﻿Over the span of two centuries, major innovations in fossil fuel-generated technologies
have created unprecedented prosperity. Unfortunately, this flurry of activity has a cost.
The collective pollution from burning fossil fuels has raised the average temperature of the
planet more than one-degree Celsius, triggering more extreme natural disasters. Rapid ecological
changes are causing species to go extinct at an unprecedented rate. Heat waves and pollution
are killing more people every year. As conditions worsen, they will threaten more life.
But, if there is one lesson to be learned from the unfolding coronavirus crisis,
it is that no amount of money, scientific prowess, or technological development can
substitute for early action in confronting a global catastrophe. The same lack of decisive,
coordinated action to stop greenhouse gas emissions has already taken a heavy toll.
Luckily, human actions are both the cause and solution to the problem,
and we have all the tools, technologies, and knowledge we need. So if you’re like me,
what you really want to know is what can you do about it? In this series, we’ll explore the
growing number of opportunities available to us to solve climate change and reshape our future.
But before we dig into it, let’s talk for a minute about the chemistry of climate.
The headline-grabbing greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), but other
heat-trapping gases include methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases.
Their levels in our atmosphere are measurable and have never been higher than they are today.
What is helpful, is that scientists can translate the warming potential of each of
these gasses into their equivalent in carbon dioxide, which I’ll refer to as CO2e.
This is one metric ton of CO2e. A megaton is a million and a gigaton
one billion of these. Humans were responsible for 55.3 gigatons of CO2e in 2018.
As it turns out, taking aggressive actions to reduce these emissions is not expensive.
The savings from implementing these solutions overwhelms what they cost, creates more jobs,
and makes governments and businesses more competitive. We do not have to
abandon capitalism, ground all air travel, or sacrifice our high living standards.
When our governments implement good policy, the market responds and emissions fall.
For example, one year ago, for the first time, renewable energy supplied more in the United
States than burning coal. Less than a decade ago coal produced half the electricity in the country.
This did not happen by accident. Germany, the United States, and China - in particular
- invested to make solar and wind the cheapest forms of energy in two-thirds of the world today.
Clean power is now winning head-to-head competitions with fossil fuel power plants,
and their prices are only continuing to fall. Most of us haven’t even noticed a change in
the way our electricity is generated because our refrigerators and air conditioners continue to run
just as cold as they did before they were powered by wind and sunlight.
But decarbonizing how we generate electricity is the easy, first step. There are many tough
challenges in every sector of the economy. The authority on the matter, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change is clear: we must stabilize global warming at 1.5 degrees
Celsius by 2100. Having already passed 1 degree C of warming, there is not a second to lose.
The sheer power and speed of the effects of global warming are terrifying, but the solutions are
empowering. If we rapidly cut our emissions we will eventually stop the concentration of CO2e
in the atmosphere. And soon after, it will begin to fall, an event billions of us have
a chance to experience in our lifetimes. The unwelcome news is energy demand is on pace
to increase substantially in the coming decades as the global population approaches 10 billion.
This will make it even harder to balance how to use our land: to grow food,
to protect and expand carbon absorbing forests, or to raise crops for biofuels.
The good news, as you’ll see in the first episode of this series,
is that more than 50% of all human emissions are concentrated in just
seven countries and can be reduced through a handful of well-designed policies.
We Americans are the biggest emitters on a per-person basis. One of the most fundamental
things we can do is talk to each other: to educate our family, friends, and coworkers about these
solutions and why they are so important. So that’s exactly what this series will do:
give those working on the frontlines a platform to share the solutions they’re discovering.
We will hear from scientists, journalists, farmers, and many other experts.
The bottom line is wherever you are, there are multiple ways to make an impact. Every ounce
of carbon we avoid emitting matters, because every fraction of a degree of warming matters
in this struggle. For extended episodes of
the Climate Change Solutions show, check out my new subscription website, TDC.video.
Members get special access to much longer versions of each episode,
and links to all of my research to save you tons of time while you dig even deeper.
I’ve also remastered dozens of my best videos from the history of this channel and re-released
them there all advertisement-free. So start your 7-day free trial right now
at TDC.video, linked below and support my ability to cover the solutions to Climate
Change in the detailed way they deserve. But however you end up watching it helps,
and I appreciate it. Until next time, for TDC, I’m Bryce Plank.