Hi all, Climate Master John Fischer here with KLCC s Living Less Unsustainably.
Carbon Dioxide is not the only climate changing gas increasing in our atmosphere. Methane accounts for 20% of the warming, and with levels increasing even faster than CO2, that contribution is increasing.
Composting yard and kitchen scraps can help stop methane emissions from landfills.
Credit John Fischer / KLCC
Fortunately, methane has an atmospheric residency time of only 10 years. CO2 stays in the atmosphere for 200 years. And we can reduce methane emission levels quickly. The U.S. has reinstated methane controls on oil and gas production. Most of the emissions are leaks in the production and transport infrastructure. But, methane, or natural gas, from industry is only about a third of the problem.
John Fischer s Living Less Unsustainably commentary.
While doing research on green tags, or carbon offsets last month, I was surprised to see how variable miles flown per person is. Some people fly often, and have large travel footprints while others take a trip every year or two.
Airplane landing at airport front shot.
Credit public domain
But here are the numbers that startled me. The top one percent of fliers account for 50% of all airline emissions, and the top 12 percent produce two thirds of climate changing gases associated with air travel. One domestic trip per month, or three international trips per year puts you in the top 1% - the super-emitter category. Of course flying is an almost exclusively first world activity. 80% of people on the planet have never been on a plane, and 90 percent almost never fly. While air travel currently produces only 5% of climate altering emissions, the sector is expected to grow quickly, and is bei
Hi all, Climate Master John Fischer here with KLCC s Living Less Unsustainably.
During the pandemic year, air travel and its climate gas emissions have fallen by two thirds. If you are planning a trip in the future, consider buying carbon credits- or GreenTags now to offset the emissions of your future flight.
Carbon offsets are paid for by the consumer. Ten to twenty dollars per ton of CO2 emitted. The money is used to fund wind and solar energy, capture methane at dairies or landfills, fund reforestation, and other environmentally helpful projects.
Offsets are not perfect. If you fly today, your offsets will take seven years to balance your trip emissions. And offsets cannot solve the climate crisis alone. Only reducing emissions can do that.
The stuff we buy, wear out, and throw away is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the pacific northwest. Manufacturing, transporting, and
Hi, Climate master John Fischer here with KLCC's Living Less Unsustainably. Isn't it nice when a labor saving machine you might feel guilty about turns out