sexta-feira, 29 de outubro de 2021

Peter Kalmus teaches incoherent scientists an important lesson

 


Addressing the inconsistency observed among scientists highlighted earlier, who passionately discuss the critical need to reduce carbon emissions yet fail to personally commit to this cause, it is essential to draw attention to the insights shared by NASA scientist Peter Kalmus. Kalmus emphatically declares that "the worst activity that can be done for the health of the Planet is to sit in a plane". 

On his personal page https://peterkalmus.net/about/ Peter Kalmus discloses a remarkable achievement: he successfully diminished his annual carbon footprint to a mere 2 tons. This notable accomplishment stands out, constituting only 10% of the average carbon footprint of a North American. Significantly, this achievement approaches the 1.6 tons/year threshold proposed for a sustainable lifestyle, as discussed by Jason Hickel in his paper titled "Is it possible to achieve a good life for all within planetary boundaries?" https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/10/is-it-possible-to-achieve-good-life-for.html

Nevertheless, adhering to an annual threshold of 1.6 tons/year proves to be a formidable challenge, particularly given the consumption habits prevalent in affluent nations. Nevertheless, in theory, there exists the potential to offset carbon footprints through alternative avenues. One approach involves purchasing carbon credits from the billions of individuals in third-world countries whose carbon footprint significantly falls below the 1.6 tons/year benchmark. Another viable option, as demonstrated by Norway, entails financial contributions to prevent deforestation. Norway's initiative involved a payment of $24 million to Indonesia, effectively preventing the emission of 4.8 million tons of carbon. Remarkably, this equates to a cost per ton of carbon as low as $5.  https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-economist-worlds-biggest-carbon.html

PS - In a recent publication, over a dozen scientists hailing from universities in the US, Canada, and the UK delved into climate scenarios extending beyond 2100 (many of the 140 million humans who were born in 2021 will still be alive beyond 2100). Their comprehensive analysis, detailed in the projections (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.15871), paints a disconcerting picture. It foresees a substantial reduction in areas available for food production, underscoring the overwhelming evidence that sustaining a significantly larger population with a diminished food supply is unfeasible (being overwhelmingly evident that it is not possible to feed a much larger population with a much smaller amount of food). Furthermore, the study anticipates a shift, indicating that tropical regions will no longer be habitable for humans. This sobering conclusion echoes the foresight offered by Oxford Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert in 2019 "Heat stress could make half the planet uninhabitable for mammals outdoors"