Have we reached a tipping point?

[Where2]

You would be in the very small minority. Add a single family to the carbon based population of a first world country and all your carbon neutral contributions are offset right there. Not that what your doing is meaningless ,i think its great, but will it change the climate equation very little IMO. As far as saving money on energy your approach is top notch. But unless its adopted by large numbers of people in first world countries, may not solve the problem.

I don't see why this approach cannot be adopted by large numbers of people in first world countries. Two months ago, I took delivery of my e-Golf (BEV), and parked my fossil fueled VW (which I last refueled in August prior to hurricane Dorian). In two months, I've driven the old 40+mpg VW less than 5 times and consumed less than 4 gallons of fossil fuel since it was last refueled. Our house is 100% electric. Our 4.4kW PV array only generated about 50% of our electric needs before the BEV came into the picture. The 4.4kW takes up my entire second floor, south facing roof face. Adding another 5.5kW ground mount PV array to our current 4.4kW roof mounted array is "in the works". By "in the works", I mean: the panels and inverters are in the garage, I need a ground mounting system and permit documents to make legal generation occur. At that point, the wife's 40mpg vehicle becomes the "main carbon source" at our home, but we have a carbon capture setup in place for that. My wife and I have 40+ acres of managed forested property. According to tenmilliontrees.org: "A mature tree absorbs carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 pounds per year. In one year, an acre of forest can absorb twice the CO2 produced by the average car's annual mileage."

A walk in the woods is incredible therapy for many of the issues discussed in this thread.

 

[SpaceBus]

My wife and I are actively working on reducing our carbon footprint. It's a growing trend among many first world countries. The folks wringing their hands saying we can't do anything for xyz reasons can just keep on keeping on while the rest of us do something.

 

[ABMax24]

I don't see why this approach cannot be adopted by large numbers of people in first world countries.

I think that is a great way to look at it, and as a society we can do orders of magnitude better than what is currently being done.

But there are many technological hurdles to overcome yet before this can become widespread, particularly in climates like mine. Space heating is a very taxing load on the energy systems and unfortunately comes at the time when renewable energy is the most inefficient to use. Our electrical grid often reaches peak demand on cold days yet most homes and businesses are heated by natural gas, this immense electrical load comes mostly from the furnace motors.

Electric cars are seeing slow adoption here for the same reasons, -40 temps sap a huge amount of the battery to create cabin heat, and a significant amount of electricity is needed from a constant charging source to keep the batteries warm enough to be usable while the car is parked.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

The most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint(by a mile) is the one no one is discussing.

Science | AAAS

www.sciencemag.org

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I don't see why this approach cannot be adopted by large numbers of people in first world countries.

Probably because 46% of the population cant come up with $400 for an emergency expense. And thats in this country, the richest on the planet.
(broken link removed)

 

[SpaceBus]

There is no surprise. Those options all mean less profit, which means negative growth, which means a recession.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Another shoe that will be droppping for many years into the future.
64% of americans will be destitute upon retirement. 48% of those dont even care. I doubt this group will be springing for solar panels and an electric car.

64% of Americans Aren’t Prepared For Retirement — and 48% Don’t Care

Are younger generations setting themselves up to fail?

www.gobankingrates.com

 

[Seasoned Oak]

There is no surprise. Those options all mean less profit, which means negative growth, which means a recession.

I have no doubt there is a recession(or depression) coming. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

My wife and I are actively working on reducing our carbon footprint.

Iv been doing this for years but more for economic reasons. Iv got my heating load down to about 50% (Or less) of what it was in the same house 30 yrs ago. No electric car but i do have a solar room that mostly heats the whole house on sunny winter days. Eventually there may be an electric vehicle in the future, but only when it can provide the same utility vs cost as my ICE vehicles do today. My wood stove went out yesterday morning and i still didnt make another fire yet and its in the mid 30s outside,70 in the house right now.

 

[Ashful]

There is no surprise. Those options all mean less profit, which means negative growth, which means a recession.

Historically, it’s actually the opposite. There has never been a net boost to living conditions and quality of life larger and faster than the one generation following the bubonic plague, versus just the decade before. The same can be said to a smaller degree for Spanish flu, preceding the roaring 20’s and even WW2 preceding the growth of the 1950’s.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

. Our electrical grid often reaches peak demand on cold days yet most homes and businesses are heated by natural gas, this immense electrical load comes mostly from the furnace motors.

I believe record peak demand actually occurs on the hottest days of the summer. Cooling is universally electrically fueled.
Whereas heating comes from a variety of fuel sources. Very cold winter days do come close to summer peak levels though. Possibly even NG and oil heated homes are using some electric supplemental heat.
https://pplweb.mediaroom.com/news-releases?item=48492?asPDF=1?asPDF=1?asPDF=1?asPDF=1

 

[SpaceBus]

Historically, it’s actually the opposite. There has never been a net boost to living conditions and quality of life larger and faster than the one generation following the bubonic plague, versus just the decade before. The same can be said to a smaller degree for Spanish flu, preceding the roaring 20’s and even WW2 preceding the growth of the 1950’s.

The 20's also gave birth to the great depression. WWII was a war of profit for the US, we barely even got involved (there is much more to be said about this elsewhere). Before the war, there was depression. Your examples hardly follow the norm. Patterns don't lie, and when you have a loss of people or money, economies suffer. Perhaps there is a boom after a plauge, but of course there would be since there would also be a boom in population.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Perhaps there is a boom after a plauge, but of course there would be since there would also be a boom in population.

Must be some truth to that as most of the economic predictions are always pinning their hopes on growth,GDP ect. Countries with a declining population seem to suffer economically ,like Japan and many European countries.

 

[ABMax24]

I believe record peak demand actually occurs on the hottest days of the summer. Cooling is universally electrically fueled.
Whereas heating comes from a variety of fuel sources. Very cold winter days do come close to summer peak levels though. Possibly even NG and oil heated homes are using some electric supplemental heat.
https://pplweb.mediaroom.com/news-releases?item=48492?asPDF=1?asPDF=1?asPDF=1?asPDF=1

While generally that is correct for most of North America, we are in a different scenario. The average home here does not have AC due to the climate, yet we all have central heating of some sort, often with an auxiliary heating system as well. The vast majority of heating is done by NG here due to cost, with the blowers driven electrically.

It does stand to reason that the winter is the highest demand, and in fact for 2018 it was, with the peak on January 11th, as shown on the top of page 6 of this report. It is also shown again in the monthly average load report on page 7, showing that the winter has higher consumption than summer months.

https://www.aeso.ca/download/listedfiles/2018-Annual-Market-Stats-WEB-FINAL.pdf

 

[begreen]

The most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint(by a mile) is the one no one is discussing.

Science | AAAS

www.sciencemag.org

Yup. That's been brought up a few times here and is the reason why the Drawdown report places educating women in the top ten.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Another shoe that will be droppping for many years into the future.
64% of americans will be destitute upon retirement. 48% of those dont even care. I doubt this group will be springing for solar panels and an electric car.

64% of Americans Aren’t Prepared For Retirement — and 48% Don’t Care

Are younger generations setting themselves up to fail?

www.gobankingrates.com

I may be a bit off topic here, I’d love to see what the stats are on Americans who use a budget to run their homes. My guess is that a big majority of Americans can’t describe what one is. In talking with enough older people, I definitely think it is harder to make it now then in years ago. I also think a lot of people live way beyond their means in this country.

 

[WinterinWI]

Yup. That's been brought up a few times here and is the reason why the Drawdown report places educating women in the top ten.

Yes, I have seen you link that before:

A little quiz on climate change

This is a quick and fun way to learn a bit about the best solutions for drawing down emissions affecting climate change. Takes just a few minutes and is educational. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/04/specials/climate-change-solutions-quiz/index.html

www.hearth.com

What would you propose for educating the clueless women? Maybe mandatory planned parenthood classes?

In today's society, the definition of "woman" becomes more blurred every day. Who should all be required to attend?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I may be a bit off topic here, I’d love to see what the stats are on Americans who use a budget to run their homes. My guess is that a big majority of Americans can’t describe what one is.

That would also apply to the Govt. They use a budget to run the country but dont seem to know what one is.

 

[begreen]

Back on topic, regardless of cause, the effects are definitely being noted out here.
(broken link removed)

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Back on topic, regardless of cause, the effects are definitely being noted out here.

May want to check those birds for a belly full of plastic. Thats what is killing them elsewhere.

 

[begreen]

May want to check those birds for a belly full of plastic. Thats what is killing them elsewhere.

The article mentions that they found some plastics in their stomachs, but not in overwhelming amounts. That has been found in many, especially in sea birds, whales, turtles, etc. in other parts of the world.

 

[begreen]

Meanwhile, the administration is pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, a solo departure and not backed by science.

Scientists Around the World Declare 'Climate Emergency'

More than 11,000 signatories to a new research paper argue that we need new ways to measure the impacts of a changing climate on human society

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Ashful]

Meanwhile, the administration is pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, a solo departure and not backed by science.

You've brought this up a few times recently, and I guess it can sound bad on the surface, if you don't look any deeper. But do note the door has been left open to (likely) re-enter the agreement, under terms that are less uniquely damaging to the US. In fact, it's very unlikely we won't re-enter, when more favorable terms are achieved, as permanent withdraw will likely result in other countries heavily penalizing US exports with carbon taxes. This strikes directly at the GOP financial base, which won't fly.

Following the usual pattern Trump has taken while in office, this is likely nothing more than a negotiation strategy, never start negotiation at your desired closing price.

 

[WinterinWI]

Back on topic, regardless of cause, the effects are definitely being noted out here.
(broken link removed)

Meanwhile, the administration is pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, a solo departure and not backed by science.

View attachment 250615

Scientists Around the World Declare 'Climate Emergency'

More than 11,000 signatories to a new research paper argue that we need new ways to measure the impacts of a changing climate on human society

www.smithsonianmag.com

Interesting how you move the thread back on topic, then immediately pivot back to politics.

Impeach!

 

[Ashful]

Interesting how you move the thread back on topic, then immediately pivot back to politics.

Impeach!

It’s impossible to separate the two. Begreen is doing a better job than most could, in this regard, but it is an impossible job.

The thread is really about the scientific question of whether we’ve reached a tipping point, but it’s impossible to not then progress into causes and cures, either of which are wrapped in policy, and thus politics.