What You Can Do To Keep Global Temperatures Below A 1.5°C Increase.

The latest news from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change paints a troubling picture of our future. As The New York Times recently reported in its article “Why Half a Degree of Global Warming Is a Big Deal,” there are serious consequences ahead if we don’t curb climate pollution, and quickly.

Recent news around climate change has been discouraging.

“The Earth has already warmed 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 19th century. Now, a major new United Nations report has looked at the consequences of jumping to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius.

Half a degree may not sound like much. But as the report details, even that much warming could expose tens of millions more people worldwide to life-threatening heat waves, water shortages and coastal flooding. Half a degree may mean the difference between a world with coral reefs and Arctic summer sea ice and a world without them.”

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-report-half-degree.html

We have 12 years to make enormous change.

Time is a big factor in all of this. We need to quickly transform our energy economy, in order to leave a planet that’s inhabitable for our children and grandchildren.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just scare tactics or hyperbole. The New York Times reports that “at current rates of warming, the world will likely cross the 1.5 degree threshold between 2030 and 2052.” That’s just a few years away. Additionally, “holding warming to 1.5 degrees would entail a staggering transformation of the global energy system beyond what world leaders are contemplating today.”

There is a lot we can do individually.

The good news in all of this: the solutions we need already exist. And personal actions can add up to make meaningful contributions. Drawdown.org has put together an incredible list of all the ways we can tackle the climate crisis. Most importantly, their list is quantified and sorted so you can tell just how impactful each solution is compared to the rest.

Some of the specific steps you can take include:

• Eat a plant-rich diet
• Reduce your transportation fuel usage
• Grow more trees
• And, of course, switch to renewable energy

Below is a snapshot from Drawdown’s website. You can see that rooftop solar is ranked #10 out of 80 solutions in terms of its potential effectiveness in reducing climate pollution.

Solar can make a huge impact.

If you are still considering going solar, the world needs you now. If you’d like to talk to a solar advisor, we are ready to help you go solar and start making a huge impact right away.

If you already have solar, help us grow this community quickly by having deliberate conversations with your friends and family about going solar. You can even earn referral rewards if your friends go solar with us! Just give us a call or email, or fill out the form below.

Our future needs us all to tackle this challenge head on.