BaCCC/Video Summaries/Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Zero

Video Summary

Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Zero (5:02)

We are in the early stages of a global climate crisis, but it is still early enough that we can prevent a lot of the damage if we stop creating the problem through climate change mitigation.
Humans emit about 37 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide per year.
To solve climate change, we need to get our net greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
70% of greenhouse gases come from combusting fossil fuels for energy, and 25% come from greenhouse gases that are not CO2, like methane, nitrous oxide, and other molecules.
We could use less energy, e.g., by using LED lighting and efficient heating and cooling systems.
One solution is to find alternative affordable clean energy sources, such as wind, solar, nuclear and geothermal energy.
Renewable energy is now the cheapest form of electricity on two thirds of the Earth’s surface.
The sun is the biggest energy source we have access to.
There is enough wind energy, if we could capture it, to light the world.
Nuclear power also produces carbon-free energy.
It is much cheaper to make electricity without burning fossil fuels.
We need to innovate ways to distribute and store energy, regardless of the weather, and then get everything to run on that grid.
Simply switching to all-renewable energy is not enough, and because the shift will not happen overnight, it is already too late to actually prevent more climate change, especially for some populations that are already feeling the effects thereof.