A 4 Hour Debate On Our Changing Climate!

Got some time off this month? This one is worth it…

Before you dive in, read below to get my perspective and thoughts on this “debate.” All of these speakers in these debates will have their bias and it can be tricky to translate what is what. With that said, if you ever want to chat planet and local sustainability, I am happily available on our FB and Instagram. – Harry at SEG , FB: @segenergy – IG: @sustainableenergygroup

Bottom-line, the only constant is change. We don’t know what will happen exactly but we know what feels good to do and what feels like “business as usual.” There is a middle ground that is rooted in positive action.

Key Take-aways:

Today’s forest won’t be like tomorrow’s forest.
Today’s coast won’t be tomorrow’s coasts.
Humans play a part and we have options that create less pollution.
Oil, Coal, Gas are fossil fuels that create pollution and burning them releases greenhouse gases and other harmful chemicals.
Switching to Gas, as we have seen in California has lowered emissions and severity of pollution.
Solar is cleaner and now less expensive that Gas, Oil, Coal.
Climate is always changing, it’s what we do with that fact that matters the most.
Because our population is increasing and we have chosen to modify and live and in changing forests and coastlines, impacts of changing climate will have big effects in many areas as we need to help people relocate around when disaster strikes.
There are forces pushing narratives on both sides and in this debate it feels very center-ish with some outlining points that need to be looked at with a discerning eye. It’s ok to question and do research.

Some big points mentioned:

Helping people is not just about energy and global warming – People also need food, water, shelter, education, safety, and more.
Education is paramount, the more we enable quality education for all, the more people’s situations improve.

Some big thoughts from my point of view:

Gas is not clean although it is cleaner and needed to help the transition to better clean renewable sources. It seems like one of the speakers leans heavily on gas as a positive but leaves our some negatives like huge leaks happening worldwide. We have opportunity to do more solar, wind and other technologies (like smaller scale nuclear) as well as innovative energy storage and batteries but greed and profit gets in the way.

I hold a high value in biodiversity and not just changes for humans. We need to preserve biodiversity and I think nature is one of the most amazing things we have on this planet. Need a reminder? Close your eyes and imagine your favorite natural place (beach, river, field, mountain, lake). How do you feel? What do you hear? If we don’t consider the natural world what will we have left of true beauty? Concrete, asphalt and buildings? What happens when all the air, water and land is polluted?

As mush as these speakers know, I feel predicting what is actually going to happen in the future is really complex. It’s wild to see how politics, narratives and media pushes people so far left or right that they are frozen to do the real changes that are right in front of them and will have a positive effect on the planet. I believe we should do all we can and that is a version “right livelihood.” The hardest part is knowing what is best thing to do, now, given all the variables. For us, solar is a very easy, affordable, advanced technology that has a big positive change for local prosperity and environment. If you are looking for more, check out our Sustainable Guide and support the local people, orgs, businesses and groups and help create the change we want to see.

Which leads me to my favorite cartoon:

Narratives are going to push to do nothing, and that would be fine if the choices we were making were rooted in helping the people and planet not profit. Narratives are going to push to “everything or else” and that sort of jolt was needed, now we have to sort through the poli-tricks and act on what is the best, most effective, “lowest hanging fruit” to help people and the planet. It may still involve pressure at the highest level to get “business as usual” to change their direction. Revert to the cartoon above for some easy ones, and if it feels like it’s cleaning air, food, water and energy than its a step in the right direction.