Dietary Habits and Food Choices Impact Climate

Using about 50 years? worth of data from the world?s 100 most populous countries, University of Minnesota Professor of Ecology G. David Tilman and graduate student Michael Clark show how current diet trends are contributing, not only to diet-related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, but also to dangerously increasing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). ?This is the first time this data has been put together to show these links are real and strong and not just the mutterings of food lovers and environmental advocates,? explains Tilman.

So the solution to what the scientists call the ?diet-environment-health trilemma? will require choosing menus high in plant-based, whole foods like those that fit in a Meditarreanean, ?pescetarian? or vegetarian diet. If these diets become the norm by 2050, Tilman and Clark say ?there would be no net increase in food production emissions.?

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The Message from the US and China is Clear:? Now is the Time to Act on Climate

Last week US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping made a joint announcement on their plans to address climate change after 2020.? As two of the world’s biggest economies and the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), their commitment to change and to take action will effect the entire global community.? The transition will not be easy but the timing is important as world leaders are looking ahead to the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), scheduled to take place in Paris, December 2015.? Read more here.

Threshold Crossed:? Wind Supplies 5% of US Electricity

For the first time, US wind farms account for over 5% of our electricity this year.? We may not yet catch up to the European countries highlighted last week, but we are putting wind as a priority and wind farms are quickly growing.? As of September, 46,600 wind turbines generate 62.3 gigawatts (GW) of energy for 15.5 million homes, with 105 wind farm projects under construction in 21 states, which will add another 13.6 GW of power.

With this growth has come economies of scale, bringing costs and electricity prices down. Turbines have become much more efficient and productive, with a single turbine now powering 650 homes. Siting decisions have evolved to mitigate wildlife impacts, while increasing output. “These and other factors have meant that over $120 billion worth of U.S. wind projects installed since the year 2000 are of high overall quality and reliability, ready to operate on average more than 95% of the time the wind is strong enough to generate power, says James Walker in American Wind Energy Association’s blog. Read more about the key findings here.