Last year was the hottest recorded, with the warming trend expected to continue in 2024 resulting in the worsening of the global climate crisis and its severe impacts.
Human usage of fossil fuels, which generate greenhouse gas emissions, is the main driver of global warming. The Sierra Club reports that population, consumption patterns, and global warming are inextricably related. Therefore, a global population increase projected by the United Nations from 8.1 billion currently to 9.8 billion by 2050 will significantly amplify this global crisis. The time has come for everyone, especially those living in developed industrial nations, to adopt a personal preventative strategy to significantly reduce and eventually end use and dependency on fossil fuels.
As inhabitants and custodians of planet Earth and its resources, we cannot rely only on governments and industrial sectors to react slowly in resolving this crisis for us. The truth is that advanced industrialized countries bear the main responsibility for driving the demand and over-consumption of manufactured fossil fuel products and waste that create greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, we all need to get actively involved with our collective power to reduce and reverse this over-consumption demand we created in the first place.
A personal prevention strategy at home and during lifestyle activities must now be employed to find, reduce and prevent sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
These are immediate solutions to consider: Switch to a heat pump when replacing your HVAC system; choose electric or hybrid types of vehicles; purchase locally produced foods; eat less meat and substitute with plant-based alternatives; avoid products packaged in disposable plastics; reduce waste generally; use less electricity and water. For more detailed information, incentives and guidance, visit this useful link on the federal government's website. Use an online tool such as Project Neutral's Our Carbon Footprint Calculator to objectively measure, quantify and monitor your greenhouse gas emissions output expressed in tonnes of CO2.
Encourage everyone in your network to get involved, thereby creating a snowball effect. Visit the Greys for Green website at greysforgreen.org for relevant information and guidance. We are all in this together and can make a tremendous difference in resolving global warming and the climate crisis for future generations and all life on the planet. Finally, Planet Earth, our real home, can survive without humans — but we cannot without it.
Kelly Pearce is the founder and board director of Greys for Green. At retirement, he felt compelled to do his small part in leaving the world a better place for his grandchildren and other life on the planet.
