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Some thoughts about Green House Gas Emissions

Some thoughts about Green House Gas Emissions

The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are:
  • Electricity production (30% of 2014 greenhouse gas emissions) – Electricity production generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 67% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas.[2]
  • Transportation (26% of 2014 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90% of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes gasoline and diesel.[3]
  • Industry (21% of 2014 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily come from burning fossil fuels for energy as well as greenhouse gas emissions from certain chemical reactions necessary to produce goods from raw materials.
  • Commercial and Residential (12% of 2014 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and homes arise primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.
  • Agriculture (9% of 2014 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production
  • Land Use and Forestry (offset of 11% of 2014 greenhouse gas emissions) – Land areas can act as a sink (absorbing CO from the atmosphere) or a source of greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States, since 1990, managed forests and other lands have absorbed more CO from the atmosphere than they emit.

Emissions and Trends

Since 1990, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have increased by about 7%. From year to year, emissions can rise and fall due to changes in the economy, the price of fuel, and other factors. In 2014, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased compared to 2013 levels. This increase was due to a number of factors, including: cold winter conditions resulting in an increase in fuel demand, especially in residential and commercial sectors; an increase in transportation emissions resulting from an increase in vehicle miles traveled; and an increase in industrial production across multiple sectors also resulted in increases in industrial sector emissions.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/
It seems to me if we want to seriously reduce GHG emissions we have to invent new incentives that create “dis-incentives” to using fossil fuels. A carbon tax is the easy conclusion but politicians cannot agree on any particular form of a carbon tax; this greatly hampers our ability to implement renewable energy solutions to reduce reliance on fossil fuel usage. A carbon tax of $100 per ton of carbon emitted, I have heard, helped Sweden become basically fossil fuel free. The Netherlands created tax incentives that greatly increased the manufacture and usage of electric cars.
The ability to reduce carbon emissions 80% by the year 2050 (this is New York City’s goal) is predicated upon a relatively quick transition to widespread use of renewable energy; i.e., 1) electric cars and electric mass transit, 2) utilities that use renewable energy through district energy rather than the centralized grids that we now rely upon, 3) commercial and residential buildings that no longer use fossil fuels for their electricity and heating needs (through primarily solar sources with adequate back-up storage capabilities) and 4) industrial concerns that switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources (also primarily through solar sources with adequate back-up storage capabilities).
People and executives at fossil fuel and utility companies can argue that the transition cannot be quick because we do not have the ability to generate a significant percentage of our energy usage in the form of renewable energy technology; I say we are a creative species and the technology is here right now to produce 100% of our energy needs through renewable energy because our Sun is very democratic — it shines its light very evenly throughout our planet. I have heard a rumor that the patent for a battery storage technology that really works is held by an oil company.
This formidable task means re-pricing resources to reflect their “true” cost and that means looking at our economy more as a “resource based economy” rather than a “monetary based economy.” Another way to phrase the transition is that municipalities, companies and individuals have to look at the “triple bottom line” when making purchasing decisions: 1) financial concerns, 2) social concerns, and 3) environmental concerns.
In fact, I would argue that for the next thirty four years (until 2050) we should invert the “triple bottom line” to: 1) environmental concerns, 2) social concerns and only lastly 3) financial concerns. If we do not have enough food and water for an exponentially growing planetary human population all the money in the world will not mean much, in my opinion. In fact, the Diaspora that we are starting to see in places like Syria is literally the “tip of the iceberg,” both literally and figuratively.
I learned back in school that “money” is a medium of exchange and not a commodity unto itself (this is Economics 101). We have distorted the value of money and have made it a commodity unto itself diverting our finest minds into pursuing endeavors that produce no real value; all of this in the pursuit of financial gain.
 Our society has spent far too much time chasing a “hungry ghost” in the form of financial profit at the expense of social and environmental prosperity (I got the term “hungry ghost” from a friend of mine). The “monetary based economy” has created vast wealth for the few at the disastrous expense of the many: this just does not seem fair.
It is time for a change and it begins with all of us. The time is ripe for action and not debate…
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