OPINION: Cutting your carbon footprint: Holding temperate steady will take all of us

There is still so much to do.

This marks my sixth year writing this monthly climate change column for the Albuquerque Journal. Past issues of “Cutting your carbon footprint,” my column, will continue to be available on my website: www.cuttingyourcarbonfootprint.com. And, while the column will be ending, I will continue to periodically submit articles to the Journal. During the last six years my columns have focused on actions that individuals and households can take to help minimize the impact of climate change. We may be discouraged at times by the slow progress that’s been made, but it’s important to recognize that our actions both individually at state and national levels and worldwide have already made a huge impact. It is of course disheartening that our country has backed away from climate change objectives. However, our citizens haven’t. Nor have our states and municipalities.

Our national government’s backward policies with respect to renewables are unfortunate but will do little to stop global trends. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently reported in the Guardian, “Renewables will grow faster than any other major energy source in the next decade making the transition from fossil fuels inevitable despite the green backlash in the U.S. and parts of Europe.”

The IEA annual report emphasized that the increase in renewable energy could supply nearly all the world’s growing appetite for electricity fueled by growing demand for electric cars, heating, cooling and power artificial intelligence data centers.

The big winner economically will be China, the new renewable energy superpower. In a recent article in the New York Times, Sam Sifton reported that Brazil, India and Vietnam are rapidly expanding solar and wind power and even poorer countries like Ethiopia and Nepal are leapfrogging to battery operated cars. All of this is being made possible because China exports low-cost solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. India recently announced that half of its electric demand will be satisfied by wind, solar and water by 2030.

That is all very good news, but it’s not enough to keep us from reaching dangerous levels of climate warming. We may not hold warming to 1.5 degrees C, but we can in all likelihood hold it to 2.6 degrees C. There will be more hotter days. More people and animals will die. We will need to adapt to the circumstances which we failed to prevent.

And there remains a lot that individuals and households can do. We will not be able to hold warming to 2.6 degrees by passivity. A recent article in the New Scientist discussed a survey of thousands of climate scientists. They said the most important thing we can do is vote for candidates who support climate initiatives. The majority also believed that geo-engineering may be necessary soon. We can’t let that become our best alternative. Voting and protesting can turn the tide. Showing up has never been more important. We can choose to shape the future or be shaped by it.

Over the years, this column has detailed actions that individuals can take. Most of you know what they are. We can’t stop now when there is still so much we can do. Like many of you, we put solar on our roof many years ago and it has essentially paid for itself. Recently, I traded in my Honda hybrid for a used Volvo C40 electric car. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Used electric cars are incredibly cheap now. I could never have afforded this top-notch electric car when it was new. I bought it two years later with 14,000 miles on it for less than a used hybrid or gasoline car with comparable mileage would cost. It is so much fun to drive, and I charge it in my garage.

Despite the self-inflicted decline in the sale of Teslas, EV sales have not slumped, slowed or declined. In fact, as reported by Electreks’s James Dow, they are doing great. But gasoline powered car sales are slowing. Don’t believe everything the doomsayers spout off on.

We know there are many other things that we can all do. Fly less. Cut back on eating meat. None of those things are difficult, but collectively if we embrace these initiatives, we will make a difference.

It is without doubt a stressful time. Spending time in nature is an antidote. We can only hope that our children and grandchildren have the same opportunities to be restored and healed by a simple walk in the woods.