Consensus materializes around a very important fact: it is imperative that we move quickly to clean energy. However, even the best case scenario would not be enough to avoid climate catastrophe. Reason: the burning of fossil represents only about 70% of all emissions of greenhouse gases. The remaining 30% are from various causes that must also be addressed.Deforestation is a major cause in the process. Industrial agriculture also degrades the soil to the point where they emit CO2. Then, there is industrial farming that produces 90m tons of methane per year and most of nitrous oxide from human in the world. Both gases are much more harmful as CO2 with respect to global warming.
Livestock alone contributes to more global warming than all the cars, trains, airplanes and ships worldwide. The industrial production of cement, steel and plastic is also major sources of greenhouse gases. Besides, our landfills pump huge amounts of methane, i.e., 16% of the total quantity worldwide.
However, this is not an impossible task. A number of countries have already managed to achieve high levels of human development with very low consumption levels. This awareness of the dangers of fossil fuels represents a significant change in our consciousness. As important as clean energy could be, the science is clear: it will not save us from climate change.
Simple little things every day can reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Better insulation of walls and ceilings as well as a suitable choice of windows, for example, will allow reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. When buying electrical appliances, we can choose products with low energy consumption. For home lighting, it is best to buy energy-saving bulbs that consume five times less energy and last eight times longer.
