The moonlight was so bright I thought there was new snow on the grass and the shed roof. As often on these long pandemic nights, if I wake and allow a lurking thought to come to awareness, it quickly proliferates, infiltrating my mind like moonlight seeking a gap in the curtain. Last night it was remembering Manchin’s failure to support the president’s bill to rescue the planet from the ravages of our self-inflicted global warming. Plus the failure of a single Republican to stand up for a future we can survive.
By the light of day, it is clearer than ever that it’s up to us to take charge, each of us, to convert the dire “code red” future into a “go for it” code green future instead. The Drawdown Project has researched the 80 most effective ways to reduce carbon use and combat global warming. Many are within reach of individuals, even without government support. Easy efforts are listed with their potential impact in Gigatons (GT) of carbon saved. By changing some habits we can implement these strategies. The tougher strategies — mostly the ones that take money — are offered with a few comments.
Reduce food waste #3 (70.5 GT).
Move to a plant-based diet #4 (66 GT).
Switch to LED lights #33 (7.8 GT)
Home water saving #46 (4.6 GT) When our water heater failed, we installed an electric heat pump version; captured veggie rinse water tends our house and porch plants; 250 gallon tanks catch shed roof water for gravity-fed garden hoses.
Composting #60 (2 GT)
Household recycling #55 (2.7 GT).
Trains, ride-sharing #74 and #75 (.84 GT)
Afforestation (tree planting) #15 (18 GT) Trees add beauty, retain water, produce food, shade, crucial habitat for birds and animals. We love Maple Hill (Swanzey, N.H.); other nurseries abound.
Electric bicycles #69 (.96 GT). Use instead of cars. Available at Dick’s, Sam’s Club, Target and online.
Clean cook stoves #21 (15.8 GT) Millions of dirty cook stoves using coal, dung, wood, straw are a huge problem. But we in developed countries can help by using induction cook tops. I’ve always hated electric cooking but gas was not an option. Our new cooktop is fast, responsive, saves energy — without air pollution in your kitchen from gas. Magnetic metal pans are required — but still a good investment. Manny’s had a relatively inexpensive one and our regular electrician installed it.
Insulate #31 (8GT) Call MassSave at 1-866-527-SAVE for your free assessment, LED light bulbs, caulking and weather stripping. With their help you can plan and finance such needs as insulating attics and walls or replacing old systems. Two zero percent loans helped completely insulate our house. Result: astonishing drop in oil use.
Rooftop solar #10 (24.6 GT). Rooftop solar doesn’t work on a slate roof. Instead we chose a tracking unit in our back yard (more expensive but 30% more generation). Our biggest investment so far has a payback period of just seven years. UMass Five Colleges Credit Union offered great financing with a low-cost loan. We qualified for a significant income-based reduction in principal, plus federal tax deductions. Greenfield Solar did the hard part.
Heat pumps #1 (89.7 GT) The full topic is refrigeration, but a household can switch to heat pumps to replace oil, gas or inefficient electric. Heat pumps are incredibly more efficient than all other approaches to heating or cooling. This is our second largest investment; this year we are experimenting to see how much of the winter we can use them instead of our oil furnace. They’ve dramatically reduced our oil use, generous subsidies apply to each unit and you gain heating and cooling capability.
Distributed energy storage #77 (10.8 GT) Battery systems can protect homes, businesses, schools and municipal buildings while also strengthening the overall grid. This investment is costly, close to a solar array. However, it provides a smooth, clean energy supply plus emergency backup without fossil fuels.
Electric vehicles #26 (10.80 GT) Likely the most expensive of our options, but many people replace vehicles often using loans. We are saving up.
To my amazement after that sleepless night, the moon hung high in the sky much of the day. A full moon actually registers a slight blip on our solar generation chart. While we learn how to turn wholeheartedly toward the wind and the sun for our planet’s salvation, many impediments — personal and collective — will block the way. But find our path we must, even if it is by moonlight.
Judy Wagner, who lives in Northfield, invites everyone to chip in their contributions to the life-saving effort before us, until the politicians figure out we have marched on and left them behind.