Checklist Toward Zero Carbon:

1. Your Food

2. Money, Shopping & Stuff

3. Waste

4. Driving and Flying

5. Playing & Pets

6. Your Home

7. Work

8. School

9. Calculate your Footprint

10. Buy Carbon Offsets

- Conclusion

- Epilogue

- A Note on Climate Science and Skepticism

- Checklist Sources

Appendix:

I. Climate Change Resources

II. Climate Change In the News

III. Political Action Opportunities

Forward:

In 2005 the eminent climate scientist Dr. James Hansen said, “We are on the precipice of climate system tipping points beyond which there is no redemption.” Just three years later, we are now crossing some of those tipping points.

Melting polar ice will soon disintegrate, raising oceans to threaten the existence of Miami, New York, Shanghai, Jakarta, Calcutta, Lagos, London and other cities. The polar bears are going to die. And 20 to 40% of animal species will be extinct by mid-century. The tropics are turning to desert. Monsoon rains will cease. There will be drought, famine, and millions of refugees. We could be among them. Hundreds of millions of lives will be at risk, quite possibly billions. Yes, billions.

We face these consequences not in 1,000 or 100 years, but in our lifetime. We face an emergency, the likes of which civilization has never seen. What is to be our legacy?

The tipping point for atmospheric CO2 concentration is approximately 350 parts per million (ppm). Past it we are on the road to catastrophe. It’s now 383ppm and rising 2ppm per year.

We need to take immediate action. We must halt the building of new coal and gas power plants that don’t capture the CO2 they produce, and require the conversion of all existing coal power plants to capture CO2. If the power plants cannot be converted, let’s shut them down.

There’s no “silver bullet” to fix the problem – we must also massively invest in clean energy sources, forest restoration, public transportation, and in building a carbon neutral society. We need to elect leaders who are serious about this emergency to every level of government and educate the ones who are not.

Let’s examine our own lives and make them as carbon free as possible. This checklist is a simple way to get started.

As the dynamic of climate change feeds on itself, shocks lie ahead. The previously benign Siberian soil, locked for ages in permafrost, is now melting, releasing greenhouse gases (GHG) that exceed the total output of U.S. manmade emissions.

The oceans - now absorbing 2 billion tons of CO2 annually – are becoming acidic dead zones. Eventually if they tip they’ll switch to being massive CO2 emitters, radically raising atmospheric temperature and sea levels.

While the challenges are enormous, let’s start with what we eat and how we live and work. Let’s begin by eliminating our personal carbon footprint.

Please read the lists. Think about it. Let’s all do what we can.

Ken Levenson

Feb 29, 2008

1. Your Food:

□ Don’t eat beef – or at least much less beef. Going vegetarian is best, but less is a start. (If you do just one thing, do this.)[1]

□ Chicken in lieu of beef is better too.[2]

□ Don’t eat fish or eat significantly less. Buy sustainably harvested wild fish when possible.[3]

□ Monitor what you eat and don’t eat.[4]

□ Buy organic when possible. [5]

□ Become a locovore and buy regionally grown food. A conventional meal creates 4 to 17 times the GHG as a locally sourced one.

· Shop at the local Farmer’s Market.

· Consider joining the Park Slope Food Coop, http://foodcoop.com/

· Bring your own bags to use.[6]

□ If you can’t get it locally buy fair-trade food.[7] It not only pays farmers a living wage but encourages sustainable farming practices.

□ Drink tap water, not bottled water. Tap water is safe, clean and just as good for you. If you have concerns, filter the tap water.

2. Money, Shopping & Stuff:

□ Patronize and invest in companies that are working to solve the problem.[8] [9]

· Boycott ExxonMobil.[10]

Consider investing in climate change oriented mutual funds.[11]

□ Bank and pay bills online – get statements via email.

□ Don’t ask for ATM receipts.

□ Use a green credit card. They offer points specifically for use towards carbon offsets or renewable energy credits. https://brighterplanet.com

□ Give special attention to major purchases.

□ Purchase recycled products.[12]

□ Purchase green products and avoid “green-washed” products. They say they’re green but the labels may tell a different story.

□ Shop locally at locally owned businesses. Invest in a vibrant local economy – so you never have to drive.

□ Purchase natural and concentrated cleaning products.[13]

□ Buy Green beauty products.[14]

□ Use organic dry cleaning.

□ Use Freecycle www.freecycle.org - people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns.

□ For fashionistas: www.clothingswap.org and www.swapstyle.com.

□ Buy staple items in bulk or in the largest size possible.

□ Don't buy over-packaged items. Avoid individually wrapped single servings.

□ Buy fresh foods instead of canned.

□ Buy music downloads and avoid the packaging altogether.

□ Say no to Styrofoam.

3. Waste:

□ Audit and reduce your garbage.[15]

□ Recycle paper, metal and plastics per NYC law.[16]

· Consider recycling the plastics NYC won’t accept at the Park Slope Food Coop.[17]

□ Opt out of mail order catalogs you don’t want. www.catalogchoice.org

□ Stop junk mail. Go to: www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist or www.ecocycle.org

□ Call to stop phone book delivery.

□ Donate or sell your castoffs:

· Freecycle - www.freecycle.org

· NYC Stuff Exchange to donate your old stuff to a not-for-profit www.nyc.gov/html/stuffex/html/donate/where_to_donate.shtml

· www.clothingswap.org

· www.swapstyle.com.

· Sell it on EBay, Craig’s List or on the stoop.

□ Use cloth napkins.

□ Don’t use disposable plates, cups, or silverware.

□ Use rechargeable batteries.

□ Compost! If you live in an apartment, compost at your nearest community garden. A great source of nutrients for plants and gardens.

□ Place a water bottle in your toilet tank and reduce the volume of water you use.

□ Put your old cell phone in a local office-supply store recycling bin. Don’t throw them away.[18]

□ Your laptop is about five times more energy-expensive to make than a car or fridge. So upgrade first before you replace. Install more memory or faster processor. Reuse. Give your PC away. Recycle. Many manufacturers will take your machine when you buy a new one.

□ Feeling like no matter what you do it’s just not enough? Install a composting toilet! www.envirolet.com

□ Work to reduce your waste a little bit more ever day: www.ecocycle.com

4. Driving and Flying:

□ Set concrete goals for reducing your travel.

4a. Driving:

□ Walk, ride your bike, or take public transportation instead.

□ Get a hybrid.

□ Trade in the SUV or truck for a higher mileage car.

□ Get a diesel engine and run it on local used cooking oil. Check out www.tristatebiodiesel.com, www.fillup4free.com and www.greasecar.com for more info.

□ Use bio-fuel with caution.[19]

□ Consolidate trips: don’t drive until you’ve got a few errands.

□ If you drive to work, share your commute.

□ Maintain your car’s fuel efficiency. Tune it up. Change the oil. Fix a cracked or missing gas cap. Strip the rack when not in use. Unload the trunk. Maintain recommended tire pressure.

□ Drive the speed limit.[20]

□ And stop driving like a maniac – those abrupt starts and stops can cost you up to 37% in fuel efficiency.

□ Use cruise control on the highway.

□ Avoid excessive idling.

□ Don't top off the fuel tank.

4b. Flying:

□ Don’t fly.[21]

□ Take a train instead of flying.

□ If you must fly:

· Book direct flights. One stop-over on a 3,500 mile trip will produce 25% more carbon dioxide than flying direct.

· Fly in a newer, more fuel-efficient plane.[22]

· Buy carbon offsets to balance specific trips. (See steps 7 and 8 for an explanation.)

□ The best frequent flier miles are those unspent. Donate your miles to the Red Cross, Make a Wish Foundation, the National Marrow Donor Program or a charity of your choice.

5. Playing and Pets:

5a. Playing:

□ Remind yourself what it is you’re trying to save: nature. Get out and enjoy.

· City - www.nycgovparks.org

· State - www.nysparks.state.ny.us

· Nation - www.nps.gov

□ Carry it in, carry it out.

□ Observe wildlife, don't disturb.

□ Hike, row, sail, ski, or paddle - don't motor.

□ Don’t Cruise.[23] Or consider a sailing cruise.

□ Share books, CDs, tapes, magazines with friends, hospitals, and prisons.

□ Throw a party and raise consciousness. Or join the festivities planned for Earth Day (such as the Park Slope Civic Council Spring Civic Sweep, April 19^th), Clean up the World Day (www.cleanuptheworld.org) or World Car Free Day (www.worldcarfree.net).

□ Plan a green wedding celebration. www.ethicalweddings.com

5b. Pets:

□ Get your pet from an animal shelter.

□ Don’t get exotic pets.

□ Spay or neuter your cat or dog.

□ Select healthy pet food. www.petdiets.com

6. Your Home:

□ Switch your home’s electrical power source to wind and/or solar power. (ConEd and other utilities obtain power from traditional and green sources and you can choose green, which adds approximately $10/month to your electric bill.) www.poweryourway.com

□ Sub-size it. Houses between 1,500 and 2,000 s.f. consume 40% less energy than a 4,000+ s.f. McMansion.

□ If you’re moving, choose a home near public transportation.

□ If you’re moving, consider a row house or an apartment building instead of a detached home. Promote the construction of energy-efficient apartment buildings over single-family homes.

□ Conduct a Home Energy Audit –

· do-it-yourself via Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory http://hes.lbl.gov

· Or the Dept of Energy http://www.eere.energy.gov

· Or hire a home energy audit professional.

6a. Re-Insulate:

□ If your home is more than 10 years old, it is probably under-insulated.[24] Install as much insulation as possible.

□ Install a green roof – plantings provide building insulation and site water management. www.greenroofs.org

□ Examine your house's heating ducts for leaks. Mostly out of sight, ducts can leak for years without you knowing it. You can save roughly 10% of your heating bill by sealing them.

□ Close the blinds on hot summer days, open them on cool winter days.

□ Use storm doors and windows in cool environments.

□ Install high-performance windows when it's time to replace them.

□ Avoid using the fireplace when the heating system is on.

□ Install fireplace inserts (doors and circulation blowers) so less warm air goes up the chimney when the fireplace is going.

□ Don't forget to close the damper on your fireplace when not in use.

□ Insulate all hot water pipes.

□ Weather stripping and caulking is probably the least expensive, simplest, most effective way to cut down on energy waste in the winter. Improperly sealed homes can waste 10 to 15% of the homeowner's heating dollars.

· Check around doors and windows for leaks and drafts. Add weather stripping and caulk any holes you see that allow heat to escape. Make sure doors seal properly.

· If your windows leak really badly, consider replacing them with newer, more efficient ones. Keep in mind, however, that replacing windows can be expensive.

· Every duct, wire or pipe that penetrates the wall or ceiling or floor has the potential to waste energy. Plumbing vents can be especially bad, since they begin below the floor and go all the way through the roof. Seal them all with caulking or weather-stripping.

· Electric wall plugs and switches can allow cold air in. Purchase simple-to-install, pre-cut foam gaskets that fit behind the switch plate and effectively prevent leaks.

6b. Heating:

□ Every fall, have your heating system cleaned and inspected by a qualified contractor.

□ Set your thermostat to 68 degrees during the day and 60 degrees at night and when no one is home. Each degree over 68 can increase by 3 percent the amount of energy you use for heating.

□ Put on a sweater. There are numerous ways to improve home heating efficiency, but none so simple as dressing warmly and simply dialing back the thermostat.

□ Install a programmable thermostat and set it to turn down the heat at night and when no one is home. Lowering the thermostat 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day can save you about 10 percent a year on heating costs.

□ Keep drapes or furniture away from radiators and baseboard heaters so heat can flow freely.

□ Remove window air conditioners when the weather gets cool. If you can’t, enclose them with a cover.

□ Open blinds and shades, particularly on the south and west sides of your home before you leave in the morning to make use of the sun’s heating potential.

□ Use an efficient humidifier to maintain comfortable humidity levels and help you conserve heat. Proper humidity helps you feel comfortable without turning up the heat.

□ Use ceiling fans to circulate warm air in winter, especially in rooms with high ceilings.

□ Close doors and warm-air vents in unused rooms, but in extreme cold, be aware of water pipes that could freeze and burst.

□ If you have a hot-water heating system, release any trapped air from radiators.

□ Radiators can lose heat into exterior walls. Reduce this loss by placing reflectors between the wall and the radiator.

□ Clean or replace filters for your hot-air furnace and heat pump every month during the heating season or use filters made to run six to 12 months before needing replacement.

□ Insulate any hot-water pipes that pass through unheated spaces. For steam pipes, use nonfoam insulation, as foam can melt.

□ When buying a new furnace or boiler, look for the ENERGY STAR label.

□ When your away turn the thermostat down to 50 degrees.

6c. Air Conditioning:

□ Dress cool: don't turn on the air conditioning. (Sweating it out could be good training for a hotter planet.)

□ Switching to high-efficiency air conditioners and reducing your air-conditioning use can cut your cooling costs by 20 to 50 percent.

□ Install properly sized high efficiency AC units. A larger-than-needed air conditioner cycles on and off more frequently, reducing its efficiency.

□ Every year, inspect and clean your air conditioner or cooling system. A well-maintained unit uses less electricity.

□ If you have central air conditioning, keep the condenser unit’s coils and fins clean. Remove grass, leaves, and other debris that may collect.

□ Set your air conditioner to no cooler than 78 degrees. Lower than 78 degrees can increase your costs by up to 40 percent.

□ Install ceiling fans or whole house fans to help reduce your need to use the air conditioner. A fan will make a room feel 4 to 6 degrees cooler, making it possible to raise the thermostat from 78 degrees to 82 degrees or higher. For every degree you raise the air conditioning thermostat, you can save 7 to 10 percent on cooling costs.

□ Alternate the use of air conditioning and fans. When you’re comfortable, shut down your air conditioner and turn on the fan. This approach can cut air conditioner use by up to 40 percent.

□ Don’t air-condition an empty room. And if you have central air, block the vents in unoccupied rooms.

□ Whenever the outdoor temperature is below 72 degrees open windows for cooling in lieu of A/C.

□ Turn your air conditioner off when you leave home.

□ Install a programmable thermostat or use a timer to turn on your air conditioner a half hour before you return home rather than having it run all day.

□ If you have central air-conditioning, consider Con Edison’s offer of a free programmable thermostat. Go to www.conEd.com/cool

□ Clean or replace air-conditioner filters at least once a month during the cooling season.

□ Shade windows that face south, east, and west. Keep windows, drapes, and shades closed during the day. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes in through windows.

□ Install your air conditioner in a shady area, if possible.

□ When it’s time to cook in the summer months, grill outside and keep your oven off.

□ In the summer months, run your washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher early in the day or at night when it’s generally cooler.

6d. Water Consumption & Heating:

□ Next to heating or cooling, water heating is typically the largest energy user in the home. To conserve energy, conserve hot water.

□ Plan on buying an energy efficient water heater before your old one fails. If your gas water heater is more than 10 years old, it may be operating at less than 50 percent efficiency.

□ Set your water heater no higher than 120 degrees.

□ If appropriate, consider a demand water heater that has no storage tank. It can reduce your energy use by 10 to 15 percent.

□ Wrap your hot-water storage tank with an insulation blanket, even if it’s a newer model.

□ Fix leaky faucets.

□ Don't leave the water running while washing dishes.

□ Take showers rather than baths. Showers generally use half as much hot water as baths. And install a low-flow showerhead. And take shorter showers. And shut off the shower while soaping, scrubbing, or shaving.

□ Shut off the faucet while brushing your teeth.

□ Install a low-flow toilet.

□ Install a rain barrel to reduce storm runoff and to water your garden. www.rainbarrelguide.com

6e. Lighting:

□ Use ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They use less than 25 percent of the electricity standard bulbs use and last 10 times longer. Look for color temp 2700K to provide similar light quality to incandescent. Recycle used CFL bulbs.

□ Consider light emitting diode (LED) lights for most possible savings. Available for under-cabinet kitchen lighting and a growing number of applications.

□ Turn off lights when not in a room. If family members won’t turn off the lights, install motion sensors.

□ During the day, let daylight do the work and turn off lights near windows.

□ Install light tubes to increase natural lighting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_tube

□ Instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it.

□ Keep bulbs and fixtures clean.

□ Replace light switches with dimmers or motion sensors.

□ Use bright lights only where you read or work.

□ When you go away, use timers to turn your lights on and off.

□ Use LED Christmas Lights - www.mrlight.com

□ Turn off outdoor lights. Choose lights with dawn/dusk sensors. If you can, get lights powered by solar panels and batteries so that you don’t have to install any electrical wires.

6f. Electronics:

□ Don’t watch television, or watch as little as possible. Our flat screens are beautiful power-sucking monsters.

□ If buying a new TV, get an LCD.[25]

□ Turn off stereos and TVs with a power strip to avoid continuous power drain. In the average home, nearly 75% of all electricity used to power electronics is consumed by products that are switched off but still plugged in.

□ Unplug chargers (think cell phones and iPods) when not in use.[26]

□ Use a laptop instead of a desktop computer.[27]

□ Ensure your computer's power settings are enabled: set your computer to automatically hibernate and set your monitor to automatically sleep.

□ Turn off your monitor when you leave your computer for more than 20 minutes. Screen savers use electricity.

6g. Appliances:

□ Choose ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances.[28]

□ Use the energy-saving setting for all appliances, particularly your refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher.

□ Clean and maintain appliances so they work efficiently.

6h. Refrigerator:

□ If your refrigerator is old, think about replacing it. Some older models may account for up to 50 percent of your monthly electricity bill.

□ Make sure your refrigerator is the right size for your needs.[29]

□ Don’t keep that old, inefficient refrigerator running in the basement for occasional use.

□ Resist the temptation to overfill the refrigerator. Loosely stored food in the refrigerator allows air to circulate around it.

□ In the freezer, pack items tightly. If there’s extra space, add bags of ice.

□ Set your refrigerator to 40 degrees, and freezer to 0 degrees.

□ Open the refrigerator and freezer doors only when necessary.

□ Check your refrigerator door’s seal.

□ Install your refrigerator away from the stove, radiator, heating duct, or direct sunlight, if possible.

□ Allow hot foods to cool before putting them in the refrigerator.

□ Cover liquids in the refrigerator. Uncovered liquids make the refrigerator work harder.

6i. Cooking:

□ Use a microwave rather than an electric or gas oven as much as possible.[30]

□ For certain recipes that require long cooking times, use a Crock-Pot.

□ Use copper-bottom pots and pans. They heat up faster than regular pans.

□ When baking, preheat your oven no more than five to eight minutes.

□ When broiling or roasting, don’t preheat your oven.

□ Don’t open the oven door more than necessary. Every time you open the door, the oven loses 25 to 50 degrees.

□ Cook as much of your meal as possible at one time in the oven.

□ You can turn the oven temperature down 25 degrees when using glass or ceramic pans. The cooking time will remain the same.

□ Use the self-cleaning oven feature right after you’ve used the oven to cook a meal – while it’s still hot. (But try not to use this feature too often.)

□ An electric kettle generates about half as much greenhouse gas as using a microwave oven or a cook top. Be careful not to boil more water than you need.

6j. Dishwasher:

□ Run your dishwasher only when it’s full.

□ Don’t run the dishwasher’s dry cycle. Let your dishes air dry, or put a towel to them.

□ Turn down the water temperature on the dishwasher to 120° F

□ Use the energy-efficient setting if available.

□ Pack your dishwasher efficiently.

□ Scrape dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. Don’t rinse.[31]

□ Use the “soak” or “prewash” dishwasher setting only for burned-on or dried-on food.

6k. Laundry:

□ Use your clothes washer only when it is full.

□ Wash and rinse your clothes in cold water.

□ Straighten and clean the air ducts on your dryer.

□ Clean the lint filter in the clothes dryer before each load.

□ Don’t overdry your clothes and hang clothes out to dry if possible.[32]

6l. Yard:

□ Plant deciduous trees that shade your home during the summer. Or just plant a tree. And plant a sidewalk tree too. www.treesny.com and www.milliontreesnyc.org

□ Utilize Xeriscaping.[33]

□ Use natural pesticides.

□ Use a rake, not a leaf blower.

□ Create a more porous exterior walkway, driveway or yard to reduce storm-water runoff.

□ Consider drip irrigation.

□ Take your yard global. Adopt some rain forest. http://www.nature.org/joinanddonate/adoptanacre

6m. Home Renovation:

□ If a renovation is in the cards, consider:

· Integrating natural cooling techniques such as operable skylights to vent hot air.

· On-site renewable energy sources:

o geothermal heating and cooling - http://text.nyserda.org/programs/geothermal

o solar photovoltaic (PV) panels - www.powernaturally.org/Programs/Solar

o solar thermal water heating -

o wind turbine electric - www.powernaturally.org/programs/Wind

· For new millwork and cabinetry use wood substrate that is urea- and formaldehyde-free.

· Flooring – consider certified woods, natural linoleum, cork or bamboo. www.fscus.org

· Maintain and re-use existing walls and building components where possible.

· Use low – VOC (volatile organic compounds) sealants, adhesives, paints, coatings and carpets.

· Use green insulation materials: blown-in cellulose, recycled denim and foams like Icynene.

· During construction, work with the contractor to divert as much waste as possible from the landfill – many materials can be recycled or sold.

7. Work:

□ Work at home.

□ Telecommute.

□ Ask your company to install bicycle racks and use them.

□ Find alternatives to traveling to a meeting: use the old-fashioned phone, use video and web conferencing software.

□ Switch your company’s electrical utility provider to green energy: www.poweryourway.com

□ Send e-mails and electronic copies whenever possible.

□ Scan or print-to-pdf everything and store and send as electronic files. Make the paperless office a reality.

□ Invoice via email only and pay bills with a credit card.

□ Does it really need to get there absolutely, positively overnight? Use the U.S. Postal Service.

□ Copy reports and memos double-sided.

□ Circulate, don't copy, paperwork.

□ Reuse tubes and envelopes for mailing.

□ Recycle scrap paper.

□ Use a laptop in lieu of a desktop.

□ Add greenery – houseplants can remove toxins from indoor air.[34]

□ Use a mug at work – not paper or Styrofoam cups. And no disposable stirrers.

□ Use silverware and plates.

□ Drink less coffee.

□ No bottled water – drink tap water.

□ Talk and share. Start an electronic bulletin board where carbon-reducing ideas can be posted.

□ Encourage your company to buy carbon offsets to balance its footprint.

8. School:

□ Join the Green School Initiative – www.greenschools.net

□ Encourage your school to switch to green power: www.poweryourway.com

□ Install solar PV panels at your school with state incentives: www.powernaturally.org/programs/SchoolPowerNaturally

□ Establish an eco-committee and adopt an environmental vision statement

□ Do an energy audit.

□ Make an action plan and monitor progress.

□ Integrate greening into the curriculum.

□ Rally kids to the cause! (If they haven’t already been rallying you…)

□ Organize events to encourage energy auditing and energy savings – make a friendly competition.

□ Organize fundraisers to raise awareness and buy carbon offsets for the school.

□ Copy bulletins and exams on both sides.

□ Make notes and drafts on scrap paper.

□ Reuse textbooks and school supplies.

□ In college buy used textbooks and sell them back when you’re done.

□ Buy school supplies with high recycled content.

□ In cafeterias, use non-disposable trays, dishes, and silverware.

□ Make sure your school recycles.

□ Seek out a food donation program for your school instead of discarding unused cafeteria food.

□ Compost cafeteria vegetable waste.

□ Get kids a water bottle.

□ Prepare waste-free lunches with a reusable lunch bag. Avoid faddish or super cute designs that will age badly.

□ Carpool. Stuff the neighborhood’s kids in the minivan/crossover, and resume your own low-carbon walking or public transport routine at least a few days a week.

□ Are they old enough to walk or bike to school?

□ In college live on campus and walk.

9. Calculate Your Footprint:

□ Now that you’ve made an effort to reduce, measure your carbon footprint. There are many carbon footprint calculators available on the internet. A selection:

o www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html

o www.earthlab.com/carbonprofile/LiveEarth.htm

o www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator

o www.terrapass.com

10. Buy Carbon Offsets:

□ It’s time to neutralize your remaining footprint by buying carbon offsets. [35] When you buy a carbon offset you’re investing in the capture of GHGs or building alternative clean-energy sources that would not have been done otherwise.

□ Well regarded U.S.-based companies and organizations that provide carbon offsets:

· CarbonCounter – www.carboncounter.org

· Climate Trust – www.climatetrust.org

· Native Energy – www.nativeenergy.com

· TerraPass – www.terrapass.com

□ Carbon neutrality is just a click away!

Conclusion:

□ Hooray! You’ve gotten down to zero – in a manner of speaking anyway. But let’s be honest, while you’ve made good progress, there’s much more to do.

□ Change incrementally – it will insure greater long-term success.

□ So the last step is to go back to the beginning. Work toward more reduction and fewer offsets.

□ Consume less, share more, live simply.

Epilogue:

□ Copy and distribute this checklist. Download it: www.checklisttowardzerocarbon.wordpress.com.

□ Talk to neighbors about how to make the neighborhood greener.

□ Join groups of folks working together to reduce:

· EcoMom – www.ecomomalliance.org

· Carbon Rationing Action Group - www.carbonrationing.org

□ Get political - join and support organizations fighting to stop climate change. See Appendix III. Political Action Opportunities.

□ Lobby for green building codes.

□ Talk to skeptical family members, friends and neighbors. Be patient and listen, but be confident that you’re right.

· For skeptic arguments and responses see www.grist.org/topic/climate_change_skepticism and see Appendix I.Climate Change Resources.

· An appropriate take-down of skeptic opinion makers: see Chapter 2, “The Denial Industry” in the book Heat, How to Stop the Planet From Burning by George Monbiot, 2006.

A Note on Climate Science and Skepticism:[36]

Skepticism is an essential part of the scientific method. Scientists see the benefit in being proven wrong. Yet the so-called global warming skeptics (deniers is a more appropriate term) believe that the scientists have an unprofessional interest in the outcome and are rigging it. The accusations are partly self-delusion and partly just plain lying. [37]

While there is much legitimate debate about the particulars of global warming, there is no legitimate debate about whether human-generated carbon emissions are the root of the problem.

Man-made global warming is as scientifically certain as the rising sun, Einstein’s theory of relativity or Darwin’s theory of evolution. The science of climate change is now essential to understanding how our world actually works and will work in the future.

Checklist Sources:

Books –

o The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, Practical Advice from The Union of Concerned Scientists, by Michael Brower and Warren Leon, 1999

o Garbage Land, On the Secret Trail of Trash, by Elizabeth Royte, 2005

o Global Warming, The Causes, The Perils, The Solutions, The Actions: 51 Things You Can Do Edited by Kelly Knauer, Time Inc., 2007

o The Green Book, by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, 2007

o Green Living, The E Magazine Handbook for Living Lightly on The Earth,by the editors of E, 2005

o Heat, How to Stop The Planet From Burning, by George Monbiot, 2006

o Living Like Ed, A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life by Ed Begley, Jr., 2008

o The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook by David de Rothschild, 2007

Reports –

o “Cool Farming: Climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential” by Jessica Bellarby et al., Greenpeace, 2008

o “The Case for Investing in Energy Productivity,” McKinsey Global Institute, February 2008

Newspaper and Magazine Articles –

o “Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat” By Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times, Feb 8, 2008

o “Ethical investing: Funds that favor planet savers” By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor, Feb 25, 2008

o Domino, March 2008

o “For ‘EcoMoms,’ Saving Earth Begins at Home” By Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times, Feb 16, 2008

Websites –

o Alliance for Climate Protection - www.climateprotect.org

o Alliance to Save Energy - www.ase.org

o Australian Government, Department of Climate Change - www.greenhouse.gov.au/gwci

o Brighter Planet - https://brighterplanet.com

o California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center www.consumerenergycenter.org

o ConEdison – www.coned.com

o Earth Lab - www.earthlab.com

o Ellen Honigstock Architect P.C. - www.ehapc.com, http://ehapc.wordpress.com

o Energy Star - www.energystar.gov

o Green School Initiative – www.greenschools.net

o The Nature Conservancy – www.nature.org

o New York State Department of Environmental Conservation – www.dec.ny.gov

o New York State Energy Research and Development Authority – www.powernaturally.org

o Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - http://hes.lbl.gov

o TerraPass - www.terrapass.com

o U.S. Dept of Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - www.eere.energy.gov

o U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - http://epa.gov

o “Voluntary Carbon Offset Information Portal, Chapter 9. Recommendations & Company Ratings,” Tufts University www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/carbonoffsets/ratings.htm

o Webopedia.com - www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/LCD_versus_Plasma.asp

APPENDIX:

I. Climate Change Resources:

Climate science data and analysis are evolving fast. Here’s a short list of books, reports and websites where you can get a snapshot of where things now stand. (Also see Appendix II. Climate Change in the News.)

Books –

□ With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change by Fred Pearce, 2007

□ Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth of Global Warming by Mark Bowen, 2007.

□ The Revenge of Gaia: Earth’s Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity by James Lovelock and Crispin Tickell, 2006

□ Heat, How to Stop the Planet From Burning, by George Monbiot, 2006.

Reports – (google them)

□ “Tipping elements in the Earth’s climate system” by Timothy M. Lenton et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 12, 2008

□ “Climate Code Red, The Case for a Sustainability Emergency” by David Spratt and Philip Sutton, Carbon Equity, February 2008

□ “GISS 2007 Temperature Analysis through November,” James Hansen et al., December 10, 2007

□ “Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group II, Ch. 19 - Assessing key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change,” by the IPCC, April 2007

□ “Dangerous Human-Made Interference with Climate, testimony of James E. Hansen to Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming U.S. House of Representatives,” April 26, 2007

□ “Changes in the Velocity Structure of the Greenland Ice Sheet” – by Eric Rignot, Science, Feb 17, 2006

□ “The Cutting Edge: Climate Science to April 2005, Global and UK emissions reductions Targets for 2030, by Colin Forrest, April 14, 2005

Websites –

“Big Hitters” -

□ Carbon Equity – www.carbonequity.com

□ Climate Change Information Resources – New York Metropolitan Region - http://ccir.ciesin.columbia.edu/nyc

□ Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) – www.giss.nasa.gov

□ Dr. James Hansen – http://columbia.edu/~jeh1/

□ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – www.ipcc.ch

□ National Geographic – www.nationalgeographic.com

□ New York Times Blog Dot Earth - http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

□ NPR’s Climate Connections –
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9657621

□ U.S. Department of Energy – www.doe.gov

International Websites –

□ Antarctic and Southern Oceans Coalition - www.asoc.org

□ Climate Institute - www.climateinstitute.org

□ World Changing - www.worldchanging.com

U.S. Websites –

□ Clean Tech Blog - www.cleantechblog.com

□ Climate Progress - http://climateprogress.org

□ Grist - www.grist.org

□ Nature Blog - http://blogs.nature.com/climatefeedback

New York Websites –

□ New York State Department of Environmental Conservation – www.dec.ny.gov

□ Green Counsel - http://nylawline.typepad.com/greencounsel

□ Pratt Center for Community Development - www.prattcenter.net

II. Climate Change

in the News:

(A selection of articles from 2005 to present.)

Nov 7, 2005 – “Greenhouse gas to rise by 52%,” BBC News - Global greenhouse gas emissions will rise by 52% by 2030, unless the world takes action to reduce energy consumption, a study has warned. The prediction comes from the latest annual World Energy Outlook report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says that under current consumption trends, energy demand will also rise by more than 50% over the next 25 years. … The IEA's warning comes at a time when the Kyoto climate change agreement calls on developed nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2008-12…. "The Kyoto protocol doesn't amount to much in terms of emissions reductions but at least it breaks the curve [of rising emissions] among countries that have accepted its targets," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy expert at the environmental pressure group. Read the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4414000.stm

Aug 11, 2006 – “Greenland’s Melting Ice Sheet May Speed Rise in Sea Level – Study Finds No Boost in Antarctic Snowfall to Mitigate Problem,” By Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post - Two new scientific studies measuring Greenland's rapidly melting ice sheet and the pace of Antarctic snowfall suggest that the sea level may be rising faster than researchers previously assumed. The papers, both published yesterday in the journal Science, provide the latest evidence of how climate change is transforming the global landscape. University of Texas at Austin researchers, using twin satellites, determined that the Greenland ice sheet, Earth's second-largest reservoir of fresh water, is melting at three times the rate at which it had been melting over the previous five years. A separate study by 16 international scientists concluded that Antarctic snowfall accumulation has remained steady over the past 50 years, with no increases that might have mitigated the melting of the ice shelf, as some researchers had assumed would occur. Taken together, the two reports indicate that global sea level rise may increase more rapidly in the coming years, though the Greenland study is based on only 2 1/2 years of data. The melting of 57 cubic miles a year from Greenland's ice sheet could add 0.6 millimeters alone, which is higher than any previously published measurement for Greenland, according to University of Texas Center for Space Research scientist Jianli Chen. "It's a very big number," Chen said, noting that for at least a hundred years the sea level has increased an average of 1.8 millimeters annually…. But Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, questioned why scientists are drawing broad conclusions from data covering such a short time span. "We now have 'the sky is falling down' on the basis of a few years of data," said Ebell, whose group is partly funded by the fossil-fuel industry. The second paper, written by 16 scientists from seven countries, challenges computer projections that higher temperatures in the southernmost continent will spur greater snowfall accumulation and compensate for the world's melting ice sheets. Using satellite data that looked at both the West and East Antarctic ice sheets, the researchers concluded there has been no real increase in precipitation in the region in the past five decades…. Read the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081001557_pf.html

May 29, 2007 – “Danger point Closer Than Thought From Warming”, by Bill Blakemore, ABC News - Even "moderate additional" greenhouse emissions are likely to push Earth past "critical tipping points" with "dangerous consequences for the planet," according to research conducted by NASA and the Columbia University Earth Institute. … The forecast effects include "increasingly rapid sea-level rise, increased frequency of droughts and floods, and increased stress on wildlife and plants due to rapidly shifting climate zones," according to the NASA announcement…. The new NASA release emphasizes the danger of "strong amplifying feedbacks" pushing Earth past "dangerous tipping points." Scientists have been warning for several years that such tipping points are the greatest threat from manmade global warming — and what makes it potentially catastrophic for civilization. … As the tipping points pass, "there is an acceleration, potentially uncontrollable, of emissions of vast natural stores of greenhouse gas," according to Hansen, who reviewed the study for ABC News today. Hansen explains that dangerous feedback loops are being tracked in various regions of the planet. Many studies have reported feedback loops already observed in thawing tundra, seabeds and drying forests. Hansen also points out that dark — and therefore heat-absorbing — forests are now expanding toward the Arctic, replacing lighter-colored areas such as tundra and snow cover. … The NASA research also reasserts the importance of the disappearing Arctic sea ice and snow, whose reflectivity has helped cool the planet by bouncing warm sunlight straight back into space. The disappearance of that bright sea ice and snow is uncovering more and more dark water and bare ground — creating another dangerous feedback loop. … The study says that "only moderate additional climate forcing (which would mean only moderate additional warming from such emissions) is likely to set in motion the disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet" — dubbed WAIS by polar scientists. Many scientists say a disintegration of WAIS would mean catastrophically rapid sea-level rise. … Read the article: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=3223473&page=1

Oct 17, 2007 – “The Prophet of Climate Change: James Lovelock,” by Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone - …In Lovelock's view, the scale of the catastrophe that awaits us will soon become obvious. By 2020, droughts and other extreme weather will be commonplace. By 2040, the Sahara will be moving into Europe, and Berlin will be as hot as Baghdad. Atlanta will end up a kudzu jungle. Phoenix will become uninhabitable, as will parts of Beijing (desert), Miami (rising seas) and London (floods). Food shortages will drive millions of people north, raising political tensions. "The Chinese have nowhere to go but up into Siberia," Lovelock says. "How will the Russians feel about that? I fear that war between Russia and China is probably inevitable." With hardship and mass migrations will come epidemics, which are likely to kill millions. By 2100, Lovelock believes, the Earth's population will be culled from today's 6.6 billion to as few as 500 million, with most of the survivors living in the far latitudes -- Canada, Iceland, Scandinavia, the Arctic Basin….Until recently, Lovelock thought that global warming would be …something the planet would correct for. Then, in 2004, Lovelock's friend Richard Betts, a researcher at the Hadley Centre for Climate Change -- England's top climate institute -- invited him to stop by and talk with the scientists there. Lovelock went from meeting to meeting, hearing the latest data about melting ice at the poles, shrinking rain forests, the carbon cycle in the oceans. "It was terrifying," he recalls. "We were shown five separate scenes of positive feedback in regional climates -- polar, glacial, boreal forest, tropical forest and oceans -- but no one seemed to be working on whole-planet consequences." Equally chilling, he says, was the tone in which the scientists talked about the changes they were witnessing, "as if they were discussing some distant planet or a model universe, instead of the place where we all live."… But evidence from the real world suggests that the IPCC is far too conservative. For one thing, scientists know from the geological record that 3 million years ago, when temperatures increased to five degrees above today's level, the seas rose not by twenty-three inches but by more than eighty feet. What's more, recent satellite measurements indicate that Arctic ice is melting so rapidly that the region could be ice-free by 2030. "Modelers don't have the foggiest idea about the dynamics of melting ice sheets," scoffs Lovelock... Read the article: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/16956300/the_prophet_of_climate_change_james_lovelock

Nov 16, 2007 – “U.N. Report Describes Risks of Inaction on Climate Change,” By Elisabeth Rosenthal, The New York Times - VALENCIA, Spain, Nov. 16 — In its final and most powerful report, a United Nations panel of scientists meeting here describes the mounting risks of climate change in language that is both more specific and forceful than its previous assessments, according to scientists here. Synthesizing reams of data from its three previous reports, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the first time specifically points out important risks if governments fail to respond: melting ice sheets that could lead to a rapid rise in sea levels and the extinction of large numbers of species brought about by even moderate amounts of warming, on the order of 1 to 3 degrees. The report carries heightened significance because it is the last word from the influential global climate panel before world leaders meet in Bali, Indonesia, next month to begin to discuss a global climate change treaty that will replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012… Even though the synthesis report is more alarming than its predecessors, some researchers believe that it still understates the trajectory of global warming and its impact. The I.P.C.C.’s scientific process, which takes five years of study and writing from start to finish, cannot take into account the very latest data on climate change or economic trends, which show larger than predicted development and energy use in China. “The world is already at or above the worst case scenarios in terms of emissions,” said Gernot Klepper, of the Kiel Institute for World Economy in Kiel, Germany. “In terms of emissions, we are moving past the most pessimistic estimates of the I.P.C.C., and by some estimates we are above that red line. The panel presents several scenarios for the trajectory of emissions and climate change. In 2006, 8.4 gigatons of carbon were put into the atmosphere from fossil fuels, according to a study in the proceedings of the National Academy of Science, which was co-written by Dr. Klepper. That is almost identical to the panel’s worst case prediction for that year… One such area is the future melting of ice sheets in Greenland and western Antarctica. In earlier reports, the panel’s scientists acknowledged that their computer models were poor at such predictions, and did not reflect the rapid melting that scientists have recently observed. If these areas melt entirely, seas would rise 40 feet, scientists said. While scientists are certain that the sheets will melt over millennia, producing sea-level rises, there is now evidence to suggest that it could happen much faster than this, perhaps over centuries… This final report also puts more emphasis on the ripple effect of small degrees of temperature change, some of which are already being seen, such as species extinctions and loss of biodiversity…. Read the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/science/earth/17climate.html?pagewanted=1

Dec 12, 2007 – “Arctic summers ice-free ‘by 2013,’” by Jonathan Amos, BBC News - Scientists in the US have presented one of the most dramatic forecasts yet for the disappearance of Arctic sea ice. Their latest modelling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years. Professor Wieslaw Maslowski told an American Geophysical Union meeting that previous projections had underestimated the processes now driving ice loss. Summer melting this year reduced the ice cover to 4.13 million sq km, the smallest ever extent in modern times. Remarkably, this stunning low point was not even incorporated into the model runs of Professor Maslowski and his team, which used data sets from 1979 to 2004 to constrain their future projections. … "Our projection of 2013 for the removal of ice in summer is not accounting for the last two minima, in 2005 and 2007," the researcher from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, explained to the BBC. "So given that fact, you can argue that may be our projection of 2013 is already too conservative." Read the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7139797.stm

Dec 28, 2007 – “Remember This: 350 Parts Per Million,” by Bill McKibben, Washington Post - This month may have been the most important yet in the two-decade history of the fight against global warming. Al Gore got his Nobel in Stockholm; international negotiators made real progress on a treaty in Bali; and in Washington, Congress actually worked up the nerve to raise gas mileage standards for cars. But what may turn out to be the most crucial development went largely unnoticed. It happened at an academic conclave in San Francisco. A NASA scientist named James Hansen offered a simple, straightforward and mind-blowing bottom line for the planet: 350, as in parts per million carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It's a number that may make what happened in Washington and Bali seem quaint and nearly irrelevant. It's the number that may define our future. To understand what it means, you need a little background. Twenty years ago, Hansen kicked off this issue by testifying before Congress that the planet was warming and that people were the cause. At the time, we could only guess how much warming it would take to put us in real danger. Since the pre-Industrial Revolution concentration of carbon in the atmosphere was roughly 275 parts per million, scientists and policymakers focused on what would happen if that number doubled -- 550 was a crude and mythical red line, but politicians and economists set about trying to see if we could stop short of that point. The answer was: not easily, but it could be done. In the past five years, though, scientists began to worry that the planet was reacting more quickly than they had expected to the relatively small temperature increases we've already seen. The rapid melt of most glacial systems, for instance, convinced many that 450 parts per million was a more prudent target. That's what the European Union and many of the big environmental groups have been proposing in recent years, and the economic modeling makes clear that achieving it is still possible, though the chances diminish with every new coal-fired power plant. But the data just keep getting worse. The news this fall that Arctic sea ice was melting at an off-the-charts pace and data from Greenland suggesting that its giant ice sheet was starting to slide into the ocean make even 450 look too high. Consider: We're already at 383 parts per million, and it's knocking the planet off kilter in substantial ways. So, what does that mean? It means, Hansen says, that we've gone too far. "The evidence indicates we've aimed too high -- that the safe upper limit for atmospheric CO2is no more than 350 ppm," he said after his presentation. Hansen has reams of paleo-climatic data to support his statements (as do other scientists who presented papers at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco this month). The last time the Earth warmed two or three degrees Celsius -- which is what 450 parts per million implies -- sea levels rose by tens of meters, something that would shake the foundations of the human enterprise should it happen again. And we're already past 350. Does that mean we're doomed? Not quite. Not any more than your doctor telling you that your cholesterol is way too high means the game is over. Much like the way your body will thin its blood if you give up cheese fries, so the Earth naturally gets rid of some of its CO2each year. We just need to stop putting more in and, over time, the number will fall, perhaps fast enough to avert the worst damage. That "just," of course, hides the biggest political and economic task we've ever faced: weaning ourselves from coal, gas and oil… Read the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122701942.html

Jan 14, 2008 – “Escalating Ice Loss Found in Antarctica – Sheets Melting in an Area Once Thought to Be Unaffected by Global Warming,” by Marc Kaufman, Washington Post - Climatic changes appear to be destabilizing vast ice sheets of western Antarctica that had previously seemed relatively protected from global warming, researchers reported yesterday, raising the prospect of faster sea-level rise than current estimates. Rignot said the tonnage of yearly ice loss in Antarctica is approaching that of Greenland, where ice sheets are known to be melting rapidly in some parts and where ancient glaciers have been in retreat. He said the change in Antarctica could become considerably more dramatic because the continent's western shelf, an expanse of ice and snow roughly the size of Texas, is largely below sea level and has broad and flat expanses of ice that could move quickly. Much of Greenland's ice flows through relatively narrow valleys in mountainous terrain, which slows its motion. The new finding comes days after the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the group's next report should look at the "frightening" possibility that ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica could melt rapidly at the same time… Last year, the IPCC tentatively estimated that sea levels would rise by eight inches to two feet by the end of the century, assuming no melting in West Antarctica…. "You can read as much as you want on these subjects, but it doesn't really enter your system. You don't really appreciate the enormity of what you have," Pachauri said. Read the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/13/AR2008011302753_pf.html

Jan 17, 2008 – “As new coal-power plants boom, environmentalists launch legal assault to stop projects,” by Matthew Brown, Associated Press/Austin American Statesman - BILLINGS, Mont. — In federal and state courtrooms across the country, environmental groups are putting coal-fueled power plants on trial in a bid to slow the industry's biggest construction boom in decades. At least four dozen coal plants are being contested in 29 states, according to a recent tally by The Associated Press. The targeted utilities range from giants like Energy Future Holdings Corp., (formerly TXU), Peabody Energy Corp. and American Electric Power Inc. down to small rural cooperatives. From lawsuits and administrative appeals against the companies to lobbying pressure on federal and state regulators, the coordinated offensive against coal is emerging as a pivotal front in the debate over global warming. "Our goal is to oppose these projects at each and every stage, from zoning and air and water permits to their mining permits and new coal railroads," said Bruce Nilles, a Sierra Club attorney who directs the group's national coal campaign. "They know they don't have an answer to global warming, so they're fighting for their life." …Read the article: http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/01/17/0117coal.html

Jan 17, 2008 – “07 Second Hottest,” by Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen - The year 2007 was tied for the second-hottest on record, according to sobering global figures just released by NASA's climate centre. While 2007 fell just short of the global record set in 2005, it continues the worrying trend that has seen a string of recent years hotter than anything since records begin in the 1880s.The six hottest years, in descending order, are 2005, 2007 and 1998 (tied), 2002, 2003 and 2006. Climatologists at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City used temperature data from weather stations on land, satellite measurements of sea ice temperature since 1982 and data from ships for earlier years…. The greatest warming in 2007 occurred in the Arctic, and neighbouring northern regions. Global warming has a larger affect in polar areas, as the loss of light-coloured snow and ice leads to larger area of dark, open water, which absorbs more sunlight and warmth. Snow and ice reflect sunlight; when they disappear, so does their ability to deflect warming rays. Read the article: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=fcabc522-e567-4183-8288-c5cb34bcc5b3&k=17837

Jan 24, 2008 – “Can Europe cut carbon without cutting growth? Radical goals for 2020 boost renewable energy and cut emissions sharply,” by Mark Rice-Oxley, The Christian Science Monitor, LONDON - Europe unveiled a "road map" to a low-carbon future Wednesday – one of the most radical packages the European Union has ever produced…The aim is to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent, boost renewable energy to 20 percent of supply, and improve energy efficiency by 20 percent – all by 2020. The broader aspiration is to show the world that jobs and growth are not dependent on carbon. The challenge to the likes of China, India, and the United States is to join the effort, in which case the EU would raise its emissions-reduction target to 30 percent by 2020. "It's insufficient," says Stephan Singer of the WWF environmental group. "Europe was in favor at Bali of the declaration that in the future developed countries should cut by 25-40 percent," he says. "Now the ink of Bali is not even dry and they come out with a proposal for 20 percent."… "Europe can be the first economy for the low-carbon age," said Mr. Barroso. "There is a cost, but it is manageable," he told the European Parliament, which has to vote on the plans. "And every day the price of oil and gas goes up, the real cost of the package falls."…Read the article: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0124/p01s05-woeu.htm

Feb 14, 2008 – “Shrinking time frame to prevent dangerous climate change?” By Mary-Lou Considine, Science Alert Australia & New Zealand, - A growing number of scientists are echoing the concern raised in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Fourth Assessment Synthesis Report that climate change is happening faster than at rates predicted by earlier IPCC reports. A recent paper published in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS)¹ suggests that the Earth’s land and oceans are losing their capacity to absorb the excess carbon dioxide from anthropogenic emissions, accelerating the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere… ‘The predictions made using models 10 years ago can now be compared with the reality. This comparison shows that while models are working well, if anything they are too conservative… The widely reported shrinkage of the Arctic ice sheet during the 2007 northern summer – when the minimum area of sea ice was 22 per cent less than the previous minimum recorded in 2005 – was not predicted by any of the IPCC models. …Dr Raupach says while the extent of ice loss in the Arctic came as a shock to most scientists, ‘at least we know now that the assumptions we made about the processes governing the Arctic ice melt are wrong’. We were not looking enough at difficult feedbacks: ice-sheet melting is a non-linear process and difficult to model. Even though there is uncertainty about how fast climate change will happen, we can be confident that it will happen, at least according to the IPCC predictions,’ Dr Raupach reiterated. ‘On the research side now, it’s a matter of working out probabilities for climate change outlooks, which are bad at best and catastrophic at worst. ‘But you don’t need to wait for the uncertainties to be quantified to know what to do next – the need for emissions reductions is urgent.’ Read the article: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20081402-16904.html

[1] Cattle produce 33% of all agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. And agricultural production creates 25% of human-induced GHG.

[2] Chicken’s carbon footprint is about one third of beef. Pork is half of beef.

[3] Overfishing and fish farming are putting tremendous strain on already compromised ecosystems.

[4] One quarter of America’s food goes to waste.

[5] Note that while studies show GHG is lowered for some organic products such as wheat and potatoes, for others such as eggs, milk and chicken the GHGs can actually be greater unless additional mitigation is utilized in their production.

[6] If you forgot your bag and need to choose between paper and plastic, while debatable, the carbon reduction advantage goes to paper as it is more easily reused and recycled.

[7] Commonly found fair-trade foods include: coffee, tea, chocolate, cashews, olive oil, rice sugar, hearts of palm, salmon, honey, salsa, jam and syrup.

[8] Find out which are and which aren’t at Climate Counts: www.climatecounts.org Some of the scores are bound to surprise you.

[9] McKinsey Global Institute reports that with targeted annual investment of $170 billion, investors could cut by half the rate of projected global energy growth over the next 13 years - while earning an average annual return of 17 percent.

[10] While all oil companies are problematic, ExxonMobil is alone in denying the urgency of the problem and is actively undermining the public’s understanding of climate change by funding bogus front groups and think tanks. www.exxposeexxon.com

[11] Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund, DWS Climate Change Fund, Spectra Green Fund and Winslow Green Solutions Fund.

[12] Making products from recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy than from virgin aluminum.

[13] Biokleen, Ecover, Method, Seventh Generation, Shaklee, Solay Simple

[14] Farmaesthetics, Burt’s Bees, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Ecotools, Acquarella, Jurlique, Korres Natural Products

[15] The average American generates 1,460 pounds in a year. Think about what you can do to improve your recycling and consumption rates, and do it!

[16] Metal mining consumes approx. 9% of our global energy output.

[17] The Coop has three collection days each month, and best of all, they accept plastics from any neighborhood resident (excluding businesses), not just Coop members. www.foodcoop.com

[18] Cell phones are about 14% copper by weight and contain other precious metals and are valuable.

[19] Biofuels, -- made from surgarcane, corn, palm and soybeans -- were once thought to be a miracle, reducing greenhouse gases and employing farmers. Recent studies in Science and Nature conclude that when produced on converted lands, biofuels will effectively emit more GHGs than the fossil fuels they displace. Where farmers have changed from growing feed corn to fuel, no such problem exists. So the trick is to get your biofuel from properly managed land. New land use regulations will be required to insure that the use of biofuels fulfill their promise of net reductions.

[20] The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that for every 5 mph above 60, the decreased fuel efficiency costs $0.20 a gallon.

[21] Air travel currently contributes about 3 percent of global carbon emissions as well as nitrous oxide which has double the impact of CO2. Air travel is set to triple by 2030.

[22] Such as the Airbus A340 or A380 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

[23] Data recently released by cruise line owner Carnival shows the carbon footprint of a typical cruise is over 400 lbs of carbon per passenger per day or more than three times higher than the carbon footprint of long-distance plane travel.

[24] Heat loss due to inadequate insulation can account for 30% of home heating and cooling costs. Most heat escapes through the roof as heat in the home rises, so a properly insulated attic is a priority for an energy efficient home.

[25] LCDs consume 30 to 40 percent less power than a plasma of similar size. (And do you really need a 40” screen?)

[26] Only 5% of the power drawn by a cell phone charger is used to charge the phone. The other 95% is wasted when it is left plugged into the wall.

[27] A typical laptop, while plugged in, uses 50 watts of energy compared to the typical desktop system that uses about 270 watts (including the CPU and monitor), making a laptop 80% more efficient.

[28] Energy Star appliances use 10 to 50 percent less electricity than standard models. Look for the yellow EnergyGuide label to help you compare the efficiency of different major appliances. See www1.eere.energy.gov.

[29] Bigger isn’t better. Refrigerators with the freezer on either the bottom or top are much more efficient than those with side-by-side doors—even more so when through-the-door icemakers and water dispensers are included. These features will increase your refrigerator’s energy use by 14% to 20%. Bottom freezer models are the most efficient, using approximately 16% less energy than side-by-side models and 3% less than top freezer models.

[30] Microwaves use less than half the power of traditional ovens. And up to 90% of the energy used by traditional ovens is wasted.

[31] Rinsing dishes under running hot water before putting in dishwasher can use more hot water than the dishwasher itself.

[32] Except for towels, no more than 10-15 minutes drying is typically required.

[33] Xeriscaping is a comprehensive approach to landscaping for water conservation. Principles include: planning and selecting plants for your regional and microclimate. Limiting turf. Efficient irrigation and use of mulches.

[34] Spider plants and peace lilies can remove carbon monoxide, and Ficus and Aloe Vera the formaldehyde or adhesives found in furnishings.

[35] Carbon offsets have been called a sin tax, compared to Catholic indulgences or paying for a war substitute. But carbon offsets are meant to be used only as a supplement, not a substitute. Choose carefully, and carbon offsets will genuinely reduce emissions and help provide funds now to kick start development of low-carbon technologies – vital in our transition to a low-carbon society.

[36] It’s almost embarrassing to include such a note but we live in the U.S., where public opinion has been so damaged by a few corporations and religious fundamentalists. Just recently Bob Lutz, General Motors’ vice chairman, stated that in his view, global warming is a “total crock of shit.” Then he added: “I’m a skeptic, not a denier. Having said that, my opinion doesn’t matter.” (source: www.frontburner.dmagazine.com)

[37] See Chapter 2, “The Denial Industry,” in the book Heat, How to Stop the Planet From Burning, by George Monbiot, 2006.