This week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report which has been described as the final call to climate action: in a world that has warmed by 1C now, we are already living extreme weather, wildfires and sunny-day flooding on the coasts, all presenting a danger to people, animals and plants, and already costing us deep in the pocket.
A NYTimes article has a great interactive on how limiting global warming to 1.5C is far preferable over allowing it to rise to 2C. Staying below 1.5C requires cutting our total emissions by about half by 2030, and arriving at net-zero by 2050.
If the task sounds daunting, that's because it is. But we can't sit back and do nothing. Doing nothing doesn't get the mortgage paid. Doing nothing doesn't get us tenure. Doing nothing doesn't raise children we can be proud of.
As you may know, Princeton, which has said that We'reStillIn the Paris climate agreement, is already in the process of formulating a climate action plan. This is spearheaded by Sustainable Princeton, who is hosting a panel discussion on how to get our town's energy to be carbon-free, on Wednesday, October 17, 7-8.30pm; details here.
(Photo by Thegreenj)
And you, dear bicycle rider, are already acting to reduce the carbon footprint of our transportation. Our bikes are the easiest, healthiest, cheapest way to make a real difference. Some of us are showing the way, living car-free in Princeton. Members of the University community are participating in the Revise Your Ride program. Kudos!
Here is an inspiring piece on the patient, sustained work needed for the long-term daunting task of weaning us off fossil fuels. In the context of bicycle riding: we need to keep showing up for the town and committee meetings that have bearing on the building of safe bike infrastructure; they may be boring, but our voice really counts. And of course, keep biking and walking. We're preventing planet-heating emissions, one footstep and one pedal push as a time.
