Why should I "do my part" to reduce carbon emissions?

Question

The UN report on Global Warming concluded by saying no matter what we do or don't do, it going to be around for at least "a millenia", so aren't things like walking 20 miles round trip to work, eating organic food and creating "awareness" just meaningless symbolic gestures which do nothing more than make us Politically Correct?

Answer 1

I am becoming more convinced there is a deep political agenda to cause some sort of mass hysteria and fear with regards to "us" being the perpetrator of carbon emissions, and thus we can be told what to do - or in the above question - reduce our so called "carbon footprint". Let say for example - playing devils advocate here - that developing nations are now becoming "more developed" because they are now more industrialised and consuming more enery and outputing more CO2 and emissions, do you think that they are going to be somehow blamed for the increase in global warming?

Does this then thwart developing nations from developing because developed nations are raving on about so called Global Warming?

I just think that theres always a topic that governments seems to promote so that they can somehow make money from it....

Answer 2

You are misinterpreting the report a bit. We already put enough C02 into the atmosphere such that even if we don't put anymore starting today, it will still take 1000 years for it to return to reasonable levels. Yet the world is putting more every year, so it is really going to be hard to keep from suffering the effects of this for a long time to come.

You are right to question what really makes a difference and what is just P.C. That takes some research, but you can make a difference by reducing your use of C02 emitting activities. Don't think you control any?

First, reducing your electric/gas bill at home (assuming your electricity comes from non-renewable sources) is a great start and is totally under your control. Your part is small, but if millions of people do as well, then a big difference results. And it saves you money! Yes, reducing C02 emissions makes financial sense too.

Walking 20 miles for work is just plain silly. Taking a bus or carpooling over driving a personal vehicle would be a step, even if only once a week.

Eating organic foods isn't as important as buying food grown locally, say within 200 miles of where you live. Some food has a much higher C02 cost. For example, if you stop buying bananas, they'll stop flying them in from South America. Can you imagine how many airplanes leave South America every day to deliver bananas to every store across the globe? It happens every day. Just pay more attention to where your food comes from, and spend your money wisely. (Organic food is kinder to the earth and your body, so that's just a bonus.)

And creating awareness? Well, your awareness was raised, and you asked this question. And you sought an answer and educated yourself -- even if you were skeptical. Kudos to you! Now you have a little more information and have the power to take a little more control of the situation for yourself, instead of feeling helpless in the face of a monumental problem. Awareness is really the thing that starts change.

Why bother? Well, as small as a 4 degree change in the average temperature of the Earth seems, the impact will be devastating. Millions of people will be affected, hundreds of thousands may die. I would hope that the citizens of the Earth would unite to help keep our little blue ball healthy.

Let's say that this is all wrong and we did all this work for nothing. Well, even then, we've made for a much more energy efficient, less polluted world. Oh darn, wouldn't that be a shame! ;-)

Cheers.

Answer 3

save yourself money
(as fossil fuel demand exeeds supply in a few years the price will rocket, see Hubbard curve & peak oil), don't go without what you need, just don't waste the energy & resources you are paying for when you leave your TV on stand-by, or a tap dripping...

have a happier lifestyle (as Epicurius described 2000 years ago) don't accept what advertisers & politicians tell you you need to make you happy, you just need friends, good food (organic tastes better), clothes, time to think, healthy exercise (a short walk to work, talk to neighbours on the way is enjoyable & helps you feel you belong) etc..

so don't waste time & money trying to get that bigger car, house, burger etc.
Save the petrol for essentials like v. long journeys (electric cars have a range >200miles and can be recharged in 10 minutes, and are more enjoyable to drive than infernal combustion www.teslamotors.com), emergency services ....

Answer 4

Carbon is the tag look at CO2 ,there is 1 atom of carbon and 2 of oxygen . If u check u might find out that oxygen is the important .

Answer 5

If we do nothing, there will be the biggest disaster in history. If we work on fixing it we can reduce it a lot so we can cope with it.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL052735320070407

We need to both work on fixing it and adapting to it.

Fixing it doesn't mean walking 20 miles to work, it means buying a more efficient car the next time you're shopping for one. Insulating your house, getting a programmable thermostat and better light bulbs. In many cases fixing it will save you money.

Answer 6

You must do your part so that Al Gore, Hollywood celebrities and the Kennedy family can continue to live their extravegant life style.

Answer 7

Um, so future generations don't think that stars and planets are just another myth like the Easter Bunny.