Look, this isn’t fun for us either but we still need to talk about it, because we’re literally running out of time. As you may have already heard, the UN has released its newest climate change report last week and things aren’t looking so great, to say the least.
One of the main things that stand out in this report, as opposed to previous ones, is the significance of methane as responsible for 30% of all warming since the pre-industrial era, and the urgent need to reduce it.
It’s true that both methane and CO2 warm the atmosphere, but as the new report emphasizes, they are not equal in their impact. A single CO2 molecule causes way less warming than a methane molecule, but lingers for hundreds of years in the atmosphere whereas methane disappears within two decades. That is why, according to the report, our focus should be on reducing methane emissions, which right now is the single biggest and fastest strategy for slowing down global warming.
Just in case it wasn't clear, the biggest contributors to global methane emissions are oil and gas production, landfills and, of course, livestock. In other words, once again we learn through research that the food we eat has a huge impact on the environment, both immediate and long term and if we don’t take drastic, immediate action SOON it might be too late.
Take one look at this infographic and see for yourself that changing your diet is one of the quickest, most impactful ways to take action and the time to do it is RIGHT NOW.
Share this with anyone who’s still sleeping on this crucial info.
[H. Ritchie, The carbon footprint of foods: are differences explained by the impacts of methane? 2020]
