Author Archives: LilaEspino

Hold on to your snowballs: More Americans accept the reality of climate change than ever before

Seventy-three percent! That’s the proportion of Americans who now think there is “solid evidence” of global climate change, according to a new report released by National Surveys on Energy and the Environment (NSEE). It’s the highest percentage since the survey started in 2008.

Good news? Sort of. Even those who accept the reality of climate change are still hazy on the causes. Only 34 percent of those sampled believed that climate change is due primarily to human activity, as established science indicates. As for the rest, 26 percent thought it was partially due to humans and 12 percent blamed natural causes. Come on, people!

Before you tear your hair out, here’s a quick lesson in the types of climate denial. “Trend deniers” are people who question whether the climate is changing at all — like the infamous snowball-throwing James Inhofe. “Attribution deniers,” on the other hand, question whether the changes can be linked to human influence — more in line with Scott Pruitt’s oh-so-vague climate beliefs.

Evidence suggests that trend deniers are on a sharp decline. Only 15 percent of those sampled in this study believed the climate was not changing at all. “That’s the lowest percentage since we started the survey,” says Barry Rabe, coauthor of the report and professor at the University of Michigan.

This has been a long time coming. Americans are experiencing more extreme weather on a personal level (heat waves, anybody?) and are seeing a growing number of reports about rising sea levels and melting polar ice.

National Surveys on Energy and Environment

But at the same time, attribution deniers are still around — and they present problems for anyone hoping to pass climate legislation.

“Those who are averse to mitigation aren’t as vehemently challenging the science of climate change, as they are the ability of policies to make any difference,” says Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion and another coauthor of the report.

This has been particularly visible in the Trump administration, where climate denial has taken the form of rejecting human influence rather than rising temperatures more generally. And, by denying the role of humans, the Trump team has absolved itself of making any significant policy changes — well, except for rolling back environmental regulations.

At least we don’t have to waste as much paper showing why a single snowball doesn’t disprove the reality of a warming world. But if you think that climate change is only partially — or not at all — caused by humans, you’re even less likely to take the drastic actions needed to prevent catastrophe.

“In general, having Americans accept the existence of climate change is a necessary condition for policy action,” Borick argues. “But it’s not sufficient.”

Borick and Rabe are hopeful that we will continue see slow movement toward both acceptance and action. The surveys show some hints that trend deniers can become attribution deniers — and that attribution deniers, in turn, may eventually accept the full science of climate change. But, if the last decade is any indication, it’s going to take a while.

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Hold on to your snowballs: More Americans accept the reality of climate change than ever before

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Exxon Is Trying to Create… Biofuel?

Move over Al Gore. Exxon is trying to get in on the green action.

Exxon believes?they can create a good biofuel from algae. Yeah, oil-drooling, environmentally-polluting Exxon. They’ve partnered with Synthetic Genomics to crack the code on producing a viable biofuel that is cheap to produce, effective as a fuel and can easily be produced in massive quantities.

According to Oliver Fetzer, CEO out Synthetic Genomics, ?The goal here is to get to a sustainable, renewable biofuel that can be cost-competitive with pumping oil out of the ground, but can scale to levels that go far beyond demonstration levels.?

The reason major companies have put such little?effort into biofuels are the issues of cost and scalability. Until now, it was simply not possible to create enough biofuel to meet energy demands at a production cost comparable to oil. And if you’re an oil company, why divert money into less profitable ventures? It’s not like you are driven by a strong environmental conscience. It must be?because you?know that someday there will be no more oil left to drill. And if/when that sad day comes, Exxon will be ready.

That’s where advances in algae farming comes in. With some genetic tweaking, scientists working with Exxon have been able to create an algae that produces twice as much fat as it normally would, but still grows at the same efficient speed. The fat, as you can imagine, is the fodder for creating fuel. Suddenly?algae-based biofuels just became a whole lot more plausible.

Exxon believes that in 7 years, with some reasonable technological advances, they will be able to produce 10,000 barrels of algae biofuel a day. Of course, the US alone produces 10 million barrels a day, but it?s still a big step for the future of biofuels. The only downside is that we really need more sustainable options now, if not 10 years ago. Exxon certainly seems to have dragged their feet into the clean energy game.

This news brings up an important question: will oil companies be the ones responsible for paving a greener future? Of course, it’s all in the interest in maintaining their gold-lined pockets, but does that matter? Progress is progress, right?

The very fact that Exxon is interested in more sustainable fuel options bears promise that a more sustainable future is coming. But are biofuels the answer? Or do you think other renewables, like solar and wind, are more promising for mass energy production?

What are your thoughts? Share with the community below! ? ? ? ?

Related on Care2:

The Secret to Enjoying a Greener Cup of Coffee
7 Ways to Finally Start Loving Yourself
Eating More Plants Will Improve Your Mind

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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Exxon Is Trying to Create… Biofuel?

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