writeaboutwarming

December 22, 2019 Carbon lock-in: technological, economic, political and social forces that make use of fossil energy [seem] natural and taken for granted by households, cities, provinces and countries. The word "forces" might be replaced with the word "habits." Habits like driving half a mile to pick up a gallon of milk. Habits like setting the thermostat at 70 degrees, winter, summer, night and day. Habits like accepting the cost of gassing up your non-hybrid vehicle without a second thought. Habits like re-electing incumbent government officials who vote against environmentally beneficial legislation. Habits like forgetting to recycle your clothes, furniture, books and kitchen utensils. These habits eliminate the possibility of one day living decarbonized lives, i.e., lives that are not dependent upon fossil fuels. According to two University of Toronto researchers, seeking merely to reduce our carbon footprints will never get us a climate-change-free world.

December 12, 2019 It's important to remember that the European Union (EU) has the world's largest economy. It ranks third, behind China and the United States, in contributions to climate change. What the EU decides to do in order to combat climate change will affect every one of us, existentially and economically. Unveiled yesterday, the EU's Green Deal proposes a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Regulators will create standards for the manufacturing of goods that force recycling and the phasing out of plastic and other kinds of non-recyclable waste. Beginning in 2021, 40 percent of the agricultural budget will, assuming adoption of the plan, be devoted to mitigating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, 30 percent of fisheries subsidies would be used in a similar manner. Air quality standards will be more stringent, an essential element of the plan, given that 400,000 premature deaths a year can be attributed to air pollution in