THOUGHTS ON GLOBAL
WARMING:
There are
literally hundreds of issues that affect our environment of which global
warming is just one. The effect of non-biodegradable solid and toxic waste and
other pollutants in our streams, rivers, lakes, aquafers, reservoirs and oceans is one of them. It is placing not only our potable water supply but our food supply at
serious risk. The problem has so many
lethal components as to be nearly impossible to cover in anything less than
multiple books and will require a significant investment to bring about even
the most remedial solution.
Air pollution is
another lengthy topic deserving of all the attention it is getting by the
global community. We have been to
Beijing, Mumbai, Ho Chi Min City, Rome and other major metropolitan areas where
the population is so dense and use of motorized vehicles is so prevalent that
pollution is literally choking the life out of the inhabitants. I have also grown up in the suburbs of NYC
and Los Angeles at a time when it looked like air pollution would win the battle. I remember looking up from the football
practice field at about 3:00PM and watching the smog roll in over the San Dimas
hills into the Pomona Valley. By 4:00PM we were all wheezing and coughing and
our lungs ached. On an average summer’s
day you could not even see the San Gabriel Mountains, the 5,000 foot peaks of
which were less than ten miles away. People rebelled, the Sierra Club stepped
up their efforts, and environmentalists sprang into action. Finally, their
elected leaders did something about it.
Reasonable local, state and federal legislation and regulations were implemented
over the past thirty-plus years to reverse the trends and make substantial
improvement. In that time, NO2
is down -33% and fine particulate counts have been reduced by -47%. Both of these and ozone are all below the
federal standard
for parts per .million (PPM) most days of the year. This shows that the deleterious effects of unchecked burning of fossil fuels can be minimized, if not reversed. But what about global warming.
for parts per .million (PPM) most days of the year. This shows that the deleterious effects of unchecked burning of fossil fuels can be minimized, if not reversed. But what about global warming.
For years the most
learned scientists in the field have debated whether global warming was real or
imagined. Depending on who was funding
their research, the opinions ranged from potential global disaster of epic
proportions to complete and utter hog wash and everything in between. Now it seems that science has settled on some
point that leans toward the former and those countries with the worst pollution
problems are jumping on the pending global disaster bandwagon.
The questions that
seem to still be unanswered are, first, how long it will take for global
warming to have the disastrous effects that scientists predict will eventually
occur and, second, can those impacts be reversed in time. From what I have read, and being the positive
minded person I am, I believe that we can make a difference. But, it will take a massive collaborative
effort and the cost will be astronomical.
Then the questions become can we get the industrialized nations of the
world to cooperate enough to come up with a comprehensive plan for change and
can we, collectively, afford it. Those are questions that our national
leadership must address, but for the United States I believe that it will
require all Americans to be willing to change and sacrifice will be required.
That sacrifice means accepting responsibility for our own carbon footprint and
changing our lifestyles and habits forged over a lifetime. This is easier said than done, of course.
We need a
commitment to clean, alternative energy sources and expand those sources more
rapidly than we have in the past. Solar
power, wind power, geo-thermal power and alternatives to carbon-based fuels
have been around for decades, and yet these renewable energy sources represent
only 12.2 % of total primary energy consumption.
I believe private
industry needs to be incentivized to invest in renewable energy. Be that tax credits, low interest loans, or
other subsidies until decent returns on investment can be obtained. Yes, profit
needs to be part of the incentive for change. Higher taxes on fossil fuels are
inevitable if people are going to be convinced to move to clean energy. Development and production of hydrogen fueled
cars must be encouraged and the American automobile industry must be mandated
to convert from traditional fossil fuel engine production to electric and
hydrogen vehicles within a reasonable period of time. Now I am sure that some will say, hey, Jud,
you are advocating for government interference with the free enterprise system
and we thought you were against that. You
would be correct on both counts, but it is the only way to stimulate change
fast enough to avoid the forecasted disaster.
Once manufacturers have converted and the market starts accepting these
new technologies, government needs to step back out.
If you agree with my thoughts, write your congressional representative and let me know your thoughts. If you disagree, I would still like to know where you are coming from on this issue. Our children and our grandchildren's lives depend on it.
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