-By Aditi Upadhye
On July 20th 2018, Cville Comm-UNI-ty hosted Science Pub Night with UVA Professor of Environmental Sciences, Dr. Deborah Lawrence. Dr. Lawrence has done field-based research in Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Cameroon studying the climate impacts of deforestation. She spoke on why it’s important to save our tropical rainforests, how to talk about climate change in a way that resonates with people, her thoughts on natural gas pipelines like the Atlantic coast pipeline, and small changes you can incorporate in your day-to-day life to reduce your carbon footprint. Below we’ve included a summary of Dr. Lawrence’s insights.
Tropical Rainforests: A buffer against climate change
Tropical rainforests, particularly those found at the equator, serve as a huge carbon sink, removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it for photosynthesis, resulting in cooling of the atmosphere. These forests also play an essential role in the water cycle. Because forests store more than twice the amount of CO2 than is found in the atmosphere, deforestation for agricultural or other manmade purposes has a significant impact on the climate. Deforestation contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 25% of total emissions according to the Climate Institute. Unfortunately, once forests are lost, their beneficial effects on atmospheric CO2 levels can be impossible to replace. Moreover, forests are home to many plant and animal species and are essential for preserving biodiversity.
Tips for fruitful discussions on climate change
While Dr. Lawrence spoke about how unprecedented and extreme the rise in global temperature has been since the Industrial Revolution, she also placed importance in talking about climate change in ways that resonate with people. For example, instead of talking about the 1°C rise in average global temperature, which to a layperson may seem insubstantial, she stressed discussing it in terms of its effects on people. For example: with a 1°C rise in temperature, the number of days of debilitating heat (>39°C) in Kenya increases from 20 to over 100, which can drastically change how people live.
The good and the bad of natural gas pipelines
An issue that has raised concern in our local community in Virginia is the proposed Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, natural gas emits ~50-60% less CO2 compared to emissions from coal or petroleum, and U.S. CO2 emissions are at 25-year lows, primarily due to the increased use of natural gas. Despite these improvements, the benefits of a natural gas pipeline remain unclear, largely due to the risks of fugitive emissions, which are unintended emissions arising from industrial processes during natural gas extraction. This includes the leakage of methane, which traps up to 72 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a 20-year period. According to Dr. Lawrence, if fugitive emissions exceed 2.5%, the net benefits of natural gas are lost, and she also emphasized that more research focusing on fugitive emissions is necessary. Moreover, other potential negative impacts of a natural gas pipeline on the communities in which they are implemented, including air, water, and noise pollution, make it clear that this complex issue will require many variables to be considered when weighing the benefits and costs.
Strategies for responding to climate change
The response to climate change involves 1) mitigation, or reducing emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and 2) adaptation to the impacts of climate change such as rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Dr. Lawrence believes that our resources should primarily go towards mitigation, as these preventative measures will have longer-term impact, and will prevent the loss of irreplaceable natural carbon sinks. Although the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate and the level of CO2 in the atmosphere is the highest it has been since 3-5 million years ago, we still have a window of opportunity to turn things around if we place priority on policies that support mitigation.
So what can you do to reduce your carbon footprint? Dr. Lawrence highlighted the cumulative impact of making small changes daily and focused especially on reducing food waste, which contributes significantly to overall greenhouse gas emissions. These include eating less meat, eating smaller more frequent food portions to avoid food waste, making sure to eat leftovers, and composting food waste. Take it a step further and keep chickens or pigs to help with the food waste, although we suggest first checking if it’s allowed in your neighborhood! Taking steps to prioritize living a “greener” life and advocating for policies that support reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be essential for the future of our beautiful planet in the years to come.
For more information on Dr. Deborah Lawrence and her research, please visit: https://www.evsc.virginia.edu/lawrence-deborah2/