Want to Support the Paris Agreement Goals? Here are four simple ways you can help

The earth took a big breath filled with hope when the United States returned to the conversation about climate change to change the status quo and work away from the cliff.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels

Rejoining the Paris Agreement is a symbolic way for the U.S. to engage with the topic — or to at least look at the possibility and a path toward change. Not to say it won’t actually make a difference, as we have already seen some actions like stoping the Keystone pipeline; but we must be realistic about the real commitment from countries around the world [including many European countries] which continue to put profit over the environment, paving the way for companies to continue their polluting business as usual.

This can be depressing for many who wish governments could get their climate game on quicker, putting pressure on companies to produce cleaner products, plastic-free packaging, renewal energy, or more efficient refrigerants [yes, the fridge is on trial, and so is our beloved air condition].

The Greenhouse Gas Dilemma

The number one goal of the Paris Agreement is to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions [GHG] to decelerate climate change by slowing rising temperatures, to avoid or at least reduce widespread droughts and other erratic weather events pushing more people into extreme poverty and forced migration, among many other problems.

So what are Greenhouse Gases or GHG, and why are they harmful?

• In this Global Warming 101 article, NRDC explains, “Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane are gases that collect in the atmosphere and prevent heat from radiating from earth’s surface into space, creating what’s known as the greenhouse effect.” If we think about the ‘greenhouse effect’ and how we use it to keep plants warm during the winter months, then we can better understand how it works at a global level, especially during the heat of summer. Our planet is inside a greenhouse and we are pumping heat-trapping gases at a rapid rate.
• Another set of potent GHG is Fluorinated Gases used mainly in refrigerants, which have 1,000 to 9,000 times greater capacity to warm the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, as cited by Project Drawdown.

Small Steps, Big Pay Offs

There are a few small [yet, hugely beneficial] steps each of us can take to support the Paris climate agreement, while also pushing our governments to build a better system, among them are: Reduce plastic consumption, begin composting, buy organic, and switch to local, pasture-raised meats.

These four changes — if multiplied by as many of us who can commit to moving faster than our governments — can have a huge impact on the environment.

Reduce [or eliminate] Plastic Consumption

As I said in my previous article, our society runs on plastic. Plastic is everywhere and in everything, including our food and water supplies[seriously read the article], and most of it is subsidized with huge tax breaks.

Even though we concentrate on the pollution problems of the final product, especially single-use plastic packaging [only 10% of all plastic ever made has actually been recycled as reported by NPR/PBS Frontline special “Plastic Wars”], plastic’s detrimental impact on the environment begins at the source: Crude Oil and Natural Gas extraction.

• As explained by the Union of Concerned Scientists, drilling is closely associated with oil spills and accidents, like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster [among many others], which dumped 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico killing entire ecosystems and negatively affecting the economy.
• While fracking is linked with toxic water and air pollution, and methane leaks — methane being one of the GHG to avoid because as the EPA clearly states, “Pound for pound, the comparative impact of CH4 [methane] is 25 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.” Even though CO2 is the chief contributor to climate change, methane is another consequence of burning fossil fuels, accounting for 28% of total methane emissions in 2018.
• Other major emissions from plastic production processes include sulfur oxides, nitrous oxides, methanol, ethylene oxide, and volatile organic compounds, as the Ecology Center reports.
• Finally, plastic that doesn’t end up in our oceans, our agricultural soils, our drinking water, or in our food, is burnt releasing a slew of GHG, increasing emissions, and further contributing to climate change.

For more information on the environmental and social impact of plastic watch “The Story of Plastic,” I beg you to spend some time on this topic and see the bigger picture.

Start Composting

Composting has gain momentum in the past few years in cities around the country and the world. Cities like San Francisco and Seattle have made it a mandatory requirement of waste management, while cities like Denver [where I live] tip-toe around suggesting residents join the compost services by investing the $10 dollars a month to have their organic waste picked up in a separate container.

Many companies are sprouting to supplement city services for those of us living in apartment buildings without a composting system. For those with more outdoor space, and the adventurous spirit to start a compost pile, there are many online resources to support your efforts to turn those scraps into compost.

Composting is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint because it diverts organic waste, like food scraps and yard waste, from landfills where it would otherwise produce huge amounts of GHG.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, accounting for approximately 15.1% of emissions in 2018 — equivalent to 20.6 million passenger vehicles driven for one year or the CO2 emissions from more than 11.0 million homes’ energy use for one year.
• As we just learned, methane is short-lived in comparison to CO2 but its impact on the environment is 25 times greater.

The Scale Down Project

Buy Organic

Organic has become a greenwashing label for industrial monocrop agriculture around the world. Yet, in the bigger scheme of things [and trust me when I say I’d prefer to eat *only* what my farmer friends grow], it is a step in the right direction — and so it is a compromise. Organic is the first step toward rebuilding a better relationship with nature, followed [hopefully] by agroforestry practices that take into consideration the health of the entire ecosystem — but one can only dream.

Besides the health benefits of eating organic food — fewer chemicals into our body — the biggest benefit of going organic is the mass reduction of chemical pesticides and fertilizers dumped into our soils, water sources, and air. This reduction dominos into a big saving in water resources because chemical agriculture requires massive amounts of water.

Intensive chemical agriculture emits Nitroux Oxide [N2O], a name we don’t often hear when talking about GHG and climate change, even though the impact of 1 pound of N2O on warming the atmosphere is almost 300 times that of 1 pound of carbon dioxide.

• Industrial Agriculture is the largest source of Nitrous oxide [N2O] emissions in the US, at about 77.8% of total U.S. N2O emissions in 2018, as cited by EPA, because many of the most dangerous synthetic chemicals used in agriculture are still allowed on our food production.
• Spoiler: Europe is no better; not only is chemical agriculture a problem in many EU countries, but they also export the majority of the most dangerous agricultural chemicals to the Americas, Africa, and Asia, so their impact is that much greater.

Buying organic goes beyond food products. Cotton, a commodity we wear and sleep on [and eat] is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to chemical pesticides. Considered the dirtiest agricultural crop, cotton accounts for 16% of world pesticide consumption. Buying organic cotton products supports a better agricultural system that reduces N2O emissions, saves water, and protects farmers.

Helen Browning Farm, Swindon, UK

Switch to Pasture-raised Local, Meats

Meat consumption is one of the most controversial topics of the day, and rightfully so. Industrial meat production is the most detrimental way to produce meat, period. From its social impact to its environmental impact, it is one of the most damaging aspects of our diet. It has created a tidal wave of vegetarians and vegans who jump [open armed] into the hands of pesticide and fertilizer laden GMO monocrop soy meat substitutes wrapped in plastic — the irony.

Why Local?

The key to this switch is the local connection. Nowadays we find pasture-raised meats from countries like Brazil, and others sharing the Amazon, where 80% of the rampant destruction of ecosystems and devastating deforestation is caused by industrial agriculture and livestock production. Deforestation is one of the leading causes of climate change, reducing the capacity of forests to absorb or ‘sequester’ carbon, plus releasing massive amounts of CO2 upon cutting of trees and burning of land.

Pastured Vs Industrial

The first difference between the two is cost — yes, it cost more to consume ethically-raised meat because we are paying for the ecosystem services provided by soil, water, air, pollinators, and other natural resources; none of which are covered under industrial meat production which produces all of the GHG above mentioned plus a few more:

• Giant swaths of land are planted with GMO soy and corn using vast amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers producing Nitrous Oxide to feed industrial livestock.
• Industrial livestock production is responsible for 38% of Methane Emissions in the U.S. in 2018, including the gases released by animal digestion, plus those released by poop lagoons [which leak into nearby water sources, travel through rivers, and end up in the ocean where the heavy metals and chemical residues create algae blooms].
• One noxious gas rare spoken about is Ammonia [NH3], produced mostly by pig and poultry farms. Ammonia is considered a ‘sticky gas’ that adheres itself to other GHG to create a lingering haze of gases that destroy land and water ecosystems, known as the Eutrophication of ecosystems, and the foul smell with which communities around the country fight daily.

Conversely, pastured livestock following silvopasture practices and rotational grazing systems can aid in carbon sequestration, it supports soil health, prevents water source contamination, promotes clean air, and respects animals and farmers. Supporting local ranchers and farmers who are striving to produce ethical meat also supports the local economy, which should be another of the climate agreement goals, after all, we cannot live without responsible farmers — even if the tech industry believes food production should now transition to a lab.

~ Paula