2008 Woodie Awards
Being 'green' requires sacrifice
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Opinions
Is 2 percent a year enough to save the planet? National environmental group, Focus the Nation seems to think so.
To keep greenhouse gases from skyrocketing in the next few years, and consequently raising the average temperature of the entire planet by several degrees, will require developed countries to cut emissions - about 80 percent of those emissions, according to Focus the Nation. The group claims we need to cut this amount by the year 2050 and, to reach that goal, we need to cut roughly 2 percent of current emission levels each year for the next 40 years.
This seems feasible, but will the head honchos in the White House go for it? More importantly, will the people of this country go for it?
It's easy enough to join the crowd this Thursday at Focus the Nation's big event on UCF's main campus and advocate change, but when it actually comes down to tangible differences, most people don't realize the nitty gritty of what going "green" actually entails. And with all the hype these days of jumping on the environmental bandwagon, we think it's important to illuminate the difference between the popularity falsifiers and the true hippies by taking a look at what has to be done to meet these enviro groups' demands.
In addition to Focus the Nation, there is a plethora of other groups and campaigns with slightly different mottos and slightly different plans, all going for the same gold - er, green. For example, there is Step It Up; 1 Sky; Power Shift; No War, No Warming; and the list goes on.
The group 1 Sky wants us to create five million new green jobs, launch a Clean Energy Corps, conserve 20 percent of our energy by 2015, end the development of new coal plants and join Focus the Nation in the most popular goal among the groups to cut emissions 80 percent by 2050.
So what needs to be done to appease these groups? Well, one could start small by replacing all their lightbulbs with LEDs. That may feel great and help a green hopeful sleep better, not to mention feel better turning the lights on. But the key to meeting these tough demands lies in sacrifice, and that means not using as much electricity - plain and simple. It means not just switching to LEDs, but switching the light off and leaving it off.
To keep greenhouse gases from skyrocketing in the next few years, and consequently raising the average temperature of the entire planet by several degrees, will require developed countries to cut emissions - about 80 percent of those emissions, according to Focus the Nation. The group claims we need to cut this amount by the year 2050 and, to reach that goal, we need to cut roughly 2 percent of current emission levels each year for the next 40 years.
This seems feasible, but will the head honchos in the White House go for it? More importantly, will the people of this country go for it?
It's easy enough to join the crowd this Thursday at Focus the Nation's big event on UCF's main campus and advocate change, but when it actually comes down to tangible differences, most people don't realize the nitty gritty of what going "green" actually entails. And with all the hype these days of jumping on the environmental bandwagon, we think it's important to illuminate the difference between the popularity falsifiers and the true hippies by taking a look at what has to be done to meet these enviro groups' demands.
In addition to Focus the Nation, there is a plethora of other groups and campaigns with slightly different mottos and slightly different plans, all going for the same gold - er, green. For example, there is Step It Up; 1 Sky; Power Shift; No War, No Warming; and the list goes on.
The group 1 Sky wants us to create five million new green jobs, launch a Clean Energy Corps, conserve 20 percent of our energy by 2015, end the development of new coal plants and join Focus the Nation in the most popular goal among the groups to cut emissions 80 percent by 2050.
So what needs to be done to appease these groups? Well, one could start small by replacing all their lightbulbs with LEDs. That may feel great and help a green hopeful sleep better, not to mention feel better turning the lights on. But the key to meeting these tough demands lies in sacrifice, and that means not using as much electricity - plain and simple. It means not just switching to LEDs, but switching the light off and leaving it off.