Earth Day: How to Save and Preserve “Green”

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Representatives from over 160 countries will be on hand for a ceremony today at the United Nations.  That’s when they will formally sign the climate accord they agreed on last December in Paris.  Although not a legally binding agreement, this landmark deal is designed to ensure any additional rise in global temperature is limited to less than 2 degrees Celsius.  This comes at a critical time since data recently released from NOAA indicates that March 2016 was the eleventh consecutive month global temperatures saw record highs.

The Paris accord hopes to slow said temperature rises by calling for a global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.  What separates this deal from previous agreements designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is that both the United States and China are participants.  According to the White House, the United States and China contribute a total of approximately “40% of global emissions.”  So the fact that both countries are among the 160 participating nations makes this deal groundbreaking.  Reducing both air and water pollution through more sustainable living aren’t new ideas though.  It was intended for this historic agreement to be signed today – the 46^th annual Earth Day.

Historically, the burning of fossil fuels whether for energy production, transportation or as part of industrial process has been one the biggest contributions to global air and water pollution.  A large contributor to this is the burning of coal, which remains one of the most prevalent sources of energy production.  That’s because coal is plentiful and cheap.  However, burning coal during the production of energy produces a high amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses that are subsequently released into the atmosphere.  The use of cleaner alternatives, such as wind and solar energy, have been expanding in recent years.  While solar, wind and nuclear power are already prevalent in the European Union, the United States has recently created a series of tax incentives to help expand them domestically.

A local example of this in the Mid-Atlantic Region comes from Constellation Energy which is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.  Constellation Energy is a subsidiary of the Exelon Corporation and they operate dozens of power plants – including some in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.  In Maryland, Constellation Energy uses a variety of renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and hydroelectric among others.  They also utilize natural gas and nuclear power as cleaner alternatives to coal for energy production.

Individuals can also do a lot in their daily lives to live more sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint.  Simple things such as recycling more, using public transportation instead of driving and reducing the amount of electricity they use are all things people can do on a regular basis.  There are a number of Earth Day events in the DC Metro Region that people can participate in over the next several days.  By living more sustainably, and thereby reducing pollution, a cleaner environment is an admirable – and reachable – goal.