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Veganism and Carbon Dioxide

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When it comes to reducing carbon footprint and greenhouse effect, most people think of recycling or saving shower time to reduce water usage. However, one of the major ways that contributes to carbon footprint that we less often discuss is the cultivation and the consumption of meat. Surely, we hear about ¨green mondays¨ and we are encouraged to eat plant-based meals once in a while. However, the preaching of vegetarianism or veganism is still a radical idea for many. In this short article, I would like to compare the impact that veganism would have on reducing carbon footprint vs other methods. According to PETA UK, the amount of meat that a meat-eater consumes on a daily basis requires 15,000 liters of water to produce. In fact, one single steak itself requires water equivalent to 50 bathtubs to produce. According to a search done by Loma Linda University in California, vegans have the smallest carbon footprint, contributing 41.7 percent less volume of greenhouse gas than meat eaters. 

My point is not to say that saving water in the shower is not useful at carbon footprint, rather, I believe it is an important conversation how useful some of these methods are in comparison to others. Plant-based meals are a wildly available option to many in our country, however, it is not a popular method to combat climate change in comparison to others such as ¨turning off the lights¨ or ¨recycling¨. I believe that it’d be useful if we are educated on the impact that each of these methods have on the environment so that we have a better understanding of the consequences of our actions. 

Citation:

Fight the Climate Crisis

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/fight-the-climate-crisis/

Fluckiger, 10 Shocking Stats About Water and Meat-Eating, 2021

https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/10-shocking-stats-about-water-and-meat-eating/ 

Killer CO2

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From our course load and previous scientific course knowledge, we are all aware of some of the dangers that are inherent with carbon dioxide. Our Earth’s ability to absorb and filter carbon dioxide is limited and we cannot afford to depend on our oceans to prevent major change in the world that we know. Reports from the IPCC insist that irreversible temperature changes can be expected during our lifetime with a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase as soon as 2030. Further, the IPCC predicts an increase of 2 degrees Celsius by 2050. This increase would not be extremely noticeable during our daily lives, however experts emphasize that this is not the point. Technology exists that can help to eliminate carbon dioxide before it reaches levels of our atmosphere. This technology is called “negative-emmisions” and they are invaluable for climate goals set by global leaders. These technologies are not enough by themselves, but combined with emission cuts, they would jointly help us towards minimizing climate change. The FUTURE Act, a 2018 federal law, rewards negative-emmisions technologies,

“Nevertheless, there are some bright spots for NETs in the US, Pacala says. For example, a 2018 federal law, the FUTURE Act, provides a $50 tax credit for each metric ton of CO2 that is captured and stored underground. Also, recent changes to the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard program allows greenhouse gas polluters that fail to meet a declining state emission cap to buy emission credits from companies that captured and sequestered CO2. Those emission credits have been trading at $190 per metric ton. Both programs could generate funds for NET development.”

This rewarding of environmentally sound practices is necessary for more global involvement and investment in these technologies. As we discussed in class, large bodies of water, specifically oceans, absorb huge quantities of carbon-dioxide. Wetlands are just as important for their absorption qualities, thus making the need to preserve and protect these areas even more time-conscious. These areas absorb massive amounts of harmful carbon-dioxide, “The plants take in some 840 million t of CO2 each year. The National Academies report estimates this level could more than double in the near future with active restoration and wetland creation, reaching additional cumulative storage of 5.4 billion t of CO2 by 2100.”

Globally we can achieve our goals of minimizing our effect on the planet by preserving natural areas and resources before it is too late.

Works Cited:
https://cen.acs.org/environment/greenhouse-gases/Capturing-carbon-save-us/97/i8
https://joshuacross.com/florida-wetlands-guide/ (image)

Rising Co2 levels impact on human health

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When researching rising levels of CO2, it’s easy to find topics such as climate change and how that may affect the environment as we know it.  However, what’s not talked about throughout the media often is the affect the rise of Carbon dioxide has on human health.  In fact,  CO2 levels of 1,000ppm have been found common in small confined spaces, such as classrooms, offices, bedrooms, and planes.  Now this may not seem that important, but carbon dioxide levels over 1,000ppm can cause inflammation as well as reduced cognitive function, and those levels are not that hard to pass within the confined spaces that I mentioned.  Chronic Exposure  levels from 2,000ppm to 3,oooppm can cause even worse damage such as kidney calcification and bone demineralization.  When thinking about the environment, and how climate change is impacting the world, that also causes quite the dilemma when it comes to human health as well.  Air pollution kills 9 million people every year, and as the temperature rises, the problem only gets worse.  In a 2008 study, rising levels of CO2 can cause the temperature to go up by 1 degree celsius, causing ozone damage which can kill 22,000 people due to asthma or some sort of respiratory illness.

I think human health is very important to note since there are still quite a lot of people who do not believe in climate change still to this day.  Possibly bringing up the fact that CO2 levels rising can directly affect one’s health may shine a light on the subject, since the affect on the environment may not be enough.  It’s very evident to see that within the media there’s been a rise in hurricanes and fires, and ticks have been increasingly apparent due to climate change.  Although these are little things at the moment, it’s only a matter of years before there’s irreversible damage to the planet as well as people’s lives.  Hopefully with more outlets supporting the negative impact climate change has on human health, more people can be aware and acknowledge the dangers.

 

work cited:

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-affects-health-2018-5

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/climatechange/health_impacts/index.cfm

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.543322/full

 

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Hello! I am Ben Sawyer and I am Junior Political Science Major here at Union College. I love hiking with my dogs and exploring sandy beaches. My understanding of sustainability is that we need to sustain what we have. We need to make sure that the resources that are available to the current generations, will still be available for future generations. We don’t want to leave a world that is destroyed and depleted of all necessary resources. Climate change is something that could put this goal at risk.