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1. Improving energy efficiency. This is good for everyone, even if there were no climate change. Who wouldn't want to cool their home with half the electricity? But it needs to be achieved with technology improvements that are economical and not forced onto people with significant pain.
2. Terraforming. We now have CO2 scrubber technology that can filter from regular air. We have materials that attract CO2 when dry and release it when wet. One problem is it can be energy intensive to draw in the air. We can build processing plants in locations fed by natural wind. Another issue is long term storage. As someone mentioned with trees not being a solution, it does little good to have them absorb CO2 when growing then release it when decaying. But if we mineralize it we can permanently store it for thousands if not millions of years.
3. Adapting. The climate is going to change, even if we went extinct. We need to identify the trends and focus on adapting to it.
1. Improving energy efficiency. This is good for everyone, even if there were no climate change. Who wouldn't want to cool their home with half the electricity? But it needs to be achieved with technology improvements that are economical and not forced onto people with significant pain.
Yes this is an excellent point and as technology advances, we learn more efficient ways to do just about everything. Cars run on way less fuel than they used to, refrigerators and air conditioners are way more efficient, and LED light bulbs use 10% of the power (though, they seem to not last very long regardless).
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2. Terraforming. We now have CO2 scrubber technology that can filter from regular air. We have materials that attract CO2 when dry and release it when wet. One problem is it can be energy intensive to draw in the air. We can build processing plants in locations fed by natural wind. Another issue is long term storage. As someone mentioned with trees not being a solution, it does little good to have them absorb CO2 when growing then release it when decaying. But if we mineralize it we can permanently store it for thousands if not millions of years.
Trees absolutely are a carbon sink, and a major source of oxygen. The more we can reforest the world, the better off we are. North America, by the way, has extensively reforested since the 1970s, but this is offset by the Amazon of South America that has been stripped of millions of acres of vital rain forest and jungle. The Amazon region is responsible for something like 20% of the Earth's oxygen production and biodiversity so this needs to be addressed ASAP.
Also, we must reduce ocean pollution such as plastics, mainly dumped by 3rd World countries these days, that is destroying plankton, a vital link in the food chain and responsible for about 60% of the globe's oxygen generation. Stop polluting the oceans, stop over-fishing, and let the oceans restore themselves, and this alone will counteract CO2.
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3. Adapting. The climate is going to change, even if we went extinct. We need to identify the trends and focus on adapting to it.
Yes this is an excellent point and as technology advances, we learn more efficient ways to do just about everything. Cars run on way less fuel than they used to, refrigerators and air conditioners are way more efficient, and LED light bulbs use 10% of the power (though, they seem to not last very long regardless).
Trees absolutely are a carbon sink, and a major source of oxygen. The more we can reforest the world, the better off we are. North America, by the way, has extensively reforested since the 1970s, but this is offset by the Amazon of South America that has been stripped of millions of acres of vital rain forest and jungle. The Amazon region is responsible for something like 20% of the Earth's oxygen production and biodiversity so this needs to be addressed ASAP.
Also, we must reduce ocean pollution such as plastics, mainly dumped by 3rd World countries these days, that is destroying plankton, a vital link in the food chain and responsible for about 60% of the globe's oxygen generation. Stop polluting the oceans, stop over-fishing, and let the oceans restore themselves, and this alone will counteract CO2.
Exactly.
Just a couple of words here. Cars are far more energy efficient today than they were forty years ago. I submit that at least part of that reason though is because of government regulation that mandated that the auto industry produce more fuel efficient cars.
LED bulbs are an example of ways that electricity use can be reduced and consumers can get more light and a better product. I am grateful for them.
Frankly, I would be more inclined to your POV which I interpret to be that the necessary changes to prevent climate are already being made if I saw progress other than in North America and in Europe. That doesn't take into account the developing world. The Amazon Basin in South America is being destroyed at a terrific rate. Meanwhile average temperatures around the world get hotter by the year.
I would prefer to do too much rather than to little, but I don't think we are there yet.
Just a couple of words here. Cars are far more energy efficient today than they were forty years ago. I submit that at least part of that reason though is because of government regulation that mandated that the auto industry produce more fuel efficient cars.
LED bulbs are an example of ways that electricity use can be reduced and consumers can get more light and a better product. I am grateful for them.
Frankly, I would be more inclined to your POV which I interpret to be that the necessary changes to prevent climate are already being made if I saw progress other than in North America and in Europe. That doesn't take into account the developing world. The Amazon Basin in South America is being destroyed at a terrific rate. Meanwhile average temperatures around the world get hotter by the year.
I would prefer to do too much rather than to little, but I don't think we are there yet.
That is correct; outside of Europe, U.S., & Japan, pretty much the rest of the world pollutes like crazy. Most "greenhouse" gases now are produced by India and China. Most ocean pollution is by 3rd world countries + China.
What we do in the U.S. almost makes no difference at this point. My wife saying "don't throw that away; it goes into landfill and causes greenhouse gas!" and similar, several times a week, does more to damage our marriage than it does to help the world one iota.
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