Global Warming

Creating Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Energy Use for Air Conditioning

Energy use for manufacturing, travel, lighting and indoor living or office needs is the top contributor to global warming; and Air Conditioning use in  developed nations - especially when heat pumps are used  - comprises 5% of worldwide climate-change usage. How do Air Conditioning units hurt the environment?


  1. They consumes a considerable amount of electricity  or other power;
  2. They  use and leak CFC-based refrigerants with global warming potential that are 2,000 times as potent as carbon dioxide; and
  3. Their manufacturing and delivery releases greenhouse gases.


Pepco in Washington DC and Maryland has developed unique savings programs for business and home users, which reward lower usage with credits against their monthly bills.  Pepco use smart thermostats - installed free of charge by Pepco in homes and commercial sites - to control peak energy grid usage; and offers free energy audits to tenants and owners to further control electricity consumption. Residential customers can save up to $160 a season, just by cutting AC usage.

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Learn how our public policy and public-private partnership consulting can help your enterprise or agency educate consumers and promote innovation. Our portfolio includes CalWEA (California Wind Energy), Duke Energy, and the US Department of Energy (DOE) - Battelle Labs.

Constraining space, satellite, and military use of methane fuels and other pollutants

Methane, although not toxic, is a gas commonly found in nature - emitted from livestock, swamps, the sea, and almost anything that decomposes  - and is used to power everything from power plants to rockets. Methane and methanol, a derivative, are used heavily in missile, jet, hypersonic, and rocket fuels. When burned, methane converts to CO2  and H2O (water) vapor. As well as other pollutants, and contributes heavily to climate change. Russia and China are the two largest users of military and space-based methane (and fossile) fuels.

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Fuel cost is the largest expense, typically, for any military. And fuel usage is one of the largest contributors to the world's carbon footprint. Our portoflio includes significant work in design and leadership, over the years, of sustainable fuel and biofuel alternatives for the US Department of Energy and the US Navy.

Eat More Vegetables, Less or No Meat

The United Nations lists humanity's global obsession with eating meat as the third largest contributor to climate change.


Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and less meat and dairy, can significantly lower methane gas production and other environmental impacts of the meat industry. Producing plant-based foods generally results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires less energy, land, and water. 


The World Animal Foundation reported in March 2024 that roughly 22% of the world's population - 1.5 billion humans - are vegetarian. Almost 40% of India is vegetarian, followed by:

  • Israel - 13%
  • Taiwan - 12%
  • Italy - 10%
  • Mainland Europe & the UK - 9%
  • Brazil - 8%
  • Australia - 5%
  • US, other - 1%


Vegetarians generally have lower body mass index (BMI), lower blood pressure, and lower "bad" cholesterol levels than meat eaters. They also tend to eat fewer calories and less fat, and have a lower risk of heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. And the World Cancer Research Fund says that vegetarians or vegans  are 14% less likely to develop common forms of cancer than those eating meat as part of their daily diet. 


Were Humans Designed to Eat Meat?



Probably not.  PETA and other animal rights groups point out that there does not seem to be one instance in the Bible in which Jesus ate meat. Historians note that Jesus' brother James was a vegetarian and had been raised vegetarian. Biologically, here are the differences between humans and carnivores:


  • Digestive Tract:  Humans have longer intestinal tracts than carnivores, which are better at breaking down fiber and absorbing nutrients from plants.
  • Teeth: Human teeth are flat and close together, similar to other herbivores, and are better suited for eating soft foods like fruits; we have no 'tearing' front canine teeth.
  • Taste: Humans evolved to only eat cooked meat, dating back to prehistoric times - if we eat raw meat our systems are not equipped to fight off the pathogens, and neither do humans who eat meat like the smell or taste of raw animal.  Yet we have no hesitation to eat any natural, uncooked fruit, vegetable, or grain.


Is it Time for Public Policy Support to Limit Meat Consumption? Much as Governments Target Drug, Smoking, and Alcohol Abuse?


Not everything 'learned' by humans  is safe or benign for human consumption: consider the world opiate, alcohol, and nicotine industries. Historically, whatever requires refinement or technology to be made suitable or appealing to human tastes to consume, is unhealthy, dangerous, or even deadly for us. We believe the meat (and poultry) industry is another example.  Heart disease is the second-largest killer of most Americans, and heavy meat consumption is a leading trigger of such illness and deaths; as well as a leading trigger of cancers, neuropathy, obesity, and other serious illness.

Animal Cruelty


We think the best reason for avoiding meat consumption - or lamb, goat, pork, or poultry - is the pervasive and extreme animal cruelty involved worldwide. Even the dairy industry is known for extreme cruelty - except for a few US brands, such as Harris Teeter, endorsed in 2024 by the ASPCA as the nation's leader in fostering new, humane dairy practices.

 

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