I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season, even if you don’t celebrate any late December holidays. I enjoyed some much needed time with family away from my normal routines. I want to express my deepest gratitude to anyone who reads this blog and I hope we can grow that readership in 2022.
2021 was certainly a pretty intense year, and not just for the climate. Joe Biden took over as president with the promise of taking serious climate action, but right now we’re still waiting. The weather was predictably chaotic. We had numerous reminders that the climate is destabilizing at an alarming rate. Events like the deep freeze in Texas and the heat waves in the northwest showed us what happens when abnormal weather collides with outdated infrastructure.
We also received several new scientific reports, including the 6th IPCC assessment on the state of the climate. The Secretary-General of the UN referred to the report as a “red alert” for our civilization. We learned that the ocean’s currents may be in danger of collapse, and the Greenland Ice Sheet may already be doomed. COP26 came and went without any big revelations. Right at the end of the year, we learned that something nicknamed the “doomsday glacier” may collapse within 5 years. We also got an excellent climate comedy to entertain and possibly frighten us a little on Christmas Eve.
We saw some good news as well. The arrival of the electric pickup truck in America was a smashing success. Renewable energy had a banner year. We saw advances in carbon-free steel and cement, as well as a plethora of new meat alternatives. The private sector is racing ahead on climate solutions, even as the federal government drags its feet.
Over the break I’ve been thinking about what’s next for the blog. If BBB is passed, then we’ll talk about it, but if it doesn’t then we’ll move on. I’m already sick of the process. That being said, there is still a lot of action happening on the climate front. I will begin the year by breaking down the most important actions we can take as individuals, and the most important solutions we need to implement as a society. These will be based on numerous reports and books, especially Drawdown by Paul Hawken.
While I will be covering any major scientific updates and climate events, I will do my best to stay positive and relevant. I would be lying if I said I felt optimistic about the future, and that’s obviously going to show in my posts. But, I hope to provide solutions-based posts that can help you prepare for the future.
We should remember that there is no point of no return. Things can always get worse and there is always a benefit to taking action. We want to avoid 1.5 degrees C, that seems pretty unlikely at this point. Maybe we can stop at 2 degrees, maybe we can’t. But 2.5 is better than 3, and 3 is better than 3.5. As a species we are extremely adaptable. Cooperation and adaptability are the things that made us the dominant force on this planet, and those attributes will be essential if we’re going to flourish in this changing world.
Another theme I’d like to explore this year is a bit more abstract, involving geologic time. I believe we have entered a new geologic epoch called the Anthropocene. While still unofficial at this point, I think the evidence is pretty strong. Granted I’m in no way qualified to make a scientific assessment. However, between altering the climate and causing the 6th mass extinction in Earth’s history, there’s little doubt that humans have driven nearly all the major changes on this planet over the last 200 years.
There isn’t a square inch of this world, from the depths of the Mariana Trench to the top of Mount Everest that hasn’t been impacted by humans. We now have the power to completely destroy our home or to build a durable, sustainable civilization. We are going through something I call the Great Bottleneck and how we make it through may determine the future of our species for the next few centuries or perhaps even longer.
If I have one purpose with this blog, it’s to do something, no matter how small, to bring us closer to sustainability. The future I envision is something like the Star Trek universe. I know I’ll never see it, but hopefully, if we work together, we can set the foundation for our descendants to build a world based on science, morals, and equity.
So, here’s to a happy, prosperous 2022. I’ve made a few personal resolutions, like learning to play the keyboard, becoming fluent in Italian (something I started early last year as a COVID project), and quite possibly buying a house. I’m sure we’re all hoping 2022 is a bit less chaotic and stressful than the last 2 years.
In the environmental movement there tends to be a lot of hyperbole. Everything seems like a catastrophe and I think we all have a tendency to tune it out. If everything is terrible, then terrible is normal. But, truthfully, the next 8 years are critical. Ideally we would hit carbon neutrality by 2050. There is a specific amount of carbon we can burn and still stay under 1.5 degrees C (called our Carbon Budget). We’re currently on pace to spend our carbon budget by 2030, and our spending is increasing. Without major changes in the next 8 years, we simply won’t hit our targets and 2 degrees becomes a best case scenario.
Next week I will reveal my initial climate reading list for 2022. If there’s a good (or bad) climate book you’ve read, I’m always interested in recommendations.
Thanks again. Here is hoping that 2022 is the year we put COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, and we finally get some serious climate legislation.
The Mangrove 