The road out of hell

It’s good to know that somebody’s got a plan

Last week, I looked at two of the commonly discussed solutions to climate change – electric vehicles and eating less meat and dairy – as well as two solutions that you don’t hear so much about – reducing food waste and buying less. These actions all help us lower carbon emissions. But our individual actions are tiny, and looking at the problem this way often makes it seem overwhelming. Sometimes we need to see the bigger picture.

As a starting point for climate change solutions, one of the best sources I’ve found is Project Drawdown. This non-profit organisation presents us with a map for how we can reach the point where greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are declining – using technology that is available today. I’ve included their map here, because there’s something encouraging about seeing that there is actually a plan. If you are interested, you can take a look on their website for more information - they’ve also got a larger version of the graphic if you find the writing too small to see.

The Project Drawdown map shows us that there is indeed a place for electric vehicles. But other actions will have a greater impact – look at the size of the green circle labelled “address waste and diets”. That’s the difference we can make shifting to a diet with less meat and dairy, and less wastage.

Another insight from the map is that taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere isn’t a big part of the solution. Planting more trees to offset the greenhouse gases we emit may help a bit, but not much. Most of the solution comes from reducing what we are putting into the atmosphere (sources) rather than increasing what we take out (sinks).

The map also shows why individual actions aren’t going to solve climate change. Many of the solutions are simply not things that we can change by living and shopping differently. Shifting electricity production away from fossil fuels is well outside the scope of what we can change by individual actions, for example, and that’s absolutely critical.

Still, taking individual action is important. Our actions as consumers put pressure on the companies we buy from. And, indirectly, our individual actions are a signal to governments and companies that fighting climate change is important to us.

For me, personally, it’s going to be a while before I’m buying a new (or rather a newer, second-hand) electric or hybrid car. So I’m focusing on my diet. I can’t imagine giving up milk in my coffee any time soon, but I can eat less meat, so I’m going to work on that. I’m also not the best at planning my meals, and my disorganisation means that sometimes I find food which has clearly gone off at the back of my fridge. So I’m trying out meal planning, to see whether that can help me reduce my food waste. I’ll let you know how I get on.

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The Turnstone comes out once a week. Usually, I write an original article once a fortnight and on alternate weeks I follow up with more information or some related links.

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