To Open The Sky

Mitigation is defined as doing things to stave off, or at least lessen, the harmful effects liable to result from climate change. Adaptation is defined as learning to live with those harmful effects.

At one time, it could plausibly be hoped that these were an either-or prospect: that if we stepped up and really got with the program on switching to renewable energy, we could stave off the bad news the scientists told us was on the way without having to endure major privation. Those were the days! Of course this was never a sure thing. But one thing we know for sure today is that we will face privations no matter what we do. Our choices today, therefore, are a combination of both mitigation and adaptation.

So what do our prospects look like today? That is what I will explore here.

Mitigation

Mitigation involves reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere — primarily carbon dioxide. To begin with, it means energy conservation, with all that implies: turning off unused lights and appliances; driving less; turning thermostats up in summer and down in winter; adding double-pane windows, insulation, and weatherstripping to houses and many commercial and industrial buildings; saving water in all possible ways; recycling glass, aluminum and plastics.

It means keeping existing nuclear power plants online, if they are running safely — and if necessary subsidizing those that are operating at a loss.

In the longer term, it involves changing how we generate and use energy. This will mean far-reaching changes. It means phasing out fossil fuels (a phaseout that might have begun decades ago, when it would have been more gradual and hence less bothersome.)

It calls for structural changes too. Our electricity grid must be redesigned to support the addition of distributed renewable sources. Utility rules must change to allow consumers to produce energy and add it to the grid without paying a penalty. And the most profound change, no doubt one which will take fifty years or more, is rebuilding our energy infrastructure from the bottom up as a mix of solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, wave and tidal, biofuels, and advanced nuclear power.

Energy Conservation

The very first chore is for all of us to start emitting less carbon dioxide. And the easiest way to do that is to save energy.

Energy Star Appliances

Using appliances designed in partnership with the federal government's Energy Star program is one good option. And this program, with a budget of $40 million, has saved U.S. consumers $30 billion in avoided energy costs in 2017 alone. Since 1992, the kilowatt-hour cuts have prevented the release of 3 billion metric tons of CO₂, equivalent to taking over 600 million cars off the road for a year.

There are Energy Star programs for private homes and commercial buildings too. And that brings me to the next energy-saving step: fixing the losses from buildings. For a homeowner, installing double-pane windows, attic insulation, and weatherstripping will add up to a nice piece of change. The improvements will pay for themselves in time, but not if the owner can't aford them in the first place. That's why I think there must be some sort of subsidy passed by Congress. (Good luck getting that passed today. The Trump administration tried to cut it in 2017 and proposes to do so again. The good news is that the program has bipartisan support, so Congress and the 18,000 companies and organizations partnering with Energy Star will probably fight to save it.)

A related program is the LEED program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program begun in 1993 by the non-prrofit U.S. Green Building Council.

It's impossible to overstate how big a challenge this will be. But let's put it in perspective. Is it bigger than mobilizing our population to fight the Axis Powers in World War II? Probably not, in my view. But I think it will feel much the same.

Adaptation

It's hard to say whether adaptation or mitigation will be the bigger challenge. Both will certainly be challenging. The rising seas pose the greaterst threat to existing infrastructure. Already, coastal installations worldwide are flooding at high tides. One of the places most affected by this is the Altantic seaboard. Naval station Norfolk in Virginuia is ground zero for this; not only does it face rising seas, but the land it's on is sinking. Farther south, Florida is not sinking, but its land is porous limestone. This means that seawater can permeate the rock; building walls is useless. Miami floods regularly for this reason, and local freshwater supplies are contaminated by the sea.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Lorem Ipsit. Multum in parvo. Labor omnia vincit. In hoc signo vinces. In vino veritas O tempora! O mores! E pluribus unum.

Basta!

In September 2017, I added a bibliography of relevant books that I'd been compiling for some time. When that got to be unwieldy, I split it into nine categories. The link to the header for those is below.

The bottom line is that there is no longer any rational basis for disputing the view that global warming is a problem demanding action — not a crash program, but thoughtful, step by step action. Yet the Denialists continue to insist that the only cause for concern is the majority of people who believe something should be done about global warming. If their misleading arguments are gaining ground with the public, we have a situation succinctly portrayed in this cartoon:

I leave it to you: is this in any sense desirable?

And what about climate change itself? What can be done, or should be done, to counter the harmful effects of warming? This is a very complicated problem in itself, and one I haven't said much about here. But now I will, by adding new pages to this site.