impact of a high-meat diet, major study finds. Phys.org (Science X Network). Retrieved August 8, 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-07-vegan-diet-environmental-impact-high-meat.html#:~:text=Unsurprisingly%2C%20diets%20containing%20more%20animal,impact%20of%20plant%2Dbased%20foods.&text=This%20can%20mean%20huge%20differences,vegans%20and%20high%20meat%2Deaters.
Foley, J. (n.d.). A five-step plan to feed the world. National Geographic Magazine. Retrieved August 8, 2023 from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/
Greenpeace. (n.d.). Agribusiness and deforestation. Greenpeace. Retrieved August 3, 2023 from https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/issues/agribusiness/
Krajewski, M. (2014, September 24). The great lightbulb conspiracy. IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved August 4, 2023 from https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-great-lightbulb-conspiracy
McFadden, C. (2022, May 16). Here’s why planned obsolescence is bad for the environment. Interesting Engineering. Retrieved August 4, 2023 from https://interestingengineering.com/lists/planned-obsolescence-environment
NASA. (n.d.). How do we know climate change is real? NASA; Global Climate Change; Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved July 25, 2023 from https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/#:~:text=In%201896%2C%20a%20seminal%20paper,Earth's%20atmosphere%20to%20global%20warming.
Pester, P. (2021, December 21). When did scientists first warn humanity about climate change?. Live Science. Retrieved July 26, 2023 from https://www.livescience.com/humans-first-warned-about-climate-change
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. (2016, March 22). Vegetarian diets best for the environment and human health. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Retrieved August 3, 2023 from https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/vegetarian-diets-best-environment-and-human-health
Transport & Environment. (n.d.). Airplane pollution. Transport & Environment (European Federation of). Retrieved August 8, 2023 from https://www.transportenvironment.org/challenges/planes/airplane-pollution/#:~:text=Airplanes%20burn%20fossil%20fuel%20which,altitude%20at%20which%20aircraft%20operate.
Turrentine, J. (2020, July 24). At 59 million tons, our e-waste problem is getting out of control. NRDC. Retrieved August 4, 2023 from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/59-million-tons-our-e-waste-problem-getting-out-control
United Nations Environment Programme. (2020, July 13). How to feel 10 billion people. United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved August 3, 2023 from https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-feed-10-billion-people
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