Yesterday, I posted an item built around a visit by Prof. Nicole Darnall, ASU, outlining the practical ways that a society can respond to the present challenges.
That post prompted a email to me from a Environmental Specialist who did not have the authority to speak publicly. Nonetheless, it seems perfectly valid to voice those views, as follows:
Dear Mr. Handover:
I found your posting via a Google alert I’ve set up. I like your idea of trying to pull the high-flying concept of saving the planet down to a local level by referencing analysis from a local expert.
But I wonder whether you chose the right expert; e.g., if Dr. Darnall’s forecast is correct, then her recommendation of Meatless Mondays won’t go far and fast enough. It can’t even be said to be a good start — as its very name locks people into thinking that just one meatless day suffices. In fact, no consumer product is ever marketed by asking consumers to use it just one day a week; e.g., very little Pepsi-Cola would be sold by prodding consumers to drink it one day a week, conceding that Coca-Cola remains the drink of choice the rest of the week. A City University of London prof might be making more sense when he recommends one meat day per week, see Eat meat on feast days only to fight obesity, says adviser.
Producing meat is harmful for the environment as growing animals requires energy and water, and cows produce the greenhouse gas methane Photo: Christopher Jones
Preceding Dr. Darnall’s recommendation is her assessment, which states that methane has 21 times the warming effect of carbon dioxide. But climate authorities now say methane has 25 times the effect of CO2 over a 100-year timeframe and 72 over a 20-year timeframe — which many use because methane’s half-life in the atmosphere is only about 10 years — while others use even higher figures; e.g., see Cornell Gas Study Stirs Heated Debate
A study examining the greenhouse impacts of methane leaks in the unconventional natural gas industry has proved highly controversial.
Below you can see I’ve addressed some even more basic points to Dr. Darnall directly; I haven’t yet had any reply.
The Environmental Specialist also included some important and pertinent points that had been sent to Dr. Darnall but I have decided to delay including that ‘letter’ for a short while in the hope that Dr. Darnall will reply. But read the items that are linked to above.
Learning from Dogs 