How to solve global warming

Important new information has been published that identifies key local actions that must be taken to mitigate climate change. This new plan is especially timely, particularly given the current financial crisis, and the low likelihood of action at the federal level any time soon.
Please see www.coolplan.org .

Stopping "dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate" is the most important problem facing humanity today. Significant action at the local level is one of the major keys.

Although action must take place at all levels of government, government action is not sufficient. Solving global warming requires a concerted, organized effort on the ground to address the primary sources of emissions. This effort must take place among all sectors of the community: government, business, residents agriculture, industry. The effort boils down to three projects:

1) Improve efficiency of electricity and natural gas use as much as is technically feasible and replace natural gas with a non-fossil or non-carbon-emitting alternative.
2) Replace carbon emitting electrical generators with the most cost-effective non-emitting generators
3) Replace the private fossil fuel-powered automobile with significantly lower or non-emitting options. Ultimately, fossil fuels must be eliminated from transportation completely.

Ultimately, these projects must result in the complete elimination of fossil fuel use as an energy source. This must occur in the developed world more rapidly than the world as a whole. The developing world is much less able to reduce its per capita energy use, although aggressive measures should be taken to prevent the uncontrolled use of coal as an energy source.

Comments

[Karin Lease]

The animal(dairy and meat) based diet is emerging as the most dangerous contributor to climate change,one of the reasons being that methane is a much more damaging gas than CO2. Methane affects climate change 23 times faster than CO2 and the nitrous oxide,which is is emitted from the mountains of excrement found on factory farms, is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide,
Read on:
The United Nations Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released a 400-page document called Livestock’s Long Shadow. This scientific study revealed that animal agriculture causes more greenhouse gas emissions then all the world’s transportation combined! The culprits are a combination of methane from the cows, deforestation of the rainforest for grazing land, and the huge waste of fossil fuels from the factory farm to the slaughterhouse. It takes 8 times as much fossil fuel to produce animal protein as it takes to produce plant protein!

The United Nations Report is unequivocal in its Executive Summary, it states:

“The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.

Livestock's contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency. Major reductions in impact could be achieved at reasonable cost.”

from http://veganvoices.net/go_vegan/environ.htm

[Andrea]

Citat: "Ultimately, these projects must result in the complete elimination of fossil fuel use as an energy source. This must occur in the developed world more rapidly than the world as a whole. The developing world is much less able to reduce its per capita energy use, although aggressive measures should be taken to prevent the uncontrolled use of coal as an energy source."

You are absolutly right - and I would like to invite you and all readers to check out a webpage of a foundation whos sole object is the transfer of knowledge to the african countries for the production of biodiesel and by the same time getting those countries industrialized and stop poverty.
www.industriesforafrica.com
Actually - I think it´s the ultimate solution, the only possible way there is to leave our children a world worth living in it.
Andrea

[David Nicholson]

I am hoping that you can help me answer the following questions. Is "Global Warming" a term that has been replaced with "Global Climate Change"? "Global Climate Change" is bad, correct? Human activity is causing "greenhouse gases" to increase and we are changing the climate, and this is bad. Correct?

So what we want is Global Climate Stability? What is the perfect climate and when did it exist? Do the folks who are seeing their climate improve get to vote? After we eliminate all human contribution to climate change, then what will we do to stop the natural change that has always occurred? Is this human intervention to stabilize the climate considered OK?

One last question. Why do I only see time-lapse composite images of Earth from space? It sure looks pretty, but it seems dishonest to hide the fact that much of Earth is clouded in water vapor...clouds...much of the time. It seems like that greenhouse gas...water vapor...has been erased from public consciousness like FDR's cigarettes.

Thanks,

Dave Nicholson

[Dave Erickson]

"Global Warming" and "Global Climate Change" are used more or less interchangeably. The effect of human caused greenhouse gas emissions is Global Warming. The effect of Global Warming is Global Climate Change. What is being referred to, by both of these terms, is the human-caused, or anthropogenic effect, not the natural changes in global temperature or climate.

What we want is to stop the potentially dangerous human interference in the climate system. The discharge of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by fossil fuel combustion by humans is causing the concentration of CO2 to reach dangerous levels.

The human interference in climate is changing the climate at a rate unprecedented in the history of the planet. It is this rate of change and the magnitude of it that we want to stop. We want to return atmospheric CO2 to levels that are supported and changed by natural sources and sinks over geologic time, as was seen before the recent episode of warming.

Water vapor is not considered a climate forcing. It is much shorter term, and changes in response to other forcings. What we are mainly concerned about is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is what is causing the recently observed warming.

[Prafulla Kumar Hazoari]

It looks to be big issue of life and death question. But why change in climate? We are responsible for this. Instead of trying to take corrective measures for past mistakes we are adding the list of mistakes. The process of industrialisation requires to be reversed with more human and labour friendly technologies.

[todd]

junk religion/science. you people are insane. until you can prove to anyone (which you can't) that the current climate cycle we are in would not have occurred if we weren't around, your beliefs are as bogus as any other religion. clean air is great, we all want that. but to think that we have the power to start/stop the changing climate on this or any other planet is beyond arrogance. my god people, have you no idea? climate always has, and will continue to change until the end of time. you think you little puny blips on the cycle of the universe can do a damn thing about it? wrong, wrong, wrong. it's about making money, getting grants, making a name for your worthless selves, and destroying the economy of the free world. just admit it, and then go away. as george carlin said, the earth doesn't need saving. she can take care of herself.

[Dave Erickson]

We don't usually discuss the science of global warming on this website, as we consider it basically settled. I usually refer people who have questions on the science and who are serious about finding out about it to the IPCC: www.ipcc.ch. In particular see "The Physical Science Basis" here: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg1.htm . If this is too technical, you can refer to the National Academy of Science report here: http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/climate_change_2008_final.pdf . You can also get a very nice summary of scientific consensus on climate change here, at the American Geophysical Union:http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/climate_change_position.html. The NAS and the AGU are both highly respected associations of researchers in the relevant scientific fields who are doing the observation, research and analysis.