Climate Change & the EPA Sittin’ In a Tree

By Tiffany

Climate change was officially recognized by scientists in the 1970s, around the same time we started learning about ozone depletion and other harmful toxins. All of the toxins we discovered during that time have been banned, except for the majority of greenhouse gases. Why? Greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans (often referred to as anthropogenic sources) are very much tied to our lifestyles. Since the dawn of the industrial age, the expanse of plastics, and the study of synthetics we have been emitting exponentially higher rates of greenhouse gases.

Common Sense Abides

Let’s take a common sense approach and set international scientific consensus aside. First, as the World evolved it became more habitable for our specific species to survive. Second, over the last 100 years or so, we have developed machines and societies that have dug up this ’stuff’ that was buried during this un-habitable times. Third, we now have exposed it to our current atmosphere as well as burned most of it, making it more mobile (because it is in a gaseous form). So based on this simple reduction of Earth Science, can we really say that we, humans, have no impact on the environment?

To Impact or Not to Impact

In fact, we should have an impact on the environment, we live here! Unfortunately, our current lifestyle is so extreme to our natural or at least the more natural form of evolution’s lifestyle for species, that it has put us at odds with the environment in many ways. Pays to Live Green is a great resource to understand different things that make up our daily routine that can be modified to make our impact a positive impact.

The Climate Change Connection

So how does this relate to climate change? Climate change is tied directly to our lifestyles, not a few consumer products. The CFC debate (mainly freon that was found in refrigerators) led to a ban in most countries (not all, so be careful) and then we were done with that chemical. Since anthropogenic climate change is tied to our lifestyle, not just a consumer choice, it gets more complicated (not to mention our jobs, industries, and sources of income in most cases).

The Climate Change Denial

But who wants to admit that we need to make some changes? A wise man once said:

It’s not that we mind change, it’s that we mind being changed.

Those who mind recognizing the change have put our global society at a very high risk. One company spent 2 billion dollars over the course of 3 years to deny climate change through the start up of ‘independent’ think tanks and even a false non-profit. They were fined, which for their profit margin was more of a slip on the wrist, and went back to denying climate change openly.

Most recently, the EPA has acted on climate change by identifying it as something that threatens our health (I guess you can’t file something that threatens our very well-being). A large contingency filed complaints stating that their decision was based on bad information. A few days ago the EPA said enough, and rejected their claims.

So why all the stink? Because this threat to human health provides the EPA and other regulatory bodies to act on climate change when our legislative bodies failed to do so this year in the US. This authority means that business as usual is at risk…but perhaps the EPA thinks that this risk is far less than the one we are taking by failing to act on climate change in the first place.

Will businesses that have embraced sustainability on the ground level survive? When it comes to regulation, the answer is yes and not only that, they will thrive and become the new leaders of our age. The landscape is quickly shifting from the status quos of yesteryear to the age of innovation that guides us into tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how the nay-sayers and the dreamers collide to create our respective future.

Cheers to reducing each of our own emissions while we ponder the future.

Photo Credit: Twilight Earth

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