Letter: Go further in reducing your carbon footprint
Published 1:30 am Friday, March 6, 2020
Editor,
Annie, Maggie, and Greta – Thank you!
Here’s a huge thanks to Annie and Maggie, Whidbey’s own version of Greta, for targeting Chase and Wells Fargo for bankrolling big oil (South Whidbey Record, Feb 15, 2020). It’s easy to move your money to a local bank, Heritage for example, to improve this situation. But don’t stop there, it’s not just banks. We need to work towards complete fossil divestiture. Folks, we just must break the addiction. According to our own government, 97 percent of (all but a couple big oil ) scientists say that the globe is warming because of our fossil fuel burning activities, so it’s more than clear what we need to do.
Since earth day is approaching, let’s go further. Ask your retirement fund manager where the money goes, and move it to resource conservation, renewable energy or sustainable products. Look at every bond, every fund, every stock in the portfolio.
Trade your car in for an electric vehicle. They can be costly so look at used cars at Paramount Motors for a quarter of the cost of new. They are fun and quick and take about 1/4 to 1/2 the cost to fill-up for the same miles in a dinosaur driven car. New ones are available now from most of the manufacturers, including Ford, GM and Tesla. Ask an EV driver for a ride; you come away with the “EV grin”!
Diesel user? Think about switching to biodiesel. Dr. Dan’s Biodiesel in Ballard has your fuel. You might wanna do the research first, there are some tricks to switching to 100 percent right away, and this is not a completely clean fuel, but it’s better than pumping something that should be left in the ground.
Even better than driving is walking or riding a bike to work or do errands. Whidbey is a pretty nice place to ride; the hills make for a fun and challenging workout. Bayview Bicycles can help you with a new bike or tune-up the one sitting in your garage or carport. Ebikes can also be used to flatten the hills a little, Radpower bikes in Seattle designs and builds some of the best.
Look into switching from gas or oil heat to a super efficient mini-split by Island Ductless and lower your energy bill. Far less carbon emitted there.
Look at putting photovoltaic panels on your roof for grid-tied solar. It’s never been cheaper. The first dozen years you will payback the panels and decades after that they provide you energy for nearly nothing in return! Where else can you find an appliance that actually pays for itself! Whidbey Sun and Wind in Coupeville will help you get started.
Think about the gas tools you use, lawn mower, weed-whackers, chain saws. Can you convert to battery power? Yes, battery materials must be mined, but they can also be reused and recycled, unlike fossil fuels. Freeland Ace has battery powered chain saws and electric mowers.
Building a new building? Look into Passive House standards. It costs a bit more, but will save more than that extra cost over the life of the building, and be far more comfortable and easier to heat as well.
Where does the electricity we use come from? Try calling PSE and ask them to ditch the last 37 percent of their portfolio in coal. But make sure they do it honorably without displacing workers, by using wind and solar with storage, which require technicians and engineers and labor to design, build and maintain these facilities.
Use less plastic, or better yet, don’t buy plastic at all, unless it can be reused and recycled. Just say no to one-use plastics! Try to eat more plant foods and less meat. And tell your local store why you are not buying them.
If we all pull together, we can eliminate this threat and maybe, just maybe, turn the tide to save our planet. Hyperbole? I think not. If we don’t do anything, the earth will be just fine, in another few billion years. It’s only the living organisms on the earth that we want to preserve. If you don’t believe me or NASA, go to any peer-reviewed science based website and see for yourself.
Do you need to do all of these things to reverse global climate change? No. But picking one of them will help. Then next year another one, and so forth. We have to start now, and the sooner the better.
With hope for the future, and love and respect for our activists,
Tim Economu
Clinton
