How can Climate Change be Mitigated

Climate change is finally happening whether we care about it or not. Scientists at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration say that 2010 ranks in a statistical tie with 2005 as the warmest year on record for the planet.

In recent years, media reports of extreme weather conditions such as sudden floods and storms have increased across the globe. In the past, such events were always taken as vagaries of nature, which was true. However, thanks to the man induced environmental damage around the world such events should now be taken as warning signs of the threat of climate change. Gavin Scmidt, a NASA climate scientist puts it this way, "Things that used to be one-in-100-year events maybe now are one-in-25-year events."

It is a serious threat to sustainable economic and social development for every country, rich or poor. Scientists warn against ignoring this issue – if we wait even another 10 or 20 years, the problem will have become too big for human intervention and correction. So the time to act is NOW; in fact, right now.

We might not be alive to see the full impact of global warming but our children and grandchildren are likely to suffer most in the coming decades due to our follies.

While the climate change debate will continue at the international level, any meaningful immediate concerted action at global level is unlikely. The reason is simple: no country is going to sacrifice economic development for sake of global welfare. And continuing economic progress using current fossil fuel dependent industrialization means continued pollution.

One thing is very clear: international dialogues will always remain fragmented and will revolve around the best interests of developed nations, particularly US. China is fast emerging as another world power center that can not be ignored. These two nations are also the biggest polluters on the planet and their policies and actions will largely decide the level of future global pollution and the resulting consequences. This is the hard truth; whether we like it or not.

It is the irresponsible and wasteful exploitation of natural resources that has led to global pollution resulting in issues of global warming and climate change. It needs to be reversed. It is pure commonsense that we take care of the environment and surrounding we live in.

Given the current state of our dirty environment, it does not make sense for a manufacturer or business owner to say that my role is merely to maximize profits for my shareholders. It is also irresponsible for someone to assert that I will use (or waste) as much energy, electricity, or water as I want because I am paying for it. This narrow mindset has to change and mature as well.

What is needed is a vanguard who will show the rest of the world what is possible that others can follow. It is likely that soon some developed nation will begin to take unilateral action rising above petty and selfish thinking. Fortunately, the developed world is democratic where public pressure plays a vital role in changing policies. So, raising public awareness about the gravity of the climate change issue and opportunities for actionable steps should be the first step.

The following are three plausible opportunities where policy initiatives can make significant difference.

Consumerism drives the economy of the world. Therefore, as a consumer you have the power to make a difference. Now that the threat of climate change is staring at the face, even slight change is consumer’s behavior can make significant difference in the consumption of fossil fuel – think green when making purchases. This is a very important idea as it reduces the amount of fossil fuels being burned to extract, produce and ship products around the globe. The following are only a few pointers that will save money and reduce global pollution both.

Reduce use of plastic: Some estimates suggest that every hour about 2.5 million individual plastic water bottles are thrown away in the US. Think how can you use a reusable water bottle or stay away from plastic.

Go organic: Modern agricultural practice uses a lot of chemicals; their production require significant amount of energy and pollutes both air and water.

Use a push mower: Using your muscles will give you much needed exercise without polluting the atmosphere.

Reduce garbage: Buy products with minimal packaging.

Buy local products: Buying locally produced products saves the amount of energy required to transport them to the store.

Use less heat and air conditioning: Improve insulation in the house and set the thermostat 2-3 degrees lower in the winter and higher in the summer.

Support producers of renewable energy: Support and invest in companies involved in research and production of renewable energies.

Get educated on global warming: The more you know the more effective changes in your lifestyle you can make and also persuade others. Above are just a few obvious steps, with knowledge you can discover other ways to protect your pocket as well as the environment. You can make a significant contribution through recycling; for example Did you know?

"Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours -- or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline." Read more RECYCLING facts.

Try finding out how you are impacting the environment or your carbon footprint. It is a measure of emission of greenhouse gases (in carbon dioxide equivalent) due to our activities. Here is one carbon footprint calculator and another calculator is here.

Carbon (Emission) Tax: The European Union is debating a carbon tax on energy products such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and coal based on carbon emissions per metric ton. Other countries are also toying with similar idea. It is a transparent, feasible and straightforward idea that will encourage energy efficiency and shift towards green economy.

Even the die hard free market proponent would agree that without some form of government intervention the problem of global warming can not be solved. Because businesses have traditionally owned only the profits, pollution due to their operations had been no one’s baby.

Promote research and production of renewable green energy: The catastrophic BP oil leak in the gulf region has intensified focus on clean renewable energy sources. Over 150 billion dollars was invested in new renewable energy capacity in 2010; compare it with 30 billion dollars in 2004. As a result, the global share of renewable energy increased to almost 25 percent of total energy generated. More than half of global renewable power capacity comes from the developing countries – manufacturing leadership is shifting from Europe to Asia, notably China, India, South Korea.

The appeal for nuclear energy has drastically decreased after the recent Fukushima disaster in Japan. The fastest growth in renewable energy segment is seen in solar and wind energies as shown in the graph below. This is a very healthy trend that must be accelerated. However, there is a need to reduce the energy cost from green resources.

A side note: Rising price of crude oil from middle-east appears to promote both these objectives! Of course, it does not affect the coal consumption for power generation that the carbon tax can do.

Deforestation is responsible for greenhouse gas emission, decreased biodiversity, soil erosion, reduce rainfall, desertification, flooding, removal of habitats for animal, removal of topsoil.

Forests and other natural ecosystems reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change impacts like floods and droughts. Despite the importance of forest originated products in our daily life, we are allowing them to disappear. Over the past 50 years, about half the world's original forest cover has been lost. The most significant cause is the wasteful and unsystematic use of wood and paper based products. When the forest is removed, it is not just the trees that go; the entire ecosystem begins to fall apart, with dire consequences for all of us.

The most dramatic impact is a loss of habitat for millions of species. Seventy percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and most cannot survive without it. Trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming – deforestation contributes 15 – 20 percent towards global green house gases. Fewer forests mean larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere—and increased speed and severity of global warming.

Trees help perpetuate the water cycle by returning water vapor back into the atmosphere. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun’s rays during the day and holds in heat at night. This disruption leads to more extreme temperatures swings that can be harmful to plants and animals. Forest soil is moist, but without protection from sun-blocking tree cover it quickly dry out.

Fortunately, there are indication that the rate of deforestation is decreasing – the annual rate in the recent decade has fallen to 5.2m hectares, compared with 8.3m hectares a year during 1990 and 2000. Important developing countries like China and India have actually increased their forest cover during 2000 – 2010. Sweden, with forests covering nearly 70% of its area in 2010, is among world’s most green countries. In contrast, Nigeria has allowed the worst deforestation – losing forest cover at a rate of 3.7% a year. Consequently, in 2010 only one-tenth of its land remained forested.

United Nation’s REDD (reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) initiative is also designed to reduce deforestation is poor countries through financial assistance from the developed world. If implemented in its true spirit, it should help reduce global warming. Hope REDD and other carbon credit mechanisms does not become an excuse for continued GHG emission by the developed world. Read Global Warming: A REDD Solution to the Green Problem.

When there is technology and facility available for recycling, it is almost criminal not to recycle wood and paper products and continue encourage cutting of trees.