greenhouse gas

, , ,

Red Alert on Climate Change in United Nations Climate Report

, , ,
Red Alert on Climate Change in United Nations Climate Report

The very first finding in the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC, or simply, IPCC) August 9 report is this:

“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”

I strongly suspect that this is the first time the word “unequivocal” has appeared in an IPCC report, given the IPPC’s “calibrated language” and the fact that these reports require both scientific and political consensus. Artist Alisa Singer illustrated one thread of the evidence for human-caused climate change.

Get Woke to Food Waste

Get Woke to Food Waste

"Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story" will screen at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St., 2nd Floor Veterans' Room. This award-winning, compelling documentary tells the story of two people who, after learning about the billions of dollars of good food tossed each year in North America, pledged to quit grocery shopping and survive only on food that would otherwise be thrown away.

"Just Eat It" will be followed up by a Food Waste Workshop at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, also at Oak Park Public Library, where an impressive panel of professionals will share their knowledge about reducing food waste.

, , ,

Author Finds Surprising Statistics on CO2 Emissions

, , ,
Author Finds Surprising Statistics on CO2 Emissions

Out of Oak Park, Forest Park, Maywood and Berwyn, one community earned the title of “greenest suburb” when comparing per capita carbon dioxide emissions, but the winner may surprise you.

Author, researcher and former Oak Park resident Susan Subak will reveal the answer on Wednesday, July 10, when discussing her 2018 book, “The Five-Ton Life: Carbon, America, and the Culture That May Save Us.” The presentation will include Susan’s research on the low carbon culture of west suburban Chicago compared to other environmental leaders on the East Coast, a slideshow and a book signing. The event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Oak Park Public Library Main Branch, 834 Lake St., in the Veterans Room on the second floor.

, ,

Think Like a Food Waste Warrior!

, ,
Think Like a Food Waste Warrior!

Saving food starts with your mindset. It’s a skill, as well as a passion. Like a muscle, it strengthens as you use it!

We can make a big difference by becoming food waste warriors!  We don’t usually think of food being a major source of greenhouse gases that cause climate change, but according to research published in 2017 in the book, DRAWDOWN, edited by Paul Hawken, “reduced food waste” was ranked as the 3rd most effective of the 80 solutions that could actually reverse global warming.

Changing the Climate: The Bumpy Road to Paris

Changing the Climate: The Bumpy Road to Paris

The United Nations held its first Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. The outcome of that conference was an Action Plan consisting of 109 recommendations for financial and institutional capacity building to deal with the challenges of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. That’s right—climate change has been on the international environmental agenda for over 40 years. The delegates at Stockholm also adopted a declaration calling for a second Conference on the Human Environment.