Susan Nugent, Roberta Gastmyer, Jay Rosenbek and Janice Garry Guest columnists to The Gainesville Sun
Two major approaches to climate change are mitigation and adaptation. Although they complement each other, they differ distinctly in both method and rationale.
Mitigation focuses on dramatically cutting the greenhouse gases expelled into the atmosphere. “We really need to kick the carbon habit and stop making our energy from burning things,” advises Sir David Attenborough. Mitigation involves kicking the carbon habit.
Scientific studies indicate that we can and must keep our earth’s temperatures from rising further. Data demonstrate that fossil fuels are the largest cause of rising temperatures.
With mitigation methods, fossil fuel energy production will transition to solar or wind energy, or other non-fossil fuel energy production. Fossil-fuel-burning vehicles will transition to hydrogen cars or electric vehicles. Mitigation’s aim is to reach net zero carbon emissions to the atmosphere of our planet.
In contrast, adaptation addresses the impact of rising temperatures. Adaptive activities prepare infrastructure to face the ever-increasing temperatures, rising waters and other extreme weather events.
For example, in Florida, seawalls will be built, bridges and roads will be raised for protection from flooding rivers, buildings will be reinforced to withstand stronger hurricanes and electrical grids will be fortified against severe weather.
Instead of preparing for extreme weather events, mitigation works to lessen the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere, which, in turn, will lessen the chance of extreme weather events. By succeeding at lowering emissions, we can avoid escalation of flooding, droughts, year-round fires and disruption of our food supply.
Mitigation tackles the source of the problem through use of renewable energy sources, low-emission transportation, building efficiency to reduce energy consumption, green developments, and land and water conservation. All of these actions lower carbon within the atmosphere.
By decreasing greenhouse gases, we have the ability to keep our temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Centigrade. If we are slow in acting, i.e., if we don’t make major changes soon, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that we will face temperatures pushing toward 2 degrees Centigrade by the end of the century.
If we do nothing, that temperature rise will be closer to a 3 degrees Centigrade increase. Life as we know it would change dramatically.
The over 200 scientists working on the IPCC report agree that without mitigation, we will never be able to reach the net zero carbon goal set by nations and cities around the world, including Gainesville. We cannot reduce our greenhouse gases without mitigation.
The IPCC reports that global greenhouse gas emissions caused by people and our energy choices are 12% higher than in 2010 and 54% higher than in 1990. As the population grows, these numbers will not stop increasing unless we mitigate now.
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization that has historically taken strong positions on clean energy and protection of natural resources. The League of Women Voters of Alachua County strongly encourages leadership to take bold actions to mitigate the emissions that are emitted in our community.
Only by reducing greenhouse gases can Gainesville, the United States and the global community control our future. Without mitigation, temperatures will continue to rise beyond a point that adaptation can help.
The League of Women Voters of Alachua County also recognizes that mitigation is equitable. All people will benefit from reducing carbon in the atmosphere.
Worldwide, air pollution kills 9 million people every year. The World Health Organization reports that as of 2016, more than 90% of deaths related to air pollution were in low- and middle-income countries.
In the United States, the NAACP Clean Air Task Force found that the number of Black children suffering from asthma is nearly twice that of White children. Minority homes tend to be nearer smokestacks and other pollutants. For everyone’s health, greenhouse gases must be controlled.
Those most vulnerable to heat include the poor, homeless, mentally ill, elderly, infants and children. Action to keep temperatures from rising helps all people everywhere.
The IPCC report gives us hope that we can kick the carbon out of our emissions. But action needs to be taken now. With that in mind, the League of Women Voters of Alachua County focuses its advocacy on a transition to clean energy.
Susan Nugent is a member of the League of Women Voters of Alachua County Natural Resources Committee, Roberta Gastmeyer and Jay Rosenbek are co-chairs of the committee, and Janice Garry is president of the League of Women Voters of Alachua County.
As published by The Gainesville Sun, June 29, 2022
See the original article here: https://www.gainesville.com/story/opinion/2022/06/29/league-women-voters-alachua-county-kicking-carbon-habit/7710684001/
