Located in Waubay, South Dakota, the Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) had their annual conference for the North Wind Region. This region includes Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska. This was a place for climate activists to come together, have conversations, and listen to speakers. The speakers talked about Geothermal Energy, Copper Mining, Agro Farming and Silvopasture, Carbon Taxing, and so much more.
Read MoreCOVID-19 pandemic caused the shut down of the majority of businesses as well as the dramatic decrease of fossil fuels exploitation. Waste-emission was practically ended because hundreds of thousands of factories stopped working, millions of vehicles stopped operating, which helped improve air quality in many places across the planet. Even the carbon emission was dramatically dropped globally. In short, all the measures in an effort to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic have had a positive impact on the climate and the environment within such a short time. But will this pandemic have a positive or negative impact in the long terms?
Short-term positivity, long-term negativity
COVID-19 was, and is, an obvious catastrophe: overflown hospitals, increasing unemployment rate due to economic recession, etc. This pandemic crisis is also a turning point for another upcoming global crisis, which happens slowly but affects deeply. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterrres stated: “Whilst the disease is expected to be temporary, climate change has been a phenomenon for many years, and will remain with us for decades and require constant action.”
Our reaction toward this pandemic will be the precursor for the climate change crisis in the upcoming decades. Efforts in recovering the economy – including economic boost policy, aiding funds, and programs for unemployment – will contribute in the shaping of the future economy and stabilize people’s lives. However, the carbon emission amount will undoubtedly remain on this planet for the next thousands of years to come.
Changes in individual consumerism are not enough
It has been suggested that COVID-19 will be the main catalyst for the shift from consumerism to other concerns regarding climate change. However, quarantine and social distancing even contribute to an increase in consumerism since everyone rushes to grocery stores and stock up necessities. This is an iconic behavior of consumerism – the reason behind climate change.
Changes in individual consumption habits make people think that this is actually a positive sign for the environment. Some thought that after stocking up all the necessities, people might stop buying things uncontrollably. Changes in personal habits, especially in countries that have low consumption per capita, can lead to a lower waste emission. Nevertheless, this could only be a temporary consequence of peer pressures.
To make a better impact on decreasing global waste emission, changes in consumerism should not be limited at a personal scale, it needs to expand to a systemic scale. In China, a 25% decrease of waste emission was not because a person decided not to buy more toilet paper than needed, but because of the shutdown of industrial factories.
COVID-19 is still a catastrophe to climate
1. A declination in temporary waste emission.
According to Trafigura, a Singapore-based multinational commodity trading company, COVID-19 could cause the lowest oil demand in history, approximately 10 million b/d. This would have been good news for global pollution, however, it could signal a catastrophe because no one could guarantee whether the waste emission from oil consumption can still be maintained at such a low rate in the future. After such a long period of lockdown and social distancing, the economy will continue to operate, manufacturers will be recovered, and thus the pollution rate will increase again.
2. A delay in shifting from traditional energy sources to renewable energy.
The Economic recession due to COVID-19 has delayed the shift from traditional energy sources to renewable sources. Lockdown caused the markets and companies to close, which made some companies unable to maintain their budget for renewable energy projects such as solar panels and wind turbine installation.
Suggestions for new projects have also been pushed back due to the discontinuation of the global supply chain (the majority of solar panels and wind turbines are produced in China). Bloomberg NEF, a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and disruptive technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon economy, has lowered their expectations for the year 2020 in regards to the solar energy and electric vehicles market, indicating a deferral in the process of renewable energy shifting from traditional energy sources.
Photo Source // Triston Singleton
By: Lizzie Brown, Highlander Reporter
On Friday, Sept. 20, Denverites of all ages, races, and identities skipped school or work to assemble at Union Station and participate in the global climate strike. This was a student-led strike, the #FridaysForFuture movement coordinated and registered more than 5,000 events worldwide and over 4 million people participated according to their website (https://fridaysforfuture.org/news).
The movement formed after Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, and online sensation, went viral in August 2018 when she used Twitter and Instagram to advocate for political action in the face of our climate crisis while she skipped school for three weeks and set up a one-man picket fence outside of the Swedish parliament building, and spoke at the U.N Climate Action Summit (can be found on NBC, CBS or on Youtube).
A sizable herd of Regis students and faculty partook in the march as well. Regis’ Sustainability Club handed out fliers the days proceeding the strike and mobilized a group of about 12 Regis students and faculty to ride the bus idowntown; other Regis folks biked and met up before the march began, some met at the Colorado Capitol.
Ryan Harris, a senior at Regis, discussed his perspective around the climate crisis and his views on the empowerment of individuals within a group using their voices for change.
“As an individual, you can make a change,” he said. “As a group, we have a microphone and as an individual, we kind of have a whisper, right? So it’s kind of using your individual mindset to be a part of a bigger community.”
Nikki Best, a sophomore at Regis, talked about what the climate crisis means to her and how it felt to have the Regis community at the event.
“I’m fighting for government policies to help fight climate change, to make the U.S. reduce carbon emissions,” Best said. “It makes me feel really good; it makes me feel like Regis is wanting to do something about our climate and like I’m not alone.”
Above the demonstration, looking towards the sky, you could see construction workers and folks in parking garages taking photos and hollering hoots of support-- luncheon munchers stared out windows to the street and some passers-by simply raised a fist in solidarity-- point being, no one could ignore the plurality of beating drums and zealous chants ringing throughout Denver as the demonstration marched to the Colorado Capital. As the crowd settled, highschoolers performed songs, Dr. Maria Michael, an indigenous elder, led a prayer. An 8-year-old advocated for policy that limits the production single-use plastic, and the crowd roared for every single one and those to follow. It was an energetic, peaceful and passionate demonstration of the youth drive to sustain, or save, the planet.
Photo source: Chicago Tribune
By: Paul Hunter, Practicum Reporter
Despite years of scientists’ warnings, the United States has neglected to make combatting climate change a priority. According to the National Climate Assessment, a report released by the government, the United States is headed for economic, health, and environmental disaster by 2100. The report also clarified the role of humans in climate change and highlighted recent events that were exacerbated by the effects of climate change.
For the past 12 years, scientists have measured the effects of climate change to predict the outcomes of current degradation. The report is released every four years. This year, the report, which was commissioned by the Administration, paints a bleak picture. In the first paragraph of the report summary, it states, “Climate change creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth.” The following section highlights the ways climate change disproportionately affects the poor and marginalized around the world.
Released on the popular American holiday called Black Friday, the report has been scrutinized by some as having been buried. Al Gore, former Vice President and creator of the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” called out President Donald Trump on Twitter saying, “The President may try to hide the truth, but his own scientists and experts have made it as stark and clear as possible.”
The release of the report follows comments by Trump claiming that forest fires in California are happening more often because the National Forest Service fails to rake its forests.
Just before the release of the climate assessment, Trump posted on twitter, “Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?” The tweet has close to 30,000 retweets and 115,000 likes.
The climate assessment describes climate change’s effects on communities, the economy, water, health, indigenous peoples, ecosystem services, agriculture, infrastructure, oceans and coasts, and tourism and recreation. It links them all together in a final section titled “Interconnected Impacts.” In this section, the report shows how all effects are not singular; they are all interconnected and affect one-another.
The report predicts that annual deaths due to climate change will rise to the thousands by 2100. It also calculates the economic impacts of climate change on the United States, claiming that losses due to climate change will increase from the current $280 billion to $500 billion per year if we remain on the current path. On a local level, the report predicts detrimental impacts on the water supply for the West. Lake Meade has already witnessed a 60 percent loss in volume since the turn of the millennium.
The National Climate Assessment ended the report with recommendations on strategies, claiming that local governments will be the primary drivers of the green movement and adaptation. It addresses perceived challenges with potential solutions. From much of the content, it’s clear the biggest challenge for policy-makers will be getting taxpayers to agree to costly, but necessary adaptation policy.
