Design a new vision for energy

Here are some thoughts on global warming communications and individual actions. Not a campaign jsut yet. But a start.

The media is doing a good job trying to communicate the macro causes and effects of global warming. However, some people may have a hard time relating to environmental problems that seem far away at the earth’s poles or at distant power plants. One approach is to bring it into people’s everyday lives. Like politics, make global warming local, personal, moral and a pocket book issue. Individual actions are also suggested. Some ideas:

Increase Understanding and Action

1. Make the impact of global warming more local in communications Provide people with data as to how global warming will affect their state, city and their families directly. In addition to flooded property, severe weather, increased health issues, disruption of crops, forests and animals, here are a few examples of disruption at the state level. Michigan for example:

· Increased temperatures will accelerate air pollution and ozone causing more health issues.

· The nature of our forests will change with northern species being replaced with grasslands and southern Michigan type trees. “Up-North” may look more like Ingham County in 50 years.

· Certain crops will be able to grow further north, while others such as cherries and blueberries may disappear from the Lower Peninsula.

· Less snow and ice will greatly deter winter sports such as ice fishing, skiing, snowmobiling and reducing tourism and related jobs. This is already happening.

· Water levels may continue to drop and water temperatures will rise. Shipping and boating will be hurt and many Michigan waters may no longer support trout, muskie, whitefish, walleye and other cold water fish, again hurting tourism and jobs. (I have detailed sources for all of these.)

The Union of Concerned Scientists has a lot of state specific impacts. http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glregionmic.html As well as the National Wildlife Federation http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/states.cfm the EPA http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/UniqueKeyLookup/SHSU5BUTCC/$File/mi_impct.pdf and the Michigan Environmental Council http://www.mecprotects.org/pr3_22_06.htm

2. Make the impact of global warming more individual in communications:

a. It’s hard to relate to the US federal budget deficit of $9 trillion, but breaking it down to $30,000 per person makes it more understandable.

b. Per Carbonfund.org, the average American is responsible for 10 tons of direct emissions, including your home, car and air travel, but a whopping 24 tons of CO2 per capita when you include your impact from purchasing clothes, food, using roads and all the other emissions throughout the economy.

3. Make the causes of and solutions for global warming more specific:

a. Explain the connection between an individual’s actions, power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Give examples of how our everyday activities impact global warming.

b. For example, the electricity needed to burn one 100 watt incandescent light bulb for six hours a day for a year requires burning about 180 pounds of coal which emits 300 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.

c. Replacing that bulb with a 26 watt compact fluorescent light bulb will save about 130 pounds of coal, 220 pounds of CO2 and $16.00 a year in electric bills.

4. Make the IMPACTS of global warming individual pocketbook issues:

a. Flooding of property in some areas

b. Increased health issues and costs

c. Increased A/C costs

d. Disruption of crops, forests, animals, tourism, etc.

e. It may be much better for the economy if we fight global warming rather than allow it.

5. Make the SOLUTIONS for global warming individual pocketbook issues:

a. In addition to addressing the above impacts, individuals can fight global warming and save money at the same time in their households. For example in Michigan:

b. By cutting your car’s gasoline consumption by 20%, you can save $400 and 3,000 lbs. of CO2. (Through driving less, using better driving techniques and vehicle maintenance. Buying a more fuel efficient car will save even more.)

c. By cutting your heating use by 20%, you can save $300 and 3,000 lbs. of CO2. (Dial down the thermostat, insulate, calk, maintain furnace)

d. By cutting your electricity use by 20%, you can save $100 and 2,000 lbs. of CO2. (Turn up the A/C, use compact fluorescent light bulbs, install Energy Star appliances)

e. Altogether, you can save $800 on your energy bills and 8,000 lbs. of CO2 a year.

6. Broaden the impact and solutions of global warming into social justice issues. For example, by conserving energy and cutting pollution and greenhouse gasses, we:

a. Have more money to spend on better things (education? health care? 401k?)

b. Reduce fuel prices for all of us, especially the neediest (less demand = lower prices?)

c. Prolong the time before fuels are much less affordable – especially for our poorest

d. Allow more time for alternative fuels and renewable energy to be implemented

e. Reduce balance of payments and reliance on imported fuels

f. Reduce ozone, asthma and other health problems, particularly for the uninsured

7. Make the causes and effects of global warming more visual. Communicate better to visual learners and all of us by showing the many causes and solutions in graphic form.

Some Global Warming Reduction Actions for Individuals

The following are some thoughts on what an individual can do to fight global warming.

8. Set a Good Example

a. Do all you can to reduce greenhouse emission at home, work, school and in the car through energy conservation and efficiency and using renewable energy if possible.

b. Encourage and help others to do the same.

c. Stop reading this paper for 2 minutes. Get up from your chair and turn the thermostat down to 68 degrees or lower (in winter) or up to 78 degrees (in summer) and turn off all un-needed lights. Welcome back!

9. Contact the Media In addition to letters to the editors, contact newspaper editors and writers, magazines, local and national radio and TV stations and network newsrooms and other media:

a. Ask them for more stories on global warming, what is happening politically, what other states and countries are doing, what we can do as individual and collectively to slow it (emphasis on solutions), success stories, etc.

b. Suggest stories to the above groups by supplying ideas, resources from the web, etc.

10. Contact People of Influence Ask ministers, managers, teachers and others to promote global warming reduction. Provide them with appropriate materials about the impacts, causes and solutions.

11. Contact Companies Contact store managers or even the company’s top management if you see there is an opportunity for them to save energy and lessen global warming emissions. Call or mail letters (US Postal System) to corporate CEO’s and CFO’s directly (their offices are more likely to take action):

a. Ask auto companies to produce more efficient cars and practice energy and CO2 saving practices in their facilities

b. Ask utilities to reduce smokestack emissions, use renewable energy sources and encourage energy efficiency among their customers (communicate methods and offer incentives).

c. Ask ExxonMobil to work on solutions rather than hiding the problem.

d. Ask lighting stores to encourage them to use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). (Ask Home Depot and Lowe’s why they promote CFLs but do not use them in their own lighting department display lamps.)

e. Contact stores (malls, schools, offices and other) that are too warm in the winter. Many retail stores keep their thermostats (winter setting) at 72º while most of us keep our homes at 68º. Ask them to dial down to 68º or less to save fuel.

f. In warm weather, ask building managers to “dial up” the A/C in order to stop wasting electricity and creating CO2. And if you see a store’s parking lot lights on during the day, ask them to turn them off.

g. Environmental groups can provide company addresses, web sites, CEO and CFO names, talking points, sample letters, etc.

12. Contact Governments

a. The federal government may be global warming impotent until there is an administration change. In the mean time, concentrate efforts on state and local governments

b. Many state governments are taking charge in reducing CO2, improved building standards, promoting energy efficiency programs, regulating utility emissions and renewable energy programs, etc.

c. Contact governors, energy offices, state legislators and local government leaders to encourage global warming reduction programs.

13. Support federal and state gasoline tax increases with an offset in other taxes or the additional taxes earmarked for alternative fuel research or highway construction. A higher gasoline price motivates drivers to buy fuel efficient vehicles and adopt fuel saving driving behaviors (For example, car pooling, better vehicle maintenance, less speeding and jack rabbit acceleration and more demand for and usage of public transportation)

14. Ask your employer, place of worship and local school district, city and county if they have an energy efficiency plan.

15. Support and campaign for federal, state and local candidates who promote positive environmental actions.

16. Ask environmental, religious and other groups to ask their members to commit to reducing global warming. Ask them to have their members sign a pledge that they will implement and follow energy efficiency practices, promote such practices to at least two other people.

17. Ask organizations to turn global warming reduction into a movement. Ask them to:

a. Provide a vision of what global warming reduction will look like

b. Let individuals know they are not victims but are very enabled to make an impact in their lives, families, homes, cars, place of work and beyond

c. Provide tools, success stories and encouragement to influence them to make change.

18. Show Appreciation If someone or organization does something to reduce global warming, show appreciation. Call them or send them a note. Perhaps environmental groups could have an honor roll where members could post their appreciation.