Tldr; I don’t like to use extreme terms like ‘skyrocket’, ‘unprecedented’, or ‘spike’, but in the case of accumulated carbon in the environment, it’s hard to characterize recent trends in any other way. In response, we see governmental and corporate expressions of ‘urgent’ change, to take place over the coming decades. The timeframes and measures they put forward don’t sound that urgent to me. I believe individual attitudes and behaviors must drive corporations and governments in order to head off climate catastrophe.
The details:
- Carbon in the atmosphere was 417 parts per million (‘ppm’) in May 2020, up from about 280 ppm at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, an increase of about 49%, which in geologic time, is the blink of an eye.
- Before the industrial revolution, over the past million years, carbon in the environment has oscillated (VERY SLOWLY) between a low of about 160 ppm and a high of 300 ppm.
- Keep in mind, the concern today about carbon in the environment is EACH of these: 1) 33% higher concentration of carbon than recorded over the past million years, 2) The RAPID rate of increase, which is unprecedented in nature. 3) The tight alignment of carbon in the environment and man-made processes related to the industrial revolution, specifically the burning of carbon-based fuels. 4) The absolute scientific understanding that carbon in the environment is a greenhouse gas, contributing to a warmer climate.
- Evidence of climate change is increasingly difficult to ignore, even by regular people like me. Even if you believe the actual measurements taken from temperature probes around the globe are falsified–which apparently some of us do–it is pretty easy to prove that polar ice is steadily receding, sea level is rising, islands/cities/countries are flooding, tropical storms are more intense, wildlife is migrating due to different weather patterns, and megafires burn hotter. In Kansas where I live, I’m sure there would be more furor about climate change if the winter months weren’t so darn pleasant these past few years. 😉
- Climate Change Accords (Kyoto, Doha, Paris, Glasgow) are high visibility conventions committing countries to reduce emissions but: 1) The timeframes of these commitments are long and slippery. 2) Famously, some countries are wavering in their commitment.
- Some corporations have made statements they hope will demonstrate leadership on climate change, but many of these are less than impressive: 1) 23% of US Fortune 500 companies have committed to carbon neutrality by 2030. What about the other 77%, and what about the fact that this target is 10 years from now? 2) Some companies have committed to calculate and publish the carbon footprint of individual consumer products. A prominent example is a European ‘consumer packaged goods’ company to publish this information on 70,000 products by 2039. Really? Is that the best we can do?
- My current opinion is that we are in a vicious cycle right now: Governments and Corporations appear to be the only organizations with enough leverage to move the needle on carbon in the air. On the other hand, their urgency is dictated by individuals, who unfortunately believe they lack leverage over corporations and governments. I think we need some better tools to express this leverage.
LOT is about individuals and households building awareness about their own carbon accounts, steadily making better decisions that reflect their beliefs, building awareness about similarly minded people that surround them, and then working collectively to influence institutions around them.
Together, with concerted effort, I think we can bend the curve faster!
