Forever Earthbound
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

The Great American Diet

8/18/2019

0 Comments

 
        Looking for a good investment?  You might want to check out the weight-loss industry. At $70 billion annually, that’s over $200 /year for every man, woman and child in the country!

        We’re surrounded by tempting food options.  It’s easy to over-indulge then hope for a magic bullet that would allow us to eat what we want yet stay trim.  But for most of us there is no simple fix.  Instead, a fundamental shift in our relationship with food and a modification in lifestyle is likely the key.  Perhaps summed up as: Eat Less - Move More.

       And what about energy use?  Yikes! we’re over-eaters here too.  With only 4.4% of the world’s population, Americans consume about 17% of the world’s energy.  Of course, the U.S. is a highly developed, industrialized nation, so we’d expect to use more energy than some.  But we tap into almost 1/5 of the world’s energy supply.  Seems like a lot! 

       Most of this energy is generated from burning fossil fuels causing yet another case of over-indulgence.  The global atmosphere’s “fighting weight” of CO2 has held fairly steady between 180 and 280 parts per million(ppm) for tens of thousands of years.  Oh-oh! We’re currently at 415 ppm and rising.  When we burn fossil fuels, carbon moves from the geosphere (below ground) to the biosphere (above ground).  The long-established carbon cycle critical to Earth’s environment since the dawn of humankind is getting thrown significantly out of whack.

       If only there were a cheap and easy “carbon-removal” magic bullet.  Then we could continue with our current energy use system, and technology would conveniently solve the excess atmospheric CO2 issue.  No such luck.

       Carbon-capture technologies do exist, and they’re an important component for reducing atmospheric carbon.  But what’s really needed is a fundamental shift in our relationship with energy.  Perhaps that could be summed up as: Use Less; Embrace Transition.
 
       Use Less – Each of us can be more mindful about our use of energy and find ways to reduce that use.  Legislation such as the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, H.R. 763 would make doing so easier.

       Embrace Transition – Fortunately, clean renewable energy is now often the low-cost leader.  It’s time to embrace these new options to save money and clean the air.

       There’s no time to lose because this is the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re forever… Earthbound. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm interested in the topics of sustainability and climate change especially in regards to our local area in southwest Wisconsin.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    Carbon Fee And Dividend
    Carbon Sequestration
    Climate Change
    Extreme Weather
    Health
    Local Food
    Lymes Disease
    Mercury Pollution
    Renewable Energy

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.