Closing the Faucet: Slowing Climate Change

Picture this: you are 30 minutes into watching Titanic for the umpteenth time and as always Jack saves Rose and their tragedy begins; and so does yours, when you remember that you ran a bath 30 minutes ago. You rush into the bathroom and see that the tub is overflowing, the faucet is wide open, and Jack isn’t the only one drowning tonight. In this moment, do you call a family meeting, hand out sponges and try to soak up the water one squeeze at a time? Or do you shut off the faucet, pull the drain and then assess the damage. Common sense dictates that you would choose the latter. Why then do we adopt half measures when it comes to climate change?

We need to ‘close the faucet’, to attack climate change at the source by adopting Zero Emissions policies at a national level. This means holding our policy makers accountable and seeking to change the system starting from the top. We claim to be the mecca of innovation and technology; there is no reason why we cannot set an example by mandating green policies in industry. Especially when we as a country account for about 15% of global imports. At this point even stopping emissions isn’t enough. We need to have a net positive impact on the environment and reverse the damage we have done so far. By ‘pulling the drain’, removing carbon pollution from the atmosphere through the means of reforestation, soil carbon sequestration and other carbon removal innovations, we can mitigate and hope to reverse the damage to our atmosphere.

Mistakes have already been made, and we have made a mess of our home. Now is the time to limit the damage and secure a better future for mankind… our ship can still can be saved.

1. How many countries have adopted zero emission standards?
2. What’s the best way to remove carbon from the atmosphere?
3. What is reforestation?

Image: https://pix4free.org/photo/38113/zero-emissions.html