Saturday, March 7, 2009

4 Degrees

I'll admit it: I have no earthly idea where Italy stands on the environment.

I like to think that the Italians care (like their law about turning the heat on after November 1st, and for three hour increments), but really it just comes down to them being cheap I've been told. I don't understand how their recycling system works (you can put glass, aluminum, and plastic containers in a plastic bag in designated recycling bins, but what types of plastic can you recycle?) and they seem to use a whole lot of containers. The only thing I know is that the majority of grocery stores charge for plastic bags, but I have no idea if that's to make more of a profit or because these chains actually care.

I don't always recycle. I don't use my refillable water bottle. And I've been eating way too many processed foods for my own (and the environment's) good.

After reading this post by the Crunchy Chicken, though, I realized I really need to get my act together again.

Photo from the Crunchy Chicken

According to this article from New Scientist magazine, our earth will be 4 degrees Celsius warmer between 2050 and 2100. That might not seem like a lot, but just realize that pretty much anywhere you live now will be uninhabitable. Instead, we will all have the choice of living in Canada, Alaska, Northern Europe, New Zealand, or Western Antarctica.

Please read the article. Please do something, no matter how small.

1 comment:

Farmer's Daughter said...

All hope is not lost!
If you read through the comments on CC's post, you'll see mine about how I'm hopeful. There are many different models and there are SO many different factors that we really can't predict what the earth will look like. In this one model alone, you see that CT will EITHER be flooded or in drought. Those are two very different ends of the spectrum, and so therefore this didn't make me panic. It made me think that these folks really don't know yet what will happen specifically in different locations.

However, I do think it's important for us to live our lives in a way that has a smaller impact on the earth. But I'm hopeful that humans as a species will be able to adapt and survive the changing climate, even if I do think it's too late to curtail all the effects of climate change (which I do think it's too late... but it doesn't help any to continue pumping CO2 into the atmosphere).

In terms of survival, we will adapt and evolve, but we can't evolve until the environmental changes happen.

So my advice to you, Kayla: have a glass of wine and relax. Don't panic. Enjoy life in Italy while doing what you know is best for the environment. Keep reading and keep learning, but don't panic. Hope isn't lost.