As far as the environment goes, I'm pretty okay. I'm a recycler. Or at least a person who carefully sorts my trash, and puts out the recyclables in a clear plastic bag. (I do not, however, monitor to see whether that clear plastic bag full of recycle is actually picked up by a recycle truck, as opposed to the garbage truck. I do hope all those magazines, catalogues, and used legal pads don't end up in landfill.)
I replace my electronics when they stop working, not when there's a new, spiffier model out.
I donate my gently used clothing, and try to find recycling homes for my worn through sneakers and the worn out clothing that ain't no one gonna want to wear. (This has gotten more difficult, if not impossible, during the pandemic. Nike and H&M are no longer drop off spots.)
I (mostly) use public transportation, and throw on a fleece rather than jack the heat up another few degrees.
But I'm a regular Uber-er, so I'm a second hand consumer of gasoline. I don't keep my thermostat at 60 during the winter, or 80 during the summer. I haven't flown anywhere since October 2019, but that's not because I'm a No Fly person. By the end of this year, I'm pretty sure I'll have flown somewhere. I order online regularly, so the last mile to get stuff to me mostly uses fossil fuels vs. the shanks mare that would be deployed if I were buying it in a local store.
So, I have a footprint, and although I do donate to environmental groups, I'm probably not "carbon neutral."
Too bad we can't do something about global warming by worrying about it. If we could convert my frets, my toss and turn nights, to something environmentally beneficial, I could probably save the polar ice cap from melting and Florida from going under.
And I really hope the scientists/techies figure something out before I have to start spending my winters in rooms so cold that I can see my breath, and spending my summers wrapped in wet towels because AC is no longer allowed. Bring on those wind farms!
Anyway, it's not just carbon dioxide we need to be worrying about. Sure, that accounts for the lion's share of global warning, but it seems that one-quarter is caused by methane.
Where's all this methane coming from?
While "leaky [natural gas] wells and pipelines, and gassy coal mines" are culprits:
...methane is also emitted by belching cattle, rice paddies, forest fires, slash-and-burn agriculture, rubbish dumps, wastewater-treatment plants, cars and lorries, and natural ecosystems such as swamps, rivers and lakes. (Source: The Economist).
Most agricultural methane comes from cows and sheep. In other words, animals that chew their cud.
Even though many folks - largely middle and upper class folks in industrialized nations - are adopting vegetarian or vegan diets, meat has gotten cheaper over time, and those living in developing countries that are becoming more middle class are now consuming more of it.
It's not that feasible to think that, now that we've consumed our fill, we can tell those who can for the first time afford a steak, or even just a hamburger, that they can't eat meat. (Or drive a car, for that matter.) But there are things that can be introduced into the animal diet that reduces the methane that ruminants belch and fart out.
I don't eat a ton of meat, but I'm by no means a vegetarian (let alone a vegan). But I'm all for trying to cut animal methane emissions wherever and however we can. So I think I'll try to cut down a bit on beef. Maybe even, when I get back to eating out, giving up the occasional lamb chop or lamb burger I find myself craving.
But if they can cut down on methane emissions by adding, say, sea weed to a cow's diet, why not? Hiss, moo, bah! Let's do this.■
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