I just returned from seeing Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth with my two boys. It was illuminating. Of course, if you haven't heard or considered the facts (yes they are facts) about global warming maybe you are a member of the present US Administration but even though my family has a pretty good grasp on the concepts, the movie really pointed out the sense of urgency on how our lifestyles and politics are affecting this planet.
Gore presents some pretty compelling facts and figures. In addition, if an image is worth 1000 words then the photography of geographical effects already inflicted will, I'm sure, affect you. More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050. And most startling for me was that the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free by 2050 causing an increase in the sea levels of 20 feet. This would conceivably wipe out parts of California, Manhattan, Florida, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, Calcutta and Beijing just as example. If you thought the 2005 situation in New Orleans was a horror show...it would be nothing compared to the 100's of millions of people affected by this ice melt. 2050!!
I'm not a crusader, but I encourage all of you to go see this movie. Especially those of you living here in the US because we are the biggest abusers and the time to stop being apathetic is now. I was happy to learn from the movie that while the US hasn't signed the Kyoto agreement, there is a growing list of US states and cities that have made a commitment to the accord. 9 Northeastern states are involved in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and as of Dec 2005, 192 cities representing more than 40 million Americans support Kyoto. If you go see this movie, start being forward thinking right away and bring a friend. There is hope, and as the facts state, we can reverse this crisis but we have to start right now.
For more info on how you can fight global warming visit www.climatecrisis.net
Check out the Blog
See an interview with Gore on YouTube
I agree, it's a shite state of affairs, but some states are trying to make a difference.
Here in CT, we are making some great strides toward reducing our energy consumption (and, thereby, reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned and the impact we have on the atmosphere). We have the 20% by 2010 campaign which encourages towns to start making the move to renewable energy, which will begin being mandated as of 2010.
Also, both UI and CL&P are offering the ability for homeowners, businesses, and organizations to offset their own energy use by switching to 50% or 100% renewable energy directly on their energy bill. For the average homeowner, it's only a few dollars more a month, but makes great strides in reducing our dependence on oil and (more importantly) coal.
CT also offers a *ton* of subsidies for municipal and residential solar and other renewables. Then there's solar hot water which pays for itself in less than 5 years, works year-round and is even more efficient than PV (photovoltaic for producing electricity).
Then there are the simple things we can do: switching out our incandescent bulbs for compact flourescent; properly insulating our homes (espaecially our doors and windows); planting a tree on the north side of your house to shade your home in the summer and allow the sun to warm your home in the winter; make your next vehicle a hybrid or a vehicle that can run on biodiesel; and heat your home with biodiesel.
I guess my feeling is that we (unfortunately) can't depend on our national legislators to make enforce change. They are far too deep in the pockets of big energy. We need to take matters into our own hands and start making the small changes that add up.
For more info, check out the SmartPower (smartpower.org), the CT Energy Conservation Management Board (ctsavesenergy.org), and the CT Clean Energy Fund (ctcleanenergy.com).
Posted by: Aaron Gustafson | June 19, 2006 at 09:00 AM
Aaron, I'm completely impressed! Perhaps we should create a blog called "Designers who Conserve Energy" :-)
Posted by: Lisa | June 19, 2006 at 09:10 AM