Climate fallacy #1

Small changes in inputs lead to small changes in ouputs.  

This assumes the Earth is a linear system.  But it's not.  There are many climate-related feedback mechanisms which, once excited, can lead to unstable, out-of-control changes.  For example, ice-albedo feedback.  A small rise in termperature is not just a small rise in temperature.  It can result in reducing the reflectivity of the Earth's surface (the albedo ) by melting ice.  This in term increases the absorption of sunlight, which leads to more ice-melt and off we go.  It works in the other direction too.  Decreasing temperature causes the albedo to increase as ice forms.  This can lead to uncontrolled cooling. 

Climate Scoreboard

N simple, inexpensive things to reduce our carbon footprint

These recommendations were written in the context my local campus community but I'm sure they apply, mutatis mutandis, more generally. Send me your ideas, I'll be happy to include them.

Expensive remedies such as PV and wind are great, but it is much easier to conserve energy than to produce it. For some reasons we Americans tend to seek solutions that are expensive and sexy but require no individual effort or commitment. Oh, and by the way, we have no money so let's do nothing. Some people will think these suggestions are too hard. But hard is curing cancer. Hard is stopping domestic violence. Using a broom instead of a leaf-blower? Requiring campus vendors to provide healthy food? Trivial rewards for people who walk or ride their bikes instead of driving? It's slightly embarrassing that we even have to discuss these things. Embarrassing or not, here goes: