In my book, I try to simplify what sustainability is…including providing my own definition. That’s because sustainability is a very broad topic….and includes everything from recycling our waste, to reducing energy usage, to more efficient fuel sources, to even big topics like reducing carbon emissions.
But I also advocate that every individual determine their own approach to contributing to sustainability efforts..i.e. customizing it to you. That might be starting to recycle part of your trash, changing your light bulbs to LEDs, buying an electric car or battery-source hedge trimmer, or using your own re-usable grocery bags instead of the plastic ones available at the checkout counter. Small steps perhaps…but they all add up! And I hope all of you will make that a priority in your life. The Earth needs it.
On a much larger scale, however, a customized approach might be an appropriate way to also deal with the issue of carbon emissions and global warming. Countries and industries are currently scrambling to find ways to offset global warming, but each has different circumstances in terms of their energy sources, dependence on fossil fuels for their economy, and ability to transition to renewable energies. A recent study by a college in England analyzed these circumstances and explored how carbon emissions could be dealt with by 3 different European countries with 3 different ecological and economical situations. (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812115300.htm)
The basic premise for this customization approach is that for some countries, elimination (or significantly reducing) carbon emissions might be appropriate as they already have or could have viable renewable energy sources (like solar, wind, hydro, etc) in place to directly offset fossil fuel reductions. This would ideally be not only more ecologically feasible but also economically advantageous. However, for other countries, eliminating fossil fuel energy sourcing may not be as feasible, so the approach here may be to install carbon-trapping or re-capturing processes at the fossil fuel power plants. This would provide continued jobs for those employed in fossil fuel industries and a more gradual transition to renewable energies. For other countries, the approach might be a mix of both transition to renewables and carbon re-capturing.
This “customizing” by country makes a lot of sense to me. It moves past the political arguments of how fast a country transitions to renewable energies and allows every country to focus on 1 goal: to keep global warming to less than the 2 degrees projected and thereby maintaining our way of life on Earth as we know it…. i.e. living above ground! More college studies on this approach are planned, but time is running short and we need to begin implementing plans vs studying them for carbon emissions.
Start your customizing for sustainability TODAY !
