Saving the what now? • 14 November 2007 • The SnowBlog
Saving the what now?
I'm sceptical that switching my light-bulbs to a lower energy type will do much to stave off climate change. I mean if I do it (and I'm getting there), plus everyone else does it too, it will help, but what bothers me is that it tackles one of the little slices on the pie chart of carbon pollution without really touching any of the big ones. It seems silly for me to be fiddling around with a few watts here and there while generating stations chew through megatonnes of filthy coal. But can you believe there is a change I can make in my little domestic way that really will scale up into big industrial changes if enough people do it too? Stop eating meat. Simple as that. A big chunk of the world's carbon pollution comes from whatever-the-proper-word-for-carnivorous-farming-is. It seems ridiculous that switching to a meat-free diet could really slow climate change, but it looks like the figures stack up. It would make a really big difference because it's just so inefficient to grow food crops and feed them to a critter and then eat the critter, instead of just eating the food crop in the first place. Finally I've come across something we can all do that really will change the world and it doesn't involve living in a house made of straw or adding two hours to my day because I've got rid of my car. This one is easy. So as of this moment I'm going to give up eating meat. I might allow myself one exception per year - perhaps a Christmas dinner of pepperoni pizza - but I reckon as lifestyle changes go, this is so much easier than trying to get everywhere on public transport (when I live a bus-free five miles from the nearest station) or attempting to heat my bathwater using the sun. Anyone want to join me? Remember, future generations will probably despise vegetarians significantly less than the rest of us. (Any views regarding fish or dairy gratefully received.)
Rob
I'm sceptical that switching my light-bulbs to a lower energy type will do much to stave off climate change. I mean if I do it (and I'm getting there), plus everyone else does it too, it will help, but what bothers me is that it tackles one of the little slices on the pie chart of carbon pollution without really touching any of the big ones. It seems silly for me to be fiddling around with a few watts here and there while generating stations chew through megatonnes of filthy coal. But can you believe there is a change I can make in my little domestic way that really will scale up into big industrial changes if enough people do it too? Stop eating meat. Simple as that. A big chunk of the world's carbon pollution comes from whatever-the-proper-word-for-carnivorous-farming-is. It seems ridiculous that switching to a meat-free diet could really slow climate change, but it looks like the figures stack up. It would make a really big difference because it's just so inefficient to grow food crops and feed them to a critter and then eat the critter, instead of just eating the food crop in the first place. Finally I've come across something we can all do that really will change the world and it doesn't involve living in a house made of straw or adding two hours to my day because I've got rid of my car. This one is easy. So as of this moment I'm going to give up eating meat. I might allow myself one exception per year - perhaps a Christmas dinner of pepperoni pizza - but I reckon as lifestyle changes go, this is so much easier than trying to get everywhere on public transport (when I live a bus-free five miles from the nearest station) or attempting to heat my bathwater using the sun. Anyone want to join me? Remember, future generations will probably despise vegetarians significantly less than the rest of us. (Any views regarding fish or dairy gratefully received.)