I drove 188 miles in January of 2021. In February I drove 256 miles, and March came in at 307.
Why am I telling you this? Well, not to say look at me, I am driving less, aren't I environmentally conscious. Because I am not, or not as much so as I could be. It is true that last year I said one of my goals was to drive less, or more exactly to be more conscientious about how I live and my priorities. Part of that is combining errands into fewer days so that I drive fewer miles but also spend far less time going here and there, time that could be more fruitfully put to use doing something that is actually important to me. Sadly, time in the car does not count as quality time in my book. And much of this is as much due to restrictions from a global pandemic. That doesn't mean I should drive willy-nilly once the world returns to normal, assuming we even know what normal will be. Despite a global pandemic, we saw very little drop in carbon emissions in 2020, about 5% according to Bill Gates in his new book. It is not enough.
But why now? Again, another good question. Perhaps I started musing on these environmental issues again when my book club read A Children's Bible back in December. Perhaps one of my regular produce suppliers moved from paper packaging to plastic clamshells. Perhaps I was upset one day when I saw one of my neighborhood recycle bins was overstuffed with recyclables packed in plastic trash bags rather than loose in the bin; the bags are not recyclable, and someone has to open the bag and unload it it sort the recyclables out, or it all just goes in the landfill. I was upset because I recently read that 25% of my local curbside recycling is contaminated in some way, by materials that cannot be recycled, or food waste, and has to be sent to the landfill. We can do better.
It seems perfectly obvious that no single one of us is going to stop global warming. But that is not enough reason not to do our part. it also seems perfectly obvious that if we focused our attentions and worked together we could beat this; if not, change will be forced upon us and our children. We can chose to control it or we can chose to let it control us. That of course is never as easy at it sounds. And the whole things actually sounds rather overwhelming. Sometimes it seems we are not wired for looking at long term objectives, nor for differentiating between the big picture, ie. the goal, and the tactics for reaching that goal. We look at where we are not and cannot work out a way to move ourselves forward. It is difficult for us to look at where we should be and then start working backward to where we are now. The space between these approaches can feel like an insurmountable gulf.
And yet it is a gulf that must be faced.
I was reminded of this recently when I was reading Bill Gates new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. The truth is that I did not expect a great deal from this book, and perhaps for that reason I found it more interesting and enjoyable than I anticipated. Gates' writing comes across as if the book is written by an enthusiastic nerd who is fascinated with technology and human ingenuity. Surprise? No. But he reminded me of things I forget, or don't think about at all, like how much carbon is produced in construction and the very process of making things. He reminds the reader of the enormity of the task, and he does not gloss over the difficulties involved. Sometimes his enthusiasm runs a little wild. But the book is easy to read and I think that is of benefit. Gates writes that he loves the books of Vaclav Smil. I love Smil. But Smil is not easy reading, more like the opposite of easy reading.
Gates makes reading about climate change manageable, but I suspect many people will discount the book simply because it is written by Bill Gates. It is worth more than that. And he makes very good points about change, the enormity of the project, and the hidden pitfalls in choosing short term, partial solutions, that in the end can distract us from the ultimate goal, and instead make the process more difficult. He gets wrapped up in his enthusiasms and sometimes misses things, as do we all. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster is more of a wake-up call, a book for the generalist, than a serious treaty on what should be done. Gates doesn't know everything, no one does. And I disagree with Gates on some points. But that doesn't mean there is not a place for this book.
Gates is convinced we can beat this. I agree that we probably have the ability to beat this, I question whether or not we yet have the will. I do believe that if we, the population of this earth, really set all our greatest minds to solving the big problems -- net zero emissions, with as little cost to global human well-being as possible -- we could do it. However I am far from convinced that our governments, our national and corporate interests, and even our personal comforts, are quite ready for that. I hope we manage it before too many people suffer. But then, too many people already suffer the costs of climate change, and for too many of us this fact is so remote that we can't see it.
But what can I do? I can be more conscientious. I can think about the choices I make -- what I buy, what I waste -- and how I chose to use my own space on this earth. I am not always conscientious, and I am constrained by the limits and biases of my own location, society, culture. I do believe that we can all live a good life, and we can do it in a way that neither destroys our planet, or builds a life of comfort and even luxury for some on the suffering of others.
