We can act together on global warming
Last week’s column documented how global warming with consequent sea-level rise is already affecting us in the Chesapeake Bay region where we are much more vulnerable. The stakes are much too high to allow deniers to block progress in acting to reduce temperature increases accelerating life-threatening problems. The science is crystal clear.
However, the divergence between Republicans’ and Democrats’ views is impeding bipartisan efforts to address a warming planet. Gaps in the belief that the effects of global warming have already begun have grown from 13 points in 2001 to 53 points now with 82% of Democrats and only 29% of Republicans thinking this.
On whether global warming poses a serious threat to an individual respondent or their way of life in their lifetime, the gap was 16 points and now stands at 56 points, with 67% of Democrats believing global warming is a serious threat to themselves versus just 11% of Republicans.
This polarization was exacerbated by the previous president who called global warming “a total and very expensive, hoax!”….”created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” He withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord and did all he could to reverse previous efforts to decrease global warming emissions, even those supported by industry.
There are now 139 elected officials in Congress (109 representatives and 30 senators), who refuse to acknowledge the scientific evidence of human-caused climate change. These Republicans have received $61 million in lifetime contributions from the coal, oil, and gas industries.
These divergent views cripple efforts to avoid the catastrophic effects already occurring and that scientists predict will worsen. This is reflected in the inability of Congress and many state legislatures to address the problem. This must change as we need bi-partisanship in a spirit of
common cause to meet the challenge.
While thinking globally, we can act locally and each of us can do our part. Since 75% of U.S. planet warming gasses come from burning and extracting fossil fuels and since most of this comes from generating electricity and from the transportation sector, here’s what you can do and save money, too:
100% renewable
Work to have cost-effective solar panels installed for your home, office, and house of worship. Purchase 100% renewable energy for electricity and stop using oil or gas for heating. My purchase of 100% wind energy for my home is cheaper than BGE rates. BGE still relies on coal for 20% of electricity and natural gas for 40%. One-third of U.S. greenhouse gasses come from electrical production.
Weatherize
Be sure your home, office, and house of worship are energy efficient. BGE offers free energy audits and energy saving devices. You are paying for these on your bills—why not take advantage of them and save energy and money?
Energy efficiency
When replacing furnaces, heat pumps, refrigerators, washing machines, and hot water heaters, buy those labeled as Energy Star. Change furnace filters regularly and try to keep heat and air conditioning use to a minimum, the latter by using fans and blocking sunlight with drapes/curtains.
LED lighting
LED lightbulbs use 80% less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs and last much longer. You can save $125 over a lightbulb’s life.
Turn off
Stop wasting electricity! Turn off electricity users when not in use except for your hot water heater and refrigerator. The outlets in your home are powering many devices not in use and this “idle load” adds up to the output of 50 large power plants in the U.S. Plug them into power strips as with my computer and turn them off when not in use. Turn off the water heater when away for 5 days or more. In the last 12 months, we paid $954 for electricity for our all-electric home including electrical charging for our 2018 Prius Prime that averages over 100 miles per gallon.
Conserve water
Conserving water, especially hot water, saves money and reduces carbon pollution, too. It takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. Use cheap low-flow, Navy invented showerheads and low-flow devices on all faucets. If you have old toilets, replace them with 1.26 gallon flush ones like I did—they work better than the old ones. Fix leaks The EPA estimates that retrofitting 1% of American homes with water-efficient fixtures would avoid 80,000 tons of global warming pollution. .
Fuel efficient vehicles
Hybrids and fully electric vehicles save fuel and money and reduce pollutants. If all cars met the Obama era 2025 average of 54.5 mpg, Americans would save $80 billion at the pump each year and cut emissions by half compared to vehicles averaging 28.3 mpg. Also make fuel efficiency a target by consolidating shopping trips, carpooling, and using public transit when possible.
Maintenance
If all Americans kept their tires properly inflated, we could save 1.2 billion gallons of gas each year. A tune-up can boost miles per gallon anywhere from 4% to 40%, and a new air filter can mean a 10% boost. Do not let your engine idle unnecessarily.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Reduce consumption of plastics and other items that cannot be recycled. Always take your own reusable bags for shopping and stop wasting money on plastic bottles of water. Plastic is made
from natural gas and our water supply is excellent and safe. Recycle all materials you can— recycling paper reduces energy use by 65% and every ton recycled saves 17 trees, which trap carbon dioxide. Paper and pulp production is the fifth largest industrial consumer of energy. Recycling aluminum cans saves 90% of the energy used in producing new aluminum. Cut down on food waste as agriculture causes 10.5% of global warming emissions and at least 30% of production is wasted, most dumped in a landfill.
Your energy use
While considering your energy footprint, note that about one-third of all bay-choking nitrogen pollution comes from fossil fuel burning to produce electricity and fuel vehicles. Besides concerns over the cost of our electricity and fuel bills, should we not be as concerned over the cost of global warming with disastrous weather events and forest fires and the impacts to our air and water quality? Be an energy saver, not an energy hog—it’s one of the best ways to save the bay and the planet.
Speak up
Thinking globally, speak up on the need to aggressively address global warming and negate the head-in-the-sand climate-change deniers. Make sure your elected representatives at all levels know of your concerns and press them for real actions.
We all cannot be Greta Thunberg, but we all can get behind President Biden’s bold plans announced on Earth Day to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from 2005 levels by 50-52% by 2030 and produce 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035. The longterm goal is reaching net zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050. Let’s all do our part to assure these goals are met and set an example for the rest of the world.
Gerald Winegrad represented the greater Annapolis area in the General Assembly for 16 years, where he championed efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay. He served on the tri-State Chesapeake Bay Commission and taught graduate courses in bay restoration and wildlife management he authored. Contact him at gwwabc@comcast.net.