There is no lack of information about the global climate crisis. It is difficult to NOT get caught up in the scary facts, the warnings and projections. But there are good things happening. Local authorities all over the world are declaring a climate emergency. The science is ever evolving and people, governments and corporations are motivated to find solutions.
The good news is, humans are extremely creative problem solvers. There is so much going on in the world that is working in the direction of improving our climate situation. Fossil fuel divesting is increasing, exciting new technologies are able to convert CO2 into usable products, the ozone layer is repairing, the way we travel is changing.
So let’s try to take what we have learned, change the way we are doing things and focus on the good stuff. Here are seven good news items that could have promising affects on the climate and health of the planet.
Earth Is Greener Now Than 20 Years Ago!
There is more greenery on the planet now then there was 20 years. NASA satellites are able to confirm that the earth is now greener. They have been collecting images for 20 years from their two satellites that use Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).
This MODIS system has captured multiple images of each place on earth every day for the last 20 years. From this data, they are able to tell that there has been an increase in leaf area on trees and plants that covers an area as big as all the Amazon rainforests.
There are two countries that are mostly responsible for this amazing increase of greenery; India and China. These two countries alone account for 1/3 of the increased greening.
In India, they have made changes to the way they grow their crops which has had increased food production. They are using multiple cropping practices, whereby they replant their fields several times a year. They have seen an increase in grains, fruits and vegetables of 35% over the last 20 years. This is critical for their growing population.
China has implemented aggressive programs to conserve and expand their forests. Their goal was to combat air pollution, soil erosion and climate change. The other part of their improved greenery growth was from intensive cultivation of crops, similar to what they were doing in India.
Not all forests are equal in their abilities to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Older biodiverse forests are very dear to our world because they are so efficient with removing and storing carbon. In terms of climate change, the increased in greening in India and China does not offset the amount of deforestation in areas like Indonesia and Brazil even though the area is larger. But this improvement gives us a bit of hope that humans can make a difference. The situation in India and China was getting worse until people realized the impact their practices were having and they made a change.
Renewable Resources Are Replacing Fossil Fuels For Energy
In 2019 new renewable power accounted for 72% of all global power expansion. The technology for renewable energy has become easier and cheaper to implement. And the numbers are looking good.
Last year saw a decrease of the world’s power sector’s carbon emissions by 2% – the biggest drop since 1990. In 2019, we also saw the largest decline in 30 years of 3% drop in coal power generation. This was largely because Europe and the United States are moving away from coal power.
Even though President Trump promised to revive the coal industry, there have been 8 bankrupt large coal companies in the recent past. Over 1,000 jobs have been lost in the coal industry since he became president.
Now with the coronavirus pandemic, the need for coal-fired powered electricity in some small towns has further decreased because of office and school closures. This has put more strain on the already faltering coal industry. Operations at some mines has been temporarily suspended even though they have been deemed an essential service. If more coal-fired power plants close, it might even put the United States inline with the IPCC’s requirement to phase out coal.
In 2019, the United States saw a decline of emissions by 2.9%, the European Union a decline of 5% and Japan a decline of 4%. In the European Union, new records for wind generation have been set and there is just as much wind-powered electricity as they have coal-fired electricity.
In 2019, 98% of the electricity in Costa Rica was generated from renewable resources. Canada uses 81% renewable resources (hydro, nuclear, wind and solar).
Iceland has removed carbon from their grids altogether replacing it with geothermal. Similarly, Paraguay has used hydro electricity to remove carbon from their grids.
There are more new jobs in renewable energy than mining or coal. Usually the jobs in renewable energy are going to the people that grew up with parents or grandparents that worked in mines or oil fields.
And to top off the good news of a declining coal-fired power industry, people living in areas with retired coal plants all over the world are reported to have less asthma symptoms and hospitalizations.
Exciting New Technologies
Solar, wind and battery technology is becoming more affordable, reliable and even profitable. Many power grids around the world are moving towards a model that allows for grid parity. This occurs when different energy sources can provide power at a cost and performance level less than the conventional method. Wind power and solar power have reached parity for price and performance and can now easily be added to the grid.
Tesla installed the worlds largest lithium-ion battery in South Australia. It is keeping the grid stable because it can store energy in off-peak hours and it out competes other power providers when the demand peaks. Plus it is much cheaper for the consumers of the energy.
The outlook is good for significantly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels to power the world. But there are other new technology that are making a difference as well.
The carbon footprint of electric vehicles in 2018 was calculated to be 8% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. But electric vehicles are getting cheaper and more reliable.
Last year Amazon ordered 100,000 electric vehicle delivery vans from Telsa’s rival Rivian. This is part of their plan to use 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030. The are also busy building utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects and have more than 50 solar rooftops on their factories around the globe. Plus they have started a fund called “Right Now Climate Fund” to help restore and protect forests, wetlands and peatlands around the world.
Houses are being designed and retrofitted to be much more energy efficient. Passive houses in cold climates don’t even need a furnace. These homes are sealed so well and use the “free” heat to transfer the heat to the incoming fresh air. Triple pane windows are insulated to prevent heat loss.
A passive house daycare in Penticton BC reports saving 90% in their energy bills. It benefits us financially and ecologically to make some of these choices.
It is known that if we are to meet the goals from the 2015 Paris Agreement we will need to use some negative emissions technologies to remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere. This might include planting more trees (check) restoring peatlands and mangrove forests. But it also could be through technologies like direct air capture.
Direct air capture (DAC) is the process of capturing the CO2 out of the atmosphere and processing it into a carbon neutral hydrocarbon fuel. In the recent past, this has gone from an idea to a reality. Although DAC is not a solution for climate change, it is sort of like a backup for helping it along.
The carbon that is captured is then burying it underground, otherwise known as direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS). There is still much to learn about the efficiency and side effects of DAC but this is an area that is progressing quickly.
Agriculture is a problematic area for carbon emissions. Current agriculture practices account for 9.9% of total emissions globally. This includes the crops grown for human consumption as well as the crops grown for livestock that are used for human consumption.
Research in moving away from monocrops in agriculture and mono forests is discovering the importance of including different species of different ages. And the way that crops are handled is changing, improved methods of tillage, use of cover crops and designing buffer strips are all reducing the resources needed per crop.
Conservation tillage is being used to minimize soil disturbance and preventing stored carbon to be released in the atmosphere as well as minimizes erosion and uses less energy to do. This is a method of turning the soil with minimum disruption after a crop has been harvested.
Cover crops are being used in between the harvest of the main crops to improve the soil, helping with erosion and providing habitat for birds and insects thereby increasing biodiversity.
Buffer strips are used to put space between crops filled with grasses, flowers and native plants. These are used to increase biodiversity and provide habitat for birds, insects and animals. They also help prevent water runoff and decrease soil erosion.
The world’s reliance on palm oil has seen the destruction of a huge amount of rainforests along the equator. Palm oil is used in hundreds of every day products like pizza dough, beauty products and ice cream. It is also used to treat malaria, high blod pressure and in come important medicines.
Research into growing palm oil in a lab to save the rain forests is on the way. Bill Gates has invested $20 million in this company. To mediate the upcoming increased demand, this company will produce an oil that has most of the same properties so that rain forests to no need to be cut down
Promising Ocean Future
New study showing how to restore oceans to healthy conditions in just one generation. They have the knowledge to restore vital marine habitats like mangrove swamps, salt marshes and oyster reefs. These vital ecosystems keep the oceans clean and support the entire ecosystem.
The amount of protected marine areas is increasing. In Indonesia, they created three new marine protected areas in an area that is home to the highest diversity of corals and reef fishes anywhere on the planet.
Greenpeace and the University of Oxford are working towards a series of sanctuaries that will protect 30% of the global oceans.
Ozone Layer Is Repairing
The hole in the ozone layer is repairing. The changes implemented in response to the Montreal Protocol have had a positive impact. This goes to show that after 30 years, the actions of humans can have a positive effect.
Fossil Fuel Divestment Is Now Trendy
2019 was a promising year for global divestment from the fossel fuel industry. This is the act of moving any investments away from assets tied to the fossil fuel industry. Over 1110 institutions have committed to divest from fossil fuels to the tune of $11 trillion.
Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock (the world’s largest asset manager) has moved trillions of dollars of investments to combating the climate crisis. Goldman Sachs is not accepting any financing that will support Arctic oil exploration or development. NYC is moving towards divesting $189 billion from it’s pension.
All of these famed divestments have created pressure for the masses. Larry Fink believes that the investment landscape is changing in fundamental ways and it is no longer a long term guarantee.
Certified B Corporations are a trendy kind of business that considers the impact of their decisions on their workers customers, suppliers, community and the environment. People want to invest in Certified B Corporations and away from fossil fuels.
Air Travel Is Changing
Greta Thunberg made quite an impression on the world when she sailed from Europe to North America instead of flying. This has further propelled the trend of boycotting flights as a manner of transportation.
“Flight Shame” has popped up all over social media as a way to make people that fly feel bad about their decision. Air travel is a huge carbon emitter and has become a growing problem in the climate crisis.
Now airlines all over the world are seeing decreases in their seat sales. To combat this airlines are using carbon offsets to ease the flight shame. This is the act of investing in projects that remove carbon dioxide.
Now with the recent coronavirus pandemic, airline traffic has plunged and it will be a long time until it can fully recover. The number of passengers entering TSA screening points fell 93% in just a month.
Air Canada laid off 16,500 workers this spring. there is a long list of airlines that have gone bankrupt and many others are forced to combine.
It seems the days of cheap flights are over.
This devastation to the airline industry will force us all to reconsider our travel habits and perhaps we have a clean slate to make a good choice. Air travel only accounts for about 2.5% of global carbon emissions but the number of people travelling by air was set to explode with the growing middle and upper class populations. This could have gone out of control very quickly.
Overall We Are Doing Great Things
Change takes time. The climate crisis is in the minds of more people than ever before. As we work together to make improvements let’s pat each other on the back for the good things that are happening. Let’s spread the good news and manifest a stable healthy earth.
Solar Panel Photo by American Public Power Association on Unsplash
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