What we are facing is systemic degeneration: ecologically, culturally, spiritually, intellectually, psychologically, socially, and biologically in terms of degenerating health and shortening life spans. This is the slow-motion collapse of a civilization. What is needed is not to self-medicate or mask the symptoms, or to manage the symptoms of degeneration,
Continue readingTag: Carbon
Things Are Good: Countries can Greatly Reduce Carbon Emissions by Improving Transmission
In order to avert climate catastrophe we’re going to have to make boring changes to our built infrastructure. Politicians find it hard to argue for these sorts of enhancements because voters don’t get to see a ribbon cutting ceremony; however changes to infrastructure can make a massive difference. In the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Thoughtful Reforestation
Forests make for naturally wonderful carbon sinks and thanks to a myriad of efforts we should see reforestation efforts grow over the next few years. This is all good to witness and we can all help by planting a tree. There are ways to tend to a forest for maximum
Continue readingThings Are Good: Campaign to Label Carbon Footprint of Consumer Goods
A team has started a Kickstarter campaign to label a product’s carbon footprint so consumers can make better decisions about which brand to buy. The labels are meant to bring attention to the additional cost of wasteful production and a bunch of brands have already joined the initiative. Of course
Continue readingThings Are Good: We Can Hold 20 Firms to Account for the Climate Crisis
To address the climate crisis we need to cut back on the amount of carbon we pump into the atmosphere and there’s a simple way to do that: get 20 companies to improve their businesses. A mere 20 companies are responsible for a third of all carbon emissions and if
Continue readingThings Are Good: Examples of Ways People Already Live a Low Carbon Lifestyle
As the climate crisis continues there are many ways that we all can try to slow it down. The biggest changes need to happen at the political level enforcing sustainable practices, in the meantime there are things you can do as an individual. The easiest thing to do is buy
Continue readingThings Are Good: Iceland’s Carbon Capture Plan Working
Iceland already is one of the greenest places on the planet and they are going even further to try keep the whole planet green. The country is hosting a research project that has sucked 43,000 tons of CO2 out of the air and injected it into the ground. They’re capturing
Continue readingThings Are Good: British Columbia’s Carbon Pricing Works Well
British Columbia shows carbon pricing works while another province looks uselessly backwards. The regressive and antidemocratic Ontario “conservative” government is set to sue the Canadian government for protecting the environment. The argument by the Conservatives is basically that an economy allowed to inefficiently consume non-renewable resources is good and that
Continue readingThings Are Good: 18 Countries Easily Decreased CO2 Emission with Policy
There’s now even more evidence that countries around the world can reduce carbon emissions without sacrificing economic growth. Carbon intensive industries often argue that regulations will destroy the economy and do little to protect the planet. They couldn’t be more wrong. A recent study looked at emissions and economic growth
Continue readingThings Are Good: Australia Won’t let a Coal Mine Open due to Climate Change
Open-cut coal mining and Australia have a long history that is all about resource extraction in the hopes of short-term gain. The nation’s long history of reckless destruction seems to be coming to an end since a court recently ruled that a mining operation will not be allowed to open.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Harvard Built a Zero Emissions Home
Buildings use a lot of energy for heating and cooling throughout the year, homes are no exception. Harvard decided to build a zero emission “home” to test solutions that can be used in new buildings or retrofitted into existing structures. The design is smart in the sense it uses passive
Continue readingThings Are Good: Energy Fund Backed by Bill Gates Only Invests in Carbon Reduction
On of the richest people on the planet is sick of climate change and has launched a venture capital firm to slow down global warming. Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) funds companies that can make a marked reduction on annual carbon output while also being profitable. Using capitalism to undo what
Continue readingThings Are Good: Kansas is Growing Roadside Grass
Highways are loved in America due to their ability to allow single occupant vehicles to move uninterrupted, thus they crisscross the entirety of the United States. This makes for a lot of land covered by asphalt, cars spattering litter, brake dust, exhaust onto the roadside, and large swaths of manicured
Continue readingThings Are Good: A New Way to Monitor Carbon in Coastal Regions
With the amount of carbon in the atmosphere at a level never before witnessed by human civilization we need to know how what to do about it. Obviously we need to cut back on all emissions and wasteful consumerist consumption. Beyond that we need to actively support carbon sinks. A
Continue readingThings Are Good: 70,000 Acres of Rainforest Being Replanted
This week it was announced that carbon in our atmosphere has reached levels not seen for 800,000 years. Clearly we need to do better to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and the releasing of carbon (and other waste) into the atmosphere. While reduction efforts continue, we need to do
Continue readingThings Are Good: New Fish Food Doesn’t Require Killing Fish
When fish farms kill their fish for food some of that food is ground up and fed to other fish as nutrient pellets. It’s well known that current fishing practices are really bad for the environment and that fish farms aren’t good for their local environment. Anything we can do
Continue readingThings Are Good: Save the Peatlands, Save the Planet
When it comes to carbon storage you can’t beat peatlands. They store tons of carbon and clean the air so efficiently that we ought to protect them way better than we currently do. Indeed, peatlands are on the decline – that’s not good. Fortunately there is research in how best
Continue readingThings Are Good: Alberta’s Carbon Tax Brings Cash to Great Programs
The Canadian province of Alberta is best known for the tar sands and the damage extraction of the bitumen has done to the planet. The province is now aware that their extraction economy won’t last forever because it isn’t renewable, so they have started to implement policies to make their
Continue readingThings Are Good: Algae Used for Carbon Capture at Cement Plant
Every year cement production contributes about 5% of the global emissions generated by humans. Any improvement around cement production will have a good impact on lowering carbon entering our atmosphere. In Sweden there’s one company using algae to lower its emissions. The country has carbon emission rates that are likely
Continue readingThings Are Good: Large Corporations form the B Team to be Carbon Neutral by 2050
The B Team is a collection of some of the largest companies in the world who want to see the world be a better place. They have agreed to make their companies carbon neutral by 2050 and one company has already achieved that goal – Salesforce. The tech company changed
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