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MCC Daily Tribune

Green Tip: Climate Change

Climate change and global warming are hot topics. In September, a record 7.6 million people took to the streets to strike for climate action world-wide in a Global Climate Strike to demand urgent action on what is described as an ecological emergency. "World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency" was published on November 5 in the Viewpoint section of BioScience which states "...we declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency." https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz088.

In October 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a unit created by the United Nations to provide policymakers with scientific assessments related to climate change, issued a special report warning that temperature rise must be limited to 1.5°C in order to avoid the most drastic effects of global warming. We are already past 1°C as compared to pre-industrial levels.

What can be done?

Aside from the multitudes of researchers studying the climate and changes currently, there are also several organizations working to identify and implement solutions such as Project Drawdown which is "shifting the global conversation about climate change from "doom and gloom" defeatism to one of possibility, opportunity, action, and empowerment."

Some colleges are taking action to reduce campus emissions, such as the University of Pennsylvania with President Gutmann's 100x42 carbon neutrality pledge--a 100% carbon neutral campus by 2042 in the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0.

There are numerous suggestions for personal lifestyle changes that can help reduce your carbon impact on the climate. Here are some suggestions from "10 Solutions for Climate Change" published in Scientific American. Pick one or two and make a change!

  1. Transportation is the second leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US.

Move closer to work, work from home, use mass transit, walk, cycle, or carpool.

  1. Cutting back on consumption results in fewer fossil fuels burned to extract, produce, and ship goods.

Buy less stuff. Carry a reusable shopping bag, buy items that are projected to last longer, buy in bulk so there is less packaging.

  1. Americans spend around $165 per household per year (totaling $19 billion nation-wide) for electricity for devices that are off. All things plugged in will bleed some energy, called 'standby', 'phantom', or 'vampire' electricity loss, since even turned off, many appliances will still draw power.

Unplug! Use power strips to make this job easier. Turn off your monitor since screen savers don't save energy. Turn items off even if you don't unplug since devices turned on consume the most power.

Ann Penwarden
Sustainability Steering Committee’s Recycling Committee
12/03/2019