Per Capita Davis: Small changes can be complicated
The topic of population is a fraught issue, with some folks identifying it as a key element of the climate crisis, while others see the risk of the issue being used against developing countries with high rates of population increase. I have thoughts about this,…
Per Capita Davis: If seeing the world helps ruin it, should we stay home?
The last column was the third of three about money, investments, and spending moving capital towards support of a sustainable future. It touched on the subject of “carbon offsets,” payments made to any number of projects that reduce (“offset”) CO2 emissions at least equal to…
Per Capita Davis: Big money and climate change
The previous column was the second of three addressing money and the transition to a fossil free future and it featured the actions of several billionaires to identify and support game changing new technologies. Incredible as it may sound, there are also trillionaires in the world, and…
Per Capita Davis: Billionaires invest in radical solutions
The last two columns were about money and the climate crisis. One was about how shareholders are pressuring the world’s largest companies to be leaders in sustainability. The other was about how some companies are doing just that. Frankly, I get tired of reading about…
Per Capita Davis: The business of the climate crisis
For most of the world, and for most of history, perhaps the greatest single driver of human activity and behavior has been money: getting it and then getting more. Of course, for many, getting some money or something worth trading is a matter of survival….
Per Capita Davis: Money talks; a lot of money shouts
This and the next couple of columns focus on money, specifically money spent or committed to mitigate or adapt to the climate crisis. How do companies, investors and others whose profits or losses could be affected by the climate crisis plan to allocate their resources…
Per Capita Davis: A change is coming in how we talk about climate
Climate scientists, even a half-century ago, predicted adverse effects from “climate change,” including sea-level rise, an increase in global temperature and melting of glaciers, to name a few. But right from the get-go, they predicted that among the first and most obvious “changes” would be…
Per Capita Davis: Headlines sum up the story
George H.W. Bush wrote a book, after he was CIA director but before he was president, about his time as director and how he tried to improve the efficiency of the agency. I remember that one of his main recommendations, one he returned to in…
Per Capita Davis: It’s time to think about building decarbonization
“Decarbonization,” a word so new my computer keeps trying to spell check it to something else, defines what some have called the next frontier in California’s fight against the climate crisis. The focus for reducing greenhouse gas emissions has been largely dominated by discussions over…
Per Capita Davis: How big is the battle?
“Dire” — an adjective describing an extremely serious or urgent situation or event causing great fear or suffering. Synonyms include horrible, atrocious, shocking, outrageous, unspeakable, alarming and grim. The front page, above the fold, headline in the May 7 edition of The New York Times…
Per Capita Davis: Some good news for a change
Spring has sprung and its time for some good news for a change on the climate front. First, maybe a new approach will help solve the issue of where to locate solar panels. Some people (fewer now) complain that they are unsightly and don’t want…
Per Capita Davis: Marching forward on the climate crisis
There’s a lot going on in March related to what we can do as individuals to combat the climate crisis. Here are just a few examples. As noted in the prior column, March is Burger Battle Month in Davis. Go to coolcuisine.net for burger descriptions, locations of…
Per Capita Davis: The great Burger Battle is on!
First things first: the “COOl Cuisine Burger Battle” is coming to Davis. For the entire month of March, we can chomp on a hamburger without the ham (not that it had ham in the first place) — a burger without the meat, replaced instead with…
Per Capita Davis: Evidence pushes us toward urgency
The Dec. 5 “Per Capita” reported on recent studies by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. National Climate Assessment and was basically bad news, with calls for urgent action to avoid catastrophic effects of the Climate Crisis. The Dec. 19…
Per Capita Davis: The climate crisis report card so far
I worried a bit about the last column. It was pretty harsh. It reflected my belief that the climate crisis is existential and requires an effort on the scale of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II for us to avoid very…
Per Capita Davis: The climate crisis is on the ballot
This column finds its way into the print version of The Davis Enterprise the first and third Wednesday of each month, meaning that it will land in your driveway on Nov. 7, the day after the election. I can’t tell you how many past elections…
Per Capita Davis: The media could use change of language
I hardly know where to start. One of my main conundrums in writing this column has been, over time, whether to “sound the alarm” and stress the urgency of action and the enormous potential dire consequences, or to try to look at the bright side,…
Per Capita Davis: One step forward, two steps back
It seems the news on most topics around the globe alternates between scary and hopeful. The Climate Crisis is no exception. I’m not sure if we are on a “one step forward, two steps backwards” trajectory or a “two steps forward, one step backwards” journey….
Per Capita Davis: The ‘tipping point’ revisited
Back in 2007 when I began writing these articles there were a few terms that captured the discussion about global warming. One was the term in the prior sentence: “global warming.” It may have been adequate at the time, but the soft, fuzzy, cozy, under-a-blanket…
Per Capita Davis: Who’s going to pick up the tab?
We here in California have our battles over who will pay for massive infrastructure projects such as the tunnels to deliver water to Southern California and high-speed rail to move people up and down the state. Most of what was built, most of what we…
