Mr. Amrhein is one of many people drawing political lines around the issue of global warming – lining the left up on one side of the field and the right on the other. I guess it’s inevitable that this happen with Al Gore as the messenger, and the country so deeply divided across political lines. In any case it’s important to remember that whatever the long term effects of global warming end up being, they will affect all of us, our children, and our children’s children with little respect for political affiliation.

Mr. Amrhein makes the following point:

“That the MORE oil consumed by the U.S., instead of by GHG juggernauts India, China, the former Soviet Union, and developing nations in low-tech Africa (all Kyoto Protocol exempt, by the way), the LESS greenhouse gases will be expelled into the atmosphere…”

He backs this up with two metrics, Green House Gas (GHG) emissions per unit of oil consumed, and GDP per unit of GHGs emitted. His argument is that because the US performs better in these metrics then other countries that we should be the ones burning the oil and not them. In his mind, this will provide a reduction in overall emissions. But these figures only seek to mislead the reader and obscure the real issue.

This is not a contest to see who can burn oil the cleanest, but that we burn it at all. Even the cleanest burning fossil fuels will contribute extensively to global warming there just isn’t any way around that problem. Clean technologies and efficiency are part of the solution don’t get me wrong, but it’s critical that all countries act now to bring online more renewable forms of energy.

Looking at GHGs on a per unit of oil basis is misleading. The U.S. contributes 30.3% of the emissions that lead to global warming. The so called “GHG juggernauts” mentioned in the article collectively contribute 28.4%, and that’s when you also include South East Asia in the mix as well. Clearly the U.S. is the largest single contributor to the problem, but we are all in the same boat now.

The science tells us that one side effect of global warming is an increase in intensity of Atlantic hurricanes. We got a taste of this last year when Katrina hit the Gulf States, the estimated costs of which range anywhere from $150-200 billion. The kicker here is that these cleanup costs all contribute in a positive way to our countries GDP. So what the author is asking us to believe when he compares our GDP to the amount of GHG we emit is that spending dollars to clean-up the natural disasters caused by global warming is a good thing for the country. Come on!

Regardless of the metric, comparing one country to the next isn’t useful and creates artificial lines that don’t solve the problem. This is a world-wide issue, one that requires a world wide solution. The United States needs to take the lead in developing new technologies and putting them into broad scale use – this will drive down costs by creating economies of scale, and making these new technologies more cost effective then fossil fuels even if all negative externalities like pollution are not taken into account. This will create new industries in the U.S. which translates to more jobs, more exports, and a healthier economy.

One sign of progress I take solace in is that the author is not trying to argue the science anymore – he must realize, along with many others, that it’s a tactic that is no longer defensible given a more educated public. We probably have Al Gore to thank for that, and nearly 100% of the scientific community of course.

Al Gore did a great job in the film articulating the problem of climate change in a clear and articulate manner. Being enrolled in the Presidio School of Managements environmental MBA program, this was not new information for me, but the manner in which it was delivered was.

The charts, graphs, photos, and cartoons along with Al Gore’s surprising comfort and humor all served his purpose of educating people on the problem. I don’t think the film by itself will make people change their habits, as it takes more than a film to get people to change. But it will play a supporting role in helping people move one step further along the path.

I’ve written an Op-Ed piece on this topic which I’ve submitted to the NY Times, SF Chronicle, and SJ Mercury News—if it gets published I’ll post a link to this site. This was my first Op-Ed piece I submitted to a print publication, so you can see that the movie has motivated me to take additional action. This is good.

I want to ask encourage everyone to see this film, take your friends, and to commit to doing at least one new thing in your life to make a difference. Post comments to this site when you make a change. Here are some ideas excerped from www.climatecrisis.org:

Here’s how:

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. If every family in the U.S. made the switch, we’d reduce carbon dioxide by more than 90 billion pounds! You can purchase CFLs online from the Energy Federation.

Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.

Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Install a programmable thermostat

Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.

Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models. If each household in the U.S. replaced its existing appliances with the most efficient models available, we’d eliminate 175 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year!

Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.

Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.

Turn off electronic devices you’re not using
Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Unplug electronics from the wall when you’re not using them
Even when turned off, things like hairdryers, cell phone chargers and televisions use energy. In fact, the energy used to keep display clocks lit and memory chips working accounts for 5 percent of total domestic energy consumption and spews 18 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year!

Only run your dishwasher when there’s a full load and use the energy-saving setting
You can save 100 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Insulate and weatherize your home
Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. The Consumer Federation of America has more information on how to better insulate your home.

Be sure you’re recycling at home
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources in your area.

Buy recycled paper products
It takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

Get a home energy audit
Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.

Switch to green power
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.

Buy locally grown and produced foods
The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.

Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

Seek out and support local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.

Buy organic foods as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!

Avoid heavily packaged products
You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

Almost one third of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States comes from our cars, trucks and airplanes. Here are some simple, practical things you can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you produce while on the move.

Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Click here to find transit options in your area. You can also offset the emissions from the miles you do drive at DriveNeutral.

Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers.

Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!

When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency here and here.

Try car sharing
Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar — offer low emission or hybrid cars too!

Try telecommuting from home
Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.

Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel by investing in renewable energy projects.

]]> http://www.shockstone.com/2006/05/an-inconvenient-truth-sneak-peak/feed/ 0 http://www.shockstone.com/2006/05/fox-news-attacks-an-inconvenient-truth/ http://www.shockstone.com/2006/05/fox-news-attacks-an-inconvenient-truth/#comments Tue, 23 May 2006 21:50:54 +0000 Matt Smith http://www.shockstone.com/2006/05/fox-news-attacks-an-inconvenient-truth/ I was just reading on Treehugger how Fox News is gearing up the machine to debunk the new Al Gore documentary on Climate Change. On one side, it’s good the film is getting attention, but it’s interesting and predictable that they are shifting the discussion away from climate change to whether the film will put Al Gore in the White House – nice slight of hand to shift attention away from the more critical issue. I’m heading over to Berkeley tonight to catch a sneak preview of the film, more later.

The film promises to be a clear, comprehensive, and thoughtful articulation of the problem humanity is now facing in global warming. Bringing a clear understanding of this issue to everyone is something that I’m passionate about.

I want to ask all of you to see the film on opening weekend (May 24^th -28^th) to help create a buzz around the issue. Bring your friends and family – put the word out – this is a film everyone must see.

I’ve made a pledge to see the film on opening weekend, and want to ask you to do the same by going to www.climatecrisis.net. There you can also watch the trailer and get more background on global warming.

Thank you so much for your article “Gibson’s the Passion”. I see the mainstream media’s portrayal of this movie as an effort to create controversy between Christians and Jews, to create a story that will drive ratings, with no thoughts to the consequences. I appreciate your efforts to try to channel this energy into a message of hope.

Jesus’ teachings were radical for their time – this created a fear based fundamentalist movement among the Jews that played a role in his crucifixion. The actions of the Christian fundamentalist in their persecution of Jews came from this same fear based worldview – just as now Muslim Fundamentalism strikes out around the world in acts of terrorism. These actions of small subgroups of any faith – never represent the feelings of the masses – and I believe the real evil portrayed in the movie is fundamentalism, not Judaism.
I believe there is an important message to the crucifixion story. I believe the crucifixion represents a metaphor for the current state of the world. We are experiencing a massive rise in human population on the earth. The environment is in an apocalyptic state. At a time when we need all organized religions to be reaching out to people, we see them falling back in to fundamentalist views. The sale and trade of weapons of mass destruction represent a terrible threat to world security. People around the world are loosing their contact with nature at a time when they need it most. The media is doing nothing to enlighten people, and instead leads people into a false sense of reality. People are lost in a state of perpetual motion, just trying to get by with no time to consider what is really happening.

Yes, the world is experiencing a crucifixion on a global scale. In the same way that Jesus kept his faith through his torture and crucifixion, maintaining his love, hope and goodwill for all the people in the world, even those that tortured him, so must we. If we can maintain our faith and positive vision through these difficult times and not give in to fear and fundamentalism, the world will find itself resurrected – reborn anew. This world will be one driven by hope, not fear. A world where all the faiths work together, realizing that they offer different paths that lead to the same place. This is the world envisioned by the Tikkun community.

So let’s look beyond the surface image, and use the crucifixion story as an example of how we must act in these difficult times, rather then cast it aside as simply an example of anti-Semitism.

Thank you.

Matthew Smith