smaller = < climate change

"Can we imagine smaller?"  Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, The End of Nature, and now Eaarth, asked in talk last Friday night at the Urban Ecology Center.

Smaller, as opposed to business as usual, is what it will take to mitigate the very worst effects of global warming.  Smaller seems revolutionary, but as we are already running into the limits of growth, what is really radical is not doing anything.  Smaller is necessary to slow down the heartbreaking losses related to climate change that are already occurring: the arctic melting, island nations disappearing, glacial water supplies being lost faster than they can be replaced, extinction of species, increased flooding & stronger storms.  "We are not allowed to bet on this," said Bill.  We are not allowed to gamble away the things we collectively need and love as humans.

Bill explained how we have already "built a new" planet in the past 200 years of burning fossil fuels, releasing carbon into the atmosphere that took millions of years to lay down.  The result: the earth's temperature has been raised by one full degree, there is 5% more moisture in the atmosphere, and 30% increase in oceanic acidity.  Each of these changes has led to myriad of problems, as mentioned, but the things that make it seem real to us are the stories with which we can identify.  In the face of all the dramatic stories, I was surprised how deeply I was saddened when Bill shared, very matter of factly while he was really talking about something else, that his home state of Vermont (once my home state) is losing their maple trees.  Just imagine; no sugar on snow.

Many people, especially leaders of large nations such as ours (as evidenced by the outcome of Copenhagen,) are in a state of denial, but the science is clear: it's real, we've caused it, and we need to take some drastic actions now.  The safe level of carbon in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million (ppm), as found by leading climate scientist Jim Hansen and his team (tipped off when the arctic started melting in 2007.)  We're now at 387ppm.

Enter the 350 campaign.  Bill Mckibben and a few grad students have started a global campaign to draw attention to climate change.  350.org is home to a global network of citizens of the earth concerned about the present and the future.  October 24, 2009, the international day of action on Climate Change,  was reported by CNN the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history.  Go to 350.org to see thousands of pictures of people from every continent taking action.  Maybe you'll see the photo of the Bangladeshi orphans who apparently sent a not along with their photo that said something like, "even though no one cares for us, we care about the earth."  The environmental movement is often seen as elitest, but Bill made the (too often missed) point that those with the least resources suffer the worst from environmental disasters; climate change is no different.

The 350 campaign has announced 10/10/10 as a Global Work Day.   From the website:

2010 is the year we
Get To Work.

With ideas and input from thousands of organizers from around the world, we've formed a climate action plan for 2010.
We'll get to work to start changing our communities, and get to work to make our leaders realize that they actually need to lead. It's a plan that may well break the logjam and get us moving. But only, of course, if we work together to make it happen.

What will you do in your community?

One final point that resonated with me and I think is important for us all to think about.  When asked about personal lifestyles, Bill responded by talking about how our choices do matter, but that we should be, "saving some of the energy we use to perfect our own lives" to get political.  Global warming is a global problem.  The 350 campaign is a way to move world leaders to the end result of putting a price on carbon to reduce emissions significantly everywhere.


Sustainable Nutrition Bottom-line:  The food system accounts for an estimated 20% of carbon emissions.  See past blog posts Changing Climate Change, Industrial Nutrition, and 50% Less Meat, and for ideas on low-carbon diets.  Changing our food system to one that emits less doesn't have to be all drudgery either.  One study found that people, on average have ten times more conversations while shopping at a farmer's market than while at the supermarket.  I'd love to see a study exploring how much more famer's market shoppers enjoy their local, fresh food too:)