Climate change - what can we do about it?

[KarynVA]

I mean, the vehicles thing is difficult for me too. And I've always owned small, gas-efficient cars just because I'm cheap and also I feel intimidated to drive a large vehicle. But I'm just more comfortable with my manual transmission, gasoline powered car.

 

[DickMidnight]

we do our part at home. my wife is an avid recycler and composter. she cut our single use plastic usage almost down to zero. we use a rain barrel to keep the chickens watered.

but i’m definitely not the poster child for eco friendliness. ive got too many cars and motorcycles. and i fly private.

maybe it all evens out?

 

[black_cat]

I'm making more of an effort than I was, but honestly, I should be doing more. I turn off all of the lights (5 different lights, so it's more than it sounds like) in my room each day when I leave and every night, my family composts, I ride my bike places, and we bring reusable bags to the grocery store.

I'd love any more 'kid friendly' suggestions, as I can't do much in the way of things like electric cars at the moment.

 

[Brooks_]

We are seeing a major shift by many car makers globally toward electric vehicles in an effort to mitigate further harm to the planet.

Where does the electricity come from? Just because the car is electric, is it really cleaner? Just asking as I don't know.

we do our part at home. my wife is an avid recycler and composter. she cut our single use plastic usage almost down to zero. we use a rain barrel to keep the chickens watered.

I'm not sold on recycling. Back in the day one truck picked up trash from both sides of the road (one drive by). Now a truck picks up trash from each side with another gathering the recycling on each side (four drive by's). Does that help emissions?

 

[User105877]

Global warming as been going on for centuries. The climate on the planet is always changing. From the time of the dinosaurs to the ice age to now.

 

[DickMidnight]

I'm not sold on recycling. Back in the day one truck picked up trash from both sides of the road (one drive by). Now a truck picks up trash from each side with another gathering the recycling on each side (four drive by's). Does that help emissions?

i’m really not either. a lot of what most
people throw into their recycling bins can’t be processed at the recycling center and get passed along to the landfill.

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/what-percent-recycling-actually-gets-recycled

our carting company makes one pass. the truck has two arms, one each for trash cans and another for recycling, that dump into separate sections on the truck.

 

[Brooks_]

our carting company makes one pass. the truck has two arms, one each for trash cans and another for recycling, that dump into separate sections on the truck.

That makes more sense. When I lived in town, trash day was the worst. Those trucks up and down each side...give me roosters any day over that.

 

[KarynVA]

Global warming as been going on for centuries. The climate on the planet is always changing. From the time of the dinosaurs to the ice age to now.

True.

The rate of change now, though, is alarmingly rapid. And the worst part is, it is self-reinforcing. So, the faster the planet warms, the faster it gets too hot to sustain our way of life. That's why we are seeing so many extreme weather events.

From the source linked above: Over the course of the Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history, the climate has changed a lot. This is true. But the rapid warming we’re seeing now can't be explained by natural cycles of warming and cooling. The kind of changes that would normally happen over hundreds of thousands of years are happening in decades.

Global temperatures are now at their highest since records began. In fact, 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have all taken place since 2001.

This much faster warming corresponds with levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which have been increasing since the industrial revolution. So, when people talk about climate change today, they mean anthropogenic (man-made) climate change. This is the warming of Earth’s average temperature as a result of human activity, such as burning coal, oil and gas to produce energy to fuel our homes and transport and cutting down trees to produce the food we eat.

 

[B-Goock]

I recently took a vacation out west. I spent quite a bit of time going to natural history type stops along with just going out and enjoying what nature has to offer. Something people fail to observe is history of wildlife. An example like just one such as bison. There are several species of bison that have went extinct due to climate change. When did they go extinct? 8000 yrs ago. Listen to examples such as the glaciers. Even nature programs exclaim the glaciers have been melting for thousands of yrs. Many areas of the country scientists claim the landscape was formed by glacial activity. Our a tivity may be changing the climate by a hundred yrs. A drop in the bucket when those changes are in 10s of thousands of yrs.
Until people stop driving, shut their power off, & start living more natural it will continue.
Despite what we do it's inevitable the glaciers will melt and as they get smaller they will melt at an accelerated rate.

 

[topochico225]

Climate change is especially scary and observable down here in the Deep South. Hurricane Ida is a prime example of a superstorm driven by climate change. New Orleans’ll be underwater in the next century and Baton Rouge will be a seaside town.

I recycle, compost, use reusable bags, avoid single use plastic, and use glass or metal water bottles.

December is always not too cold here, but this week it’s been in the 80s. It’s ridiculous.