The solutions? Build mass transit, live in temperate climates, buy less stuff, …? Honestly, I don’t think we’re not going to fix the problem with simple, local improvements (though by all means do what you can). There are global demographic forces to contend with. A century ago there were 2 billion people on earth. Now there are >8 billion, and in my lifetime we will surpass 9 billion. Many of those people are climbing out of poverty, and they want cars and air conditioners and all the other energy-intensive things that rich countries have enjoyed for a century. IMO we’re going to need massive technological changes (like powering much of the world with nuclear very soon) in concert with a major population reduction and/or major changes to how people expect to live.
Nuclear is: very slow to make, very expensive, generates dangerous waste, invites proliferation.
Wind and solar are quick, relatively much cheaper, create little waste. The sun is forever.
Personal transportation needs a complete redesign. Burning fossil fuel at 20% efficiency (80% waste) to push a 4000lb. vehicle with a 200lb person in it is insane. Personal electric vehicles of 200-300 lbs tracking defined lanes at 20mph under computer control would take care of 80-90% of urban travel needs. And greatly reduce the number of roads needed.
Side note: If worrying about climate isn’t enough, we can also worry about potential famine as we use up our fossil fuels.
We are able to feed the world because of the Haber-Bosch process. This process uses fossil fuels, usually natural gas, to produce synthetic ammonia for fertilizer. That fertilizer makes modern high-yield farming possible. “Without the Haber-Bosch process we would only be able to produce around two-thirds the amount of food we do today.” https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/cewctw-fritz-haber-and-carl-bosch-feed-the-world/
In the US it’s roughly a tie between road transportation and energy generation (which lumps together both heat and electricity).
(Source: University of Michigan https://css.umich.edu/publications/factsheets/sustainability-indicators/carbon-footprint-factsheet)
The global breakdown is similar: https://www.wri.org/insights/4-charts-explain-greenhouse-gas-emissions-countries-and-sectors
The solutions? Build mass transit, live in temperate climates, buy less stuff, …? Honestly, I don’t think we’re not going to fix the problem with simple, local improvements (though by all means do what you can). There are global demographic forces to contend with. A century ago there were 2 billion people on earth. Now there are >8 billion, and in my lifetime we will surpass 9 billion. Many of those people are climbing out of poverty, and they want cars and air conditioners and all the other energy-intensive things that rich countries have enjoyed for a century. IMO we’re going to need massive technological changes (like powering much of the world with nuclear very soon) in concert with a major population reduction and/or major changes to how people expect to live.
Nuclear is: very slow to make, very expensive, generates dangerous waste, invites proliferation.
Wind and solar are quick, relatively much cheaper, create little waste. The sun is forever.
Personal transportation needs a complete redesign. Burning fossil fuel at 20% efficiency (80% waste) to push a 4000lb. vehicle with a 200lb person in it is insane. Personal electric vehicles of 200-300 lbs tracking defined lanes at 20mph under computer control would take care of 80-90% of urban travel needs. And greatly reduce the number of roads needed.
Side note: If worrying about climate isn’t enough, we can also worry about potential famine as we use up our fossil fuels.
We are able to feed the world because of the Haber-Bosch process. This process uses fossil fuels, usually natural gas, to produce synthetic ammonia for fertilizer. That fertilizer makes modern high-yield farming possible. “Without the Haber-Bosch process we would only be able to produce around two-thirds the amount of food we do today.”
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/cewctw-fritz-haber-and-carl-bosch-feed-the-world/
I’m curious about how CO2 emissions from road construction in the US compares to that of Europe (adjusted for scale, obviously).
Concrete creates A LOT of CO2, and after driving a lot in both US and EU roads I can say that US roads involve a lot more concrete.
EDIT: Autocomplete and autocorrect is even worse at this than I am…