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Global warming is a serious problem humans have created and humans can solve.  Global warming results from a blanket-like layer of carbon dioxide (CO2) surrounding the planet, formed as the burning of fossil fuels releases CO2 into the atmosphere.  This CO2 layer traps heat within the earth’s atmosphere and increases temperatures, destabilizes climate systems, and alters ecosystems everywhere on the planet.

Scientists project that if current trends continue, the earth’s average temperature will rise by 3 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.  The effects would be quite serious -- spreading infectious diseases, rising sea levels, radical changes in weather patterns, flooding, storms, droughts, massive extinctions, decreased water availability, reduction in potential crop yields, and others.  We are already seeing polar glaciers melt at an alarming rate, threatening to disrupt arctic ecosystems and change global weather patterns.

The good news is that we already have the scientific and technological expertise to restructure our energy economy and prevent these devastating changes to our planet.  TEC and many other organizations in the United States and across the globe are working daily to educate citizens and leaders and urge elected officials to use their influence to halt this problem today.

The United States is the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions, contributing nearly 25% of CO2 emissions, despite having only 5% of the world’s population.  The sources of these emissions are transportation (20%), power plants (36%), and industry, building, and others (44%).

There are many strategies available to reduce these high rates of greenhouse gas production beginning right here in Tennessee.  These include, but are not limited to: higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, SUVs, and light trucks; better public transportation options; curbing sub/urban sprawl; more efficient heating and cooling practices and technologies used in buildings and homes; bringing power plants up to modern pollution control standards; and transitioning to alternative energy sources.

TEC Efforts:

• Participating as a member of the TN Clean Air Task Force (TCATF), a coalition formed to reduce air pollution from TVA’s 11 coal-fired power plants in Tennessee.  Activities include: holding press conferences, conducting interviews with reporters, raising issues at meetings of the Air Pollution Control Board, and the Air Pollution Control Division of TDEC.
  
  
• TEC Board Member John Noel serves on a national speakers bureau on climate change issues.
  
  
• Helping organize local opposition to the construction and operation of proposed power plants in Memphis and Jackson, preventing projected emission of more than 248 tons of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.
  
  
• Represented environmental interests on the TVA Green Group, a coalition of organizations that meets regularly with and provides input to TVA on their programs and policies.
  
  
• Worked with the Department of Environment and Conservation to improve efficiency of air pollution permitting process without weakening statewide standards or lessening public participation.
  

 

Contacts / Links:EPA Energy Star Program www.energystar.gov 

EPA Global Warming Site www.epa.gov/globalwarming 
Sierra Club Stop Global Warming Campaign www.sierraclub.org 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change www.ipcc.ch/ 
The Climate Institute www.climate.org 
American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy http://aceee.org

 

What You Can Do:

• Use a fuel efficient vehicle or public transportation.  Keep your vehicle in good operating condition, drive smoothly, and drive at posted speed limits.  Encourage friends, colleagues, and family members to do the same.
  
  
• Write to your elected officials and urge them raise fuel efficiency standards for cars to 45mpg and SUVs and trucks to 34 mpg.  Write to automobile manufactures and encourage them to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.
  
  
• Eliminate energy wastes at home and in the office.  Ask your utility company to provide an energy audit of your home, and your employer to have one done at the office.  Incorporate the suggestions the utility provides, such as weather stripping doorways and windows and insulating your hot water heater.  Not only will these measures save energy, but they will also save money.
  
  
• Only heat and air condition rooms that you occupy.  Use fans instead of AC when summer temperatures are mild.  Plant extra plants and trees around windows -- they will help cool your home in the summer, will remove CO2 from the air, and provide natural beauty.
  
  
• Use energy-efficient appliances.  Look for the Energy Star label or an energy-efficiency rating sticker.  Ask the salesperson to point out the most energy efficient options.  For more information, visit www.energystar.gov. 
  
  
• Sign up for Tennessee Environmental News (T.E.N.) here on TEC’s website to receive regular email updates about current global warming news.
  

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