by George P. Nassos
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, consisting of 195 countries in the world, issued the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, and ten years later prepared the Paris Agreement which was adopted by most of the 195 countries. These two global agreements were adopted by almost all of the countries in order to reduce carbon emissions and prevent the global temperature from increasing more than 1.5°C. above 1990 levels by 2050. The Paris Agreement limits the average global temperature increase to less than 2.0°C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. The U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement during Trump’s fist administration but re-entered during the Biden administration. Trump again withdrew the USA from the Paris Agreement as soon as he became president. However, the withdrawal didn’t take effect immediately.
Despite these efforts to reduce carbon emissions and global temperature increases, we (globally) haven’t done a good job. The global temperature is rising faster than desired, and we are already 1.35°C above pre-industrial levels. The year 2024 has been recorded as the warmest year ever, and the ten warmest years in history have occurred during the past decade (2015-2024). We may be experiencing hotter than normal temperatures in U.S. western states this month and next as the temperature could be as much as 30°F. above average in some areas. The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to be in Utah, and many people are concerned whether it will be cold enough to host them and provide snow.
The Global Footprint Network measures humanity’s demand for and supply of natural resources and ecological services. One of its metrics is Earth Overshoot Day, which marks the day in the year when we consume more resources worldwide than the Earth can generate in the same year. In 2025, Earth Overshoot Day was July 24, but it may be as early as July 17 in 2026. Just how much longer will we be able to over-consume our natural resources and have a livable planet?
A third major environmental issue is the decreasing availability of freshwater. Although freshwater is about 3% of all the water on the earth, 2.5% is found in glaciers, ice caps and deep aquifers. But the remaining 0.5% is consumed primarily by industry (70%) and agricultural (20%). That leaves very little for human consumption. Demand by industry is starting to increase due to the growing number of data centers which require water for cooling. And as the global population continues to increase, the shortage is bound to grow.
What can be done about these detrimental environmental issues? We (nations, companies, individuals) must take the necessary action to minimize the growth of emissions, reduce the overconsumption of our natural resources, and utilize water more efficiently. Gasoline automobiles still dominate car sales and to minimize carbon emissions, automobile companies should produce more fuel-efficient cars. Like most of the rest of the world, the U.S. manufacturers should produce smaller vehicles. There is no need to focus on SUVs. There are many ways to reduce emissions by improving the transportation guidelines. For instance, eliminate red light signals when there is no cross traffic, and install flashing yellow left turn signals so cars can turn when there is no oncoming traffic. Traffic lights should be programmed so cars travelling at the speed limit will obtain green lights at various intersections.
One of the best ways to delay Earth Overshoot Day is to reduce waste. About 30% of all food generated turns to waste. Large grocery stores tend to purchase more food than needed so as not to run out of food and disappoint their customers. People tend to purchase more food than needed for the same reason – so they don’t run out of food, or they take advantage of the buy-one-get-one-free promotion when they may never consume the free item.
Water consumption can be reduced by being more efficient. Reduce the consumption of bottled water which requires about twice the bottle content of water just to produce the plastic bottle. In most U.S. cities, tap water is cleaner than bottled water and about 90% of the plastic bottles are not recycled. Bathroom sinks should have the wastewater discharged to the bathroom toilet tank so the water can be used twice. For large public men’s bathrooms, the urinals should have a small faucet above the urinal so the occupant can wash his hands and have the wastewater flush the urinal. Again, the same water is used for two purposes.
If the need to improve our environment were embedded in the minds of most of the global population, we could develop more ways to improve it. I wish I had the answer for the next step. Why don’t we all give it more thought and recommend some simple ways to improve our environment.