‘Semi-vegetarianism’ could ease global warming
Arizona Daily Wildcat / Dunja Nedic / 26 October 2009
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that the global surface temperature is likely to rise up to 11.5°F by the year 2100, setting into motion a slew of catastrophic consequences for our planet, such as a rise in sea level, increasingly frequent heat waves and periods of heavy precipitation and more severe tropical cyclones. Numerous species will become extinct, which will wreak havoc on our ecosystem.
And if you’re dumb enough to think this won’t affect you, then perhaps give some thought to the impact global warming will have on the economy. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the banking, transport and agricultural industries will all likely suffer due to climate change.
And you thought the global financial crisis was bad now.
So what can we do? For the average college student, financial viability takes precedence over environmentally friendly alternatives to their lifestyle and this is completely understandable. Installing solar panels on your home and buying a Toyota Prius are simply not feasible ways to reduce your carbon footprint for most people. But there is a way to minimize the detrimental impact that you personally are having on our environment without having to make a radical change to your lifestyle or budget.
The answer is semi-vegetarianism.
The Guardian / David Batty and David Adam / 26 October 2009
Eating meat could become as socially unacceptable as drink-driving because of the impact it has on global warming, according to a senior authority on climate change.
Lord Stern of Brentford, former adviser to the government on the economics of climate change, said people will have to consider turning vegetarian to help reduce global carbon emissions.
"Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world's resources. A vegetarian diet is better," Stern said.
Farmed ruminant animals, including cattle and sheep, are thought to be responsible for up to a quarter of "man-made" methane emissions worldwide.
Stern, whose 2006 Stern Review warned that countries needed to spend 1% of their GDP to stop greenhouse gases rising to dangerous levels, said a successful deal at the climate change conference in Copenhagen in December would massively increase the cost of producing meat.
People's concerns about climate change would lead to meat eating becoming unacceptable, he predicted.
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