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Ideas To Tackle Climate Change Before It's Too Late

View of a forest from above
Geran de Klerk
/
Wikimedia Commons

From dying coral reefs to fires and coastal flooding, the effects of climate change are already being felt around the world. And it will only get worse.

A 2018 report from climate scientists from around the globe found that some of climate change’s disastrous consequences will be in full force if Earth’s temperature rises past 1.5 degrees--something that could happen as early as 2040 at current emissions rates.

This hour, we ask: besides reducing emissions, does the world need to look at ways to take carbon out of the atmosphere? From forests to machines that suck carbon out of the air, we learn more about “negative emissions” strategies.

And we also hear about another major climate change concern: the thawing of the permafrost. Researchers say the thawing of this polar ecosystem could be not only a consequence but also cause of worsening carbon emissions.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

GUESTS:

READING LIST:

New York Times: Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040 (October 2018) – “The report, issued on Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population.”

Vox: Sucking carbon out of the air won’t solve climate change. But it might fill in a few key pieces of the clean energy puzzle (July 2018) – “To state the bottom line clearly: The ability to pull carbon out of the air is not a silver bullet. It is not the cheapest or most effective way to fight climate change. It won‘t allow us to bypass any of the hard work of reducing our emissions…But DAC is an interesting case, a tool that could potentially help in several places where current clean energy technologies are lacking, so let’s take a look at where it fits in and what it can do.”

VPR: Protecting Land And Storing Carbon: Nature Conservancy Taps A New Market For Conservation Projects (July 2018) – “A Nature Conservancy project in northern Vermont will store carbon to meet California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. The group says proceeds from the sale of these “carbon credits” will pay for future land protection projects.”

Yale Climate Connections - The permafrost bomb is ticking. We must act now to disarm it (Raj Saha, February 2018) – “The major side effect of a thawing permafrost is that it will further enhance global warming with the release of large quantities of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The permafrost contains organic matter, and thawing will enable bacterial decomposition that will release methane as a byproduct of anaerobic respiration.”

Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

Lucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.
Carmen Baskauf was a producer for Connecticut Public Radio's news-talk show Where We Live, hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil from 2017-2021. She has also contributed to The Colin McEnroe Show.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

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