High chance that current atmospheric greenhouse concentrations commit to warmings greater than 1.5…

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. “Clean energy won’t save us – only a new economic system can”

Last edited Sun Jul 31, 2016, 10:16 AM - Edit history (1)

This sounds like Donald Trump — “only I can fix it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/jul/15/clean-energy-wont-save-us-economic-system-can

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When it comes to climate change, the problem is not just the type of energy we are using, it’s what we’re doing with it. What would we do with 100% clean energy? Exactly what we are doing with fossil fuels: raze more forests, build more meat farms, expand industrial agriculture, produce more cement, and fill more landfill sites, all of which will pump deadly amounts of greenhouse gas into the air. We will do these things because our economic system demands endless compound growth, and for some reason we have not thought to question this.

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No, we would not do exactly the same thing with 100% clean energy as we’re doing currently. We would not (for example) be cutting down forests to grow “biofuels.” We would not be destroying rain forests in the pursuit of petroleum. We would not (for example) be fracking. We would not (for example) be taking the tops off of mountains going after coal. We would not (for example) be going after the tar sands in Canada.

Are landfills bad? Yes, although they are much better than they were. We’re lining them, and recovering usable methane from them.
https://www3.epa.gov/lmop/faq/lfg.html

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How can landfill gas be used for energy?

Of the approximately 2,400 active or closed municipal solid waste landfills identified in LMOP's national database, nearly 600 of them have one or more LFG energy projects in operation, resulting in 648 operational projects. EPA estimates that as many as 400 additional landfills could cost-effectively have their methane turned into an energy resource, producing enough electricity to power nearly 473,000 homes across the United States. The remaining landfills in LMOP's database either have a project in the construction or planning phase, previously had a project that has since ceased operating, or are not known to have LFG energy potential based on the data available.

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What are the environmental benefits of using landfill gas as an energy resource?

Converting LFG to energy offsets the need for non-renewable resources such as coal and oil, and reduces emissions of air pollutants that contribute to local smog and acid rain. In addition, LFG energy projects help curtail global climate change, because they reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than CO₂. LFG energy projects go hand–in–hand with community commitments to cleaner air and reductions in greenhouse gases that cause global climate change. For more information on environmental benefits, please visit LMOP's Basic Information page.

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Organized recycling and composting are removing tremendous amounts of material from the “waste stream.”

https://www.epa.gov/smm/advancing-sustainable-materials-management-facts-and-figures

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In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash and recycled and composted about 87 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 34.3 percent recycling rate. On average, we recycled and composted 1.51 pounds of our individual waste generation of 4.40 pounds per person per day.



In 2013, America recovered about 67 percent (5.7 million tons) of newspaper/mechanical paper and about 60 percent of yard trimmings. Organic materials continue to be the largest component of MSW. Paper and paperboard account for 27 percent and yard trimmings and food account for another 28 percent. Plastics comprise about 13 percent; metals make up 9 percent; and rubber, leather, and textiles account for 9 percent. Wood follows at around 6 percent and glass at 5 percent. Other miscellaneous wastes make up approximately 3 percent of the MSW generated in 2013.

Recycling and composting prevented 87.2 million tons of material from being disposed in 2013, up from 15 million tons in 1980. Diverting these materials from landfills prevented the release of approximately 186 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the air in 2013—equivalent to taking over 39 million cars off the road for a year.

To aid researchers, EPA hosts a collection of historic tables on municipal solid waste generation in America, as well as related scoping studies and research memos.

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Of course, this couldn’t be happening, and is all pointless, because we haven’t changed our entire economic system first.

Look Jason Hickel is not a climatologist. He’s not an ecologist. He’s an anthropologist. He wants social justice, and so do I, but he’s way off base here.