CLIMATE SOLUTIONS – Unexpected Results
by John Clayton, CCI member from Poweshiek County
We've not made progress in climate solutions by expanding wind and solar energy and promoting ethanol and methane. Tom Vilsack, CEO of the World Food Prize, noted that manure can be converted into a source of energy. However, manure methane gas leaks during processing, which renders this gas ineffective in reducing emissions. Methane is 120 times more potent as a warming agent than carbon dioxide.
The main issue is that "climate solutions" only work if we reduce our reliance on coal and oil and halt methane leaks. Despite the rise in wind and solar power, global warming hasn't slowed because energy use has expanded, leading to increased fossil fuel consumption that offsets the benefits of clean energy.
A 2-degree rise in global temperatures is considered a critical threshold, above which the dangerous and cascading effects of human-generated climate change are expected to occur. Realistically, preventing a 2-degree rise is no longer a feasible goal. Climate scientists point out that burning fossil fuels releases sulfur and other particulates into the atmosphere, which reflect sunlight energy back out into space. As a result, reducing fossil fuel use enables more solar energy to hit the Earth's surface, which, combined with the trillions of tons of carbon humans have already emitted to the atmosphere, will push global temperatures higher.
Additionally, rising temperatures trigger tipping points, such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a large ocean current system, which would lead to a temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celsius. At this stage, avoiding that outcome becomes impossible.
We hope that extreme weather events prompt political leaders to become rational and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. While scientists rely on logical analysis, politics often appears today to be driven by emotion based on fallacies rather than reason. An example is the Epstein Files controversy, which is causing significant upset among MAGA supporters—a political base that influences the President, the Supreme Court, and both chambers of Congress. The concern here is not about climate change or other logical issues; instead, it’s rooted in conspiracy theories. This irrational monomania political behavior is causing the dangerous consequences of a climate crisis.
In conclusion, dwelling on doom and gloom won't solve anything. Rational thought can guide us toward hope. We may not be able to prevent vast suffering or the deaths of billions, but we can mitigate the catastrophe and find ways to improve. People’s Action Member organizations, such as Iowa CCI, are the leaders we need to move forward.