#027 The 2000 Watt Society: A Proven Process for Courageous Climate Change

In this episode I want to cover this topic of the 2000 Watt Society, what that actually means, and why it is an extremely important topic. In episode #3 titled How Much Should One Person Be Allowed to Use, I touched on this topic. Additionally, this topic is closely related to episode #2 The Most Sustainable Countries. But I want to go much more in-depth this time around because I think this is a very important topic and it is one of the pillars to our sustainable future.

Okay for a minute here I want you to put aside your opinion about the whole topic of global warming and climate change. There are still many, many people that think this is all a trumped up myth by environmental activists and we have nothing to worry about. Yet all you have to do is listen to episode #25 The Keystone Life of Coral, and you will have a clear example of the reality of the environmental change we now face. 

There was a scientist named Svante Arrhenius, that published a seminal paper in 1896 where he clearly expounded on the science of global warming. Now this is a man whose lifetime work spanned nearly 50 years and delved into numerous scientific disciplines. In 1903 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for some of his work. Toward the middle of his career he became interested in the role of carbon dioxide in climate control. That was about the time he published his paper.  

But, it wasn’t until 2004 that Vice-President Al Gore thrust the topic of global warming into the public arena. Prior to that this topic had been mostly ignored for almost 80 years. So I think this is typical for most of the human race. We get our first warning in 1896. So here we are 125 years later and people are still balking at the concept of global warming and excess carbon emissions.

This model of the 2000 Watt society is simply a model. It does have some limitations.  However, it does put a clear figure on what a sustainable lifestyle means for everyone. After all, every human being has the same right to use the resources that the Earth provides. So applying the 2000 watt society model means a more equal world as well as a sustainable one. 

There is no doubt that we will continue to see climate change in the coming decades. We can slow that down and even reverse this process but we must take action. As I have said before, I cannot fight the oil industry. I cannot fight the federal government. I cannot change the world. But what I can do is address the very way that I live everyday.  And you can as well.  

Listen to this episode and learn all about a proven process of courageous climate change. 

Always live sustainably because this is how we build a better future. 

Patrick