“Imagine you live in a world that is facing a crisis. Humanities survival is threatened by a creature of our own creation. Once unleashed the Beast will spare no one. What would you do to stop it?”
This could be a tagline for a summer blockbuster movie. But unfortunately it is becoming more of a reality. If the creature in our story was Climate Change. Who would be the hero?
Let us take a look at what we need to achieve in order to avoid the effects of man-made Climate Change.
Current statistics (from IEA Report 2018: CO2 emissions from fuel combustion)
Carbon Footprint per capita: (Tons of CO2e/year)
- Global: 4.9
- United States: 16.4
- China: 7.3
- Europe: 7.5
- United Kingdom: 6.3
- Australia: 17.6
- Africa: 1.0
- Americas: 7.8
- Asia: 4.3
Requirement for Carbon Neutrality (Tons of CO2e/year):
- 2019 Global: 2.2
- 2050 Global: 1.7
Back to our blockbuster movie. The hero would be whatever could lead us all below this limit. Let us say that today’s hero was a hardline of regulations that restricted our carbon footprint. Here is my best guess of how our lives will change.
2019
Food: Local produce only. Meat & Seafood restricted to once a week. Dining out once a month. Forget about anything that is prepackaged.
Heating: Rug up because you’re going to be able to use heating 3hrs a week during winter.
Air Conditioner: Open some windows and get a pass for the local swimming pool. That AC gets turned on 3hrs a week during summer.
Cooking: You’ll have 30 mins a day per household for your oven or stove.
Work & Commuting: Your jobsite will need to be within 5 miles of your home. Walking to and from work only.
Travel: You are allocated 10 miles a week to drive. Use them wisely. Don’t even think about a holiday.
Personal Devices: Upgrade your smartphone, laptop, gaming console every 5 years and charge them only once per day. VR & AR devices? Not a chance.
Television: Restricted to 3 hours a day
Clothing: Start seriously considering fashion choices because you will have access to 4 different outfits that need to last a whole year. Cleaning the clothes will occur once a week. And don’t forget you’ll need a clothes drying rack.
Sounds a little dire? If these restrictions were enforced to prevent the crisis then this is a version of how we could live our lives. Slowly we would learn the importance of sustainability, recycling, renewable energy, and efficiency. Waste would become a forgotten word.
Flash forward in our Hollywood Blockbuster. Our illustrious hero is now science that has provided 100% renewably sourced energy to your home and industry alike. You are driving a fully electric vehicle. Every single item you purchase is made from 100% recycled or organic material.
2050
There are no restrictions on your home life. Your diet is predominately vegan, however meat products are grown in a dish rather than on an animal. Fashion no longer dictates your clothing. Perhaps you can even jump in your DeLorean and fly your kids to the local hoverboard park.
This scenario may slowly become our reality. One way or another it needs to. Perhaps the movies of today should focus less on remote possibility disaster storylines involving rogue asteroids and zombie apocalypse, and start to look at the scary threat that is already here. That way more people will begin to take the threat more seriously.
