Ian Whyte, CACOR member, writes:
(following CaCOR Zoom talk, Dr. Gerald Kutney, 2021 March 18)
I hope we all took note of Bill Rees’ comments yesterday. We’re in a catastrophic overshoot, population and energy are both part of it. Whether we like it or not, whether it’s ‘practical’ or not, we must try to come down to zero before 2030. It’s my opinion that it would be vastly better to try and fail, than to continue procrastinating and accomplishing nothing, and that’s what the talk of 2050 amounts to. Also, for decades, the ‘not practical’ excuse has been paraded forward. It’s far past time to stop accepting it.
We need to make a ‘draconian’ plan to zero CO2e by 2030, with a 10% reduction on the initial amount each and every year, and attempt to get buy-in and implementation. Treat the problem as if life on Earth depends on it, for it does. Start with ration cards in order to focus the mind. 10% less gasoline, 10% less natural gas next year. (I sit here looking at the hallway to the back of the house. $50.00 would hang a heavy heat blocking curtain across it, and the half of the house we don’t use for 16 hours a day could have its temperature reduced by 20 degrees. $500.00 would no doubt get a door. Likely this would save 10% of the natural gas the house uses.) Already the electricity comes from Bullfrog and is wind or sun powered. This is what we, the people, can do.
Society, in general, must be heavily involved. Critical is to reduce production of CO2e by 10% a year too. Cut back on the tar sands, no new oil well production and a phase out as necessary of existing ones. While, personally, I object to being subject to Alberta blackmail, I believe that those individuals who suffer job loss by the changeover required should be aided, by compensating them up to the new, lower level. This would be necessary to get the required buy in. This applies to all people, everywhere.
We have to face it; our standard of living will be much lower. We will have much less stuff, and our living space will contract.
But remember, the price of failure is the death of life. In case this is too vague, that will include you, your wife, your children, your grandchildren, and your cat. In case you haven’t noticed, the great death is already underway: 70% of the vertebrates are gone, 90% of the big fish, more than half the insects, and biodiversity is fast diminishing; you name it, it’s going or largely gone. So, how can we say it’s ‘not practical’? Do we really mean that death’s more convenient?
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