It’s Time for America to Go on a Climate Diet
Last week, the U.N.’s intergovernmental panel on climate put out its most damning assessment yet, both in terms of holding humans responsible for the state of our planet and the timeline for potential change.
The first part seems like a constructive step: finally, all the governments of the world are admitting we have a climate problem. What’s different about this report now is that just looking outside, for much of the world, seems to confirm their findings. July has been the hottest month in our planet’s history. For the most stubborn lawmakers, it’s getting harder and harder to deny facts.
But then comes the second part: it sure sounded like this was too little, too late. The panel concluded that the Earth’s current trajectory would take decades to reverse. In other words, we’re basically locked in for another 30 years of the same or worse: more record temperatures in more parts of the world, more droughts, more floods, more “firsts.”
A week since the report was published, little seems to have changed in terms of high-level commitments from the world’s biggest polluters.
“The ‘code red’ IPCC report came out a week ago. Since then not one politician has been held accountable,” environmental activist Greta Thunburg pointed out on Twitter. “Not one politician has been asked how they are going to act in line with this.”
But blaming politicians or expecting international cooperation on climate can be a way out of accepting personal responsibility.
A lot of the individual actions can seem miniscule compared to the magnitude of the issue. Increasingly, Earth seems to be stuck in some sort of disaster movie, with each country selfishly looking out for their own interests primarily. The governments are run by people with very short-term thinking, and there is very little collaboration or real progress going on.
Yet the biggest thing we need to change is our individual climate mentality, how to think and talk about climate issues. How much of an urgency is it in our day-to-day life? What are we prepared to give up, so that future generations don’t face the same catastrophe down the road?
I came across a recent book called The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways to Trim Your Carbon Footprint, by Paul Greenberg.
In a small volume, he compiled the latest research and actions anyone can take -- you don’t need to wait for another U.N. panel or government agency to act.
The United States still leads the world as the top emitter of carbon dioxide among the world’s leading powers.
“Two citizens of the People’s Republic of China emit less CO2 than a single American,” Greenberg notes. “There is no way to avoid it: the world desperately needs America to go on a climate diet.”
It will take each of us individually to start changing our habits and mindsets, in order to have any hope of changing course on climate at all.
1. We need to start thinking about food differently. There was a funny moment in the documentary about Greta Thunberg’s life called I Am Greta, in which she arrives at one of the global climate summits in Europe and is horrified that they’re running out of meat at the buffet.
For anyone who follows climate science, reducing your meat consumption is a no-brainer. For me personally, meat was easy to cut this year, especially with the increasing variety and availability of plant-based alternatives. But cheese is a different story, it’s much harder to let go of. There isn’t an “Impossible Cheese” or “Beyond Cheese” that quite nailed down the texture of the original. But it’s apparently no less emissions-intense.
Being aware of the emissions and environmental footprint of the foods you eat comes down to examining your habits, your tastes, what can be cut out or substituted -- and it will require us shifting out of 1950s group think that we can have meat-- or any emissions-intense food--anytime we want with zero consequences for the planet.
2. Rethinking food packaging. Similar to the sources of food, we need to rethink how we package, store and recycle our food. That’s a huge component of the footprint. We’ve all been conditioned, by our families, television and society to store and treat the food we eat in a certain way.
Regardless of whether you use beeswax wrapping to store food or carry your own bags to the farmer’s market, it will take examining these habits and how your groceries are stored to have a long-term impact on the environment.
3. Recognizing food waste. Buying what we need, donating food and treating it as a precious resource overall will help to cut down on the amount of waste each person is producing.
How often do we buy groceries? How many ‘restocking’ or ‘couponing’ videos have you seen on social media, where buying more and storing for the future is encouraged and is seen like a game?
At the same time, a record number of people have had to turn to food stamps in this pandemic, because they couldn’t feed themselves or their family.
There is a lot of dysfunction and inequalities within our existing food system, and it will take all of us asking questions and moving to change in order to see any difference.
4. We need to also rethink how we bank and how financial institutions utilize our money. The latest report by Rainforest Action Network shows that some of the largest banks continue to invest in fossil fuels.
It found that banks invested $1.5 trillion into the top 100 companies behind fossil fuel expansion projects, which accounts for 10% increase in 2020 compared to a year before.
When was the last time you thought about your bank’s carbon footprint? If we don’t question these practices, the financial institutions are unlikely to move fast on any of their existing practices.
5. Examining how and where we live. Gas burner stoves have become coveted staples for kitchen remodeling enthusiasts around the country, but we know now that electric stoves are actually better for the environment. Solar panels, ACs and building materials are all a part of calculating each of our household’s individual environmental footprint.
As the planet gets warmer and extreme weather becomes more frequent, the everyday decisions we make about our homes and how much we’re prepared to invest in better longer-term solutions will become even more urgent.
6. Reimagining your commute to work. The pandemic and government initiatives may have expedited this one, with more people are now turning to electric vehicles or skipping the commute altogether in favor of remote work.
This has a significant impact on your total carbon footprint, as a typical commute accounts for 17% of your total emissions. Is it really necessary for everyone?
As we eventually go back to the offices en masse, it will be important for companies and decision-makers to evaluate the work commute from the climate perspective as well.
7. Reexamining the idea of families. Perhaps the most radical way to reduce your carbon emissions is to rethink how many children you have.
“The single most powerful way Americans can reduce their carbon footprint is by creating fewer Americans,” Greenberg points out.
While many are making that choice already as a result of the stresses of the pandemic, we’ll see if the environmental concerns will impact plans to have children on a large scale down the line.
Reading this short book in one gulp can leave a bleak impression of the world and what it would take to change it.
Don’t have any kids, don’t eat any cheese, don’t fly to see your family, and when you die -- make sure to plant a tree instead of a tombstone. Dark!
But this bleak attitude is a result of doomsday mentality, resignation or personal responsibility and reliance on others to fix our collective climate problem.
It will take each person confronting their personal habits and questioning their everyday decisions to move us out of this state of climate denial and into a better future.