Climate change, greener living, energy, and controversy

This post will be slightly more political than what you have come to expect from Green In Oak Park.  Fair warning.

How many changes have we seen in the mainstream environmental movement since the 1970s, which is when it first entered the public consciousness? Does anyone remember Woodsy the Owl?

Woodsy the Owl was created for the first Earth Day in 1970. Back in the 70s, we saw Woodsy on television, and we saw public service announcements reminding us not to litter, but we were still driving cars running on leaded gasoline and in general not paying much attention to our energy usage until the speed limit was temporarily lowered to 55 mph. In the 80s, the most prominent environmental issue that I remember was acid rain, in large part caused by manufacturing and motor vehicle emissions. Does anyone remember this episode of Diff’rent Strokes when Kimberly washed her hair with rainwater and it turned green?

Certainly not the most cerebral treatment of the subject, but not bad for an 80s kids’ show.

So these days the prominent issue of the day is climate change.

The issue has become highly politicized.  On one side we have true believers who think we need to stop and reverse climate change right now, and the other side believes it’s a bunch of hooey.  In a more or less wide swath in the middle, we have the undecided, and I’m including those who lean one way or the other but have not fully made up their minds in that group.

In the interests of full disclosure, I’ll tell you that I side with those who believe in climate change.  Just like everyone else who pays attention to the news, I know about Climategate, but for many reasons I don’t think the investigation into it demonstrated any data manipulation and an independent UK Panel cleared the researchers as well.  As far as I can tell, the evidence for man-made climate change far outweighs the evidence for the opposite conclusion.

Other than legislators who write laws to affect climate change and CEOs of companies that emit greenhouse gases, do I need to convince anyone that climate change is real?  What about the everyday person?  I don’t believe I need to convince that person, and The Frugal Girl – who herself is not convinced of climate change – agrees with me.  Her skepticism isn’t changing her family’s habits, and as she notes, there are plenty of other reasons to live green.  Those reasons happen, in most cases, to align with the goals and reasons of those who live a greener life because of climate change anyway.  Reducing energy usage, finding cleaner alternative sources of energy, and protecting our land, water, and air are all worthy goals just the same.  I assume my readers agree, or else they wouldn’t bother reading.

My ultimate point is that you can live a greener life and have some skepticism about climate change or even not believe in climate change at all.  Those are not inconsistent or contradictory viewpoints.

Finding alternative sources of energy is timely right now not only because Earth Day has just passed, but also because of a more serious situation we have going on right now.  I’m talking about the April 21 oil rig explosion that has caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf.  Eleven people are have been missing since and are presumed dead, stopping the leak could take weeks, the impact on wildlife cannot be overstated, and already economically-depressed regions in the South will take a very large financial hit.

In short, the severity of this disaster – ecologically, environmentally, and financially – is difficult to exaggerate.

If the United States, the country that uses the most oil by far including taking per capita data into account cannot manage an about-face and start using alternative energy sources right now, our level of usage will necessitate future offshore drilling to keep up.  Is this the price we pay?  I believe, especially given that we have other sources of energy, this price is too high.

You also don’t have to believe in climate change to see the situation in the Gulf as the horror that it is.