CLIMATE CHANGE ACADEMY
Across the globe many individuals ask the following questions:
What is climate change?
What does global warming mean?
Is global warming a hoax?
What is going green?
How do I know what to believe about the environment?
Does the Bible talk about Climate Change?
What is sustainability?
Do Science and Religion Agree?
One of the fundamental benefits of the Christian Bible although many times hard to understand due to translations derived from 'old english' terminology is the Bible contains all the answers to life's challenges if only we took the time to research. A May 24, 2015 Papal Encyclical, the highest teaching contributions a Pope makes for his teaching office was sent to all Bishops for world distribution endorsing Climate Change. Be careful not to conflate Climate Change with the hot button issue 'global warning.' Climate change is an integral part of the discipline of sustainability. Try not to throw out the baby with the bath water as a result of the alleged dishonest reporting of global warming data that broke in the news several years ago.
All individuals of every discipline may now use the information provided by the Climate Change Community that includes 5 international reports, National Academy of Science in the US and UK. It is appropriate for individuals and leaders to take the data provided by the climate change community, interpret it, understand the findings and assimilate the information into daily personal and corporate philosophy. From a Christian perspective for example it is in persuit of exellence in every area of life that we undertake the priciples of sustainability that is the premise of climate change. Christians should set the example.
So is a non scientist qualified to make statements about climate change? As long as we don't try to explain by stepping into the role of scientists we can state the facts to others. We can build from the scientific literature and say what the data means to us as humanity. All of us in politics, economics, religion and society in general can talk about climate change and what it means to humanity.
As an introduction the Book of Genesis is the oldest and primary source of evidence written approximately between 1440 and 1400 B.C.E. that documents sustainability showing the intrinsic workings set in place by God when He created the earth. You will see recorded that God often said after each day of creation these words "it is good." Investigations show that there is "Intelligent Design" using cause and effect as a system of evaluation.
In terms of sustainability God created the planet and the universe to be sustainable. You will hear the term green house gas as you study climate change. Green House Gases or GHG are generated naturally by nature such as carbon dioxide, water vapor from evaporation and methane a GHG from farm animals such as cows, sheep and goats, farm waste and from landfills for example. These natural GHGs can be problematic if not proactively mitigated and levels not managed. Some green house gases linger in the atmosphere much longer than others having a greater half life and do more damage long term than other GHGs.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency methane is problematic as a GHG because it traps heat increasing surface heat twenty five times more than carbon dioxide by augmenting or makes larger the suns rays increasing surface heat. Although there is more CO2 on the planet than methane, methane has a much greater environmental impact trapping hot air on the earth's surface. Both GHGs must be aggressively mitigated to lower surface heat. Methane from organic decay in farm regions needs to be decreased by sustainable strategies such as reducing and recycling organic products rather than sending to landfill or allowing to rot sending methane into the atmosphere. Older automobiles, gas and oil industry waste also produce methane as a GHG into the atmosphere. Livestock may be responsible for > 26% of the methane released into the atmosphere while emissions from older automobiles now on the decline < 29% of the atmospheric methane. Methane has a Global Warming Potential -GWP of 72 because it has an atmospheric lifetime of 12+/-3 years while Nitrous Oxide has a GWP of 289 because it has a lifetime of 114 years. "We perish for a lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6.
The critical problems are connected with "anthropogenic" GHGs which are man-made and that linger in the atmosphere longer than natural GHGs. God created the trees and the oceans to absorb GHGs and to keep the air clean. However if we deplete the earth of adequate number of trees and place anthropogenic GHGs into the atmosphere that are synthetic to natural order then we interrupt the process leaving more GHGs in the atmosphere than needed causing the air we breath to be polluted. We compound this challenge by placing inordinate amounts of anthropogenic GHGs into the atmosphere overwhelming the natural system of cleaning the air. In other words we exceed our carbon budget by placing more GHGs into the atmosphere than the planet's trees and oceans can absorb. Genesis 2:15 says the following:
Genesis 2:15 (New International Version)
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
It was God's will from the beginning that all humans take care of the earth, become custodians of the earth and to understand how things work so we can cooperate with the systems. If we fail to understand how things work we tend to abuse the earth without being aware of what we are doing. Imagine if the earth is abused for centuries what the damage could be. Keep these basics in mind as you study climate change. Going Green is an attempt to limit the number of trees we harvest so that there are sufficient numbers to absorb toxic GHGs.
Trees reproduce by seeds through pollination and by seeds carried and buried by animals that sprout. All these are part of God's system to keep an adequate number of trees on earth to keep the air clean. However we as humans can also be good custodians by planting trees and there is no conflict with the scriptures by planting seeds or trees. Managing tropical rainforests such as the Amazon, central Africa, Southern Asia and Eastern Australia is important since tropical rain forests are primary global providers of oxygen to earth's atmosphere. Just as important, rain forests also clean the air of the GHG carbon dioxide.
Genesis 8: 22 records
"As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."
God set in motion sustainability as recorded in Genesis 8:22 and included mankind as vehicles by which trees could be planted and in essence lead the mission of "taking care of the earth."
Human responsibility to steward the resources on the planet began with God's blessing and commissioning of man to take rule as a steward, over all the resources on the planet, to ensure sustainability, leaving adequate resources for generations to come. When God commissioned man as earth's steward God expected man to learn about the ecological systems God set in place at creation, to respect those systems and to work with those systems. Man's responsibility to sustainability is not only moral ensuring future generations have adequate resources but also a logical responsibility given if we abuse natural systems and resources man will go without essential natural resources for a period of time.
Genesis 1:28 records "God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
When God commissioned man to subdue the earth and to rule over the resources this was a formal commission to be a steward which is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. With stewardship or management comes responsibility. For example each department head has responsibility for a fiscal budget and has responsibility for the physical assets given to that department to ensure the full life expectancy is achieved for every asset and to manage the finances well.
Matthew 25:14 expands on this moral and natural responsibility humans have towards resources given to man by God. " Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone." God has entrusted mankind with the resources of the planet to work with the systems set in place at creation to ensure sustainability. There are consequences associated with each and every action humans take. If we manage resources morally and logically the outcomes are good and conversely if we mismanage resources the outcomes are bad. Galatians 6:7 records " Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." We often mismanage resources and forget that we have and when the consequences occur many times we do not associate the consequences with our past behaviors. Whats even more helpful is God's systems can predict outcomes so that we can avoid catastrophes.
This study allows any individual to understand the topics of climate change and going green so that we can be persons of excellence with full understanding of the topics. The study provides structure to the topic of sustainability with references to the following:
I. The Three Pillars of Sustainability
1. The Financial Pillar - preserving adequate finances so that future generations may be provided for.
2. The Social Pillar - preserving, modeling and communicating acceptable behaviors to influence future generations.
3. The Environmental Pillar - ensuring our interaction with the environment is pursued with preserving the environment in mind. Going green and climate change are subsets within the environmental pillar.
II. Three Strategies of Sustainability
1. Reuse - choose processes that reduce chemical usage that may be introduced into our environment, less packaging more bulk purchasing.
2. Reduce - use products that may be reused rather than one-time usage items.
3. Recycle - find and identify recycle partners. Select products that can be recycled.
Note: The Social Pillar requires moral values shared from generation to generation or in Hebrew "L dor v' dor" and is a pillar that if not addressed will cause society to implode. Within the social pillar there are three steel rods inserted as follows:
1. Preparation and mastery of skill sets
2. Sustained good character
3. Wisdom and making appropriate decisions
To fully grasp the fundamentals of sustainability, going green and climate change the following terms and concepts must be presented:
What is Sustainability - To use resources to meet the present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, nothing wasted and using resources at a rate that can be replenished.
What is Anthropogenic - A term that is comprised of two greek words 'anthropos' meaning man and 'genesis' meaning created. Anthropogenic means created by man or man made that which is synthetic to nature and opposing natural laws and systems of creation.
What is Climate Change - Comprehensive data on climate change shows the planet earth has gone through cooling and warming periods not just a chronic increase of temperature.
What is a carbon footprint - The total set of green house gases (GHG) emitted directly by an individual, an organization, home, an event, city, state or country.
What is global warming - A measure of how much a green house gas could contribute to the increase of the earth's temperature near surface air.
What is environmental impact - The rate at which our population consumes resources given population numbers, or number of persons in a household , or an organization's employee numbers, their levels of consumption and the impact caused by technology. The half-life or rate at which GHGs linger in the atmosphere and the impact caused by each individual GHG some more unfriendly to the atmosphere than others.
What is Global Warming Potential GWP - A measure of how much a GHG could contribute to warming the earth's surface. The earth's surface temperature is affected by a GHG's atmospheric lifetime. GHG molecules may be highly destructive to the atmosphere short term while other GHG molecules with longer life spans destroy the atmosphere at a slower rate.
What is Cap-N-Trade - To cap how much carbon dioxide any company may generate, charging companies for every portion of CO2 released into the atmosphere.
Globalization and Sustainability - Globalization is an interdependence of industrialized nations to work together to achieve both economic and political benefit. As a result sustainability has become an agenda item on every desk of every world leader, corporation and household.
Polution Prevention (P2) - Reducing waste at the point of origination by analyzing your current waste process and making process changes such as using less chemicals that are toxic to the environment and reusing materials rather than sending them to the landfill.
Climate Change Tipping Points - weather and climate thresholds that when transgressed or crossed over will cause hard to reverse semi-permanent climate conditions such as frequency of storms and new means or average heating levels for the planet.
Astronomy and Climate Change - Approximately every 405,000 years the planets Jupiter and Venus exert gravitational pulls that incrementally affect the earth's climate. Also as the earth orbits the sun just neglegeble variations of sunlight reaching the earth leads to climate changes and ecological changes. Astronomy is an important variable when comprehensively discussing climate change.
Feedback Loops - An example of a climate related feed back loop is arctic ice reflects sun rays back into the atmosphere due to its light color resulting in very little melting. However over time as ice melts and becomes darkened and exposes soil that is also dark in color the sun's rays are absorbed heating the air. This leads to more surface warming that comes full circle to melt the ice.
Climate Equity - is a strategy to evenly distribute the financial strain of mitigating climate change challenges especially for developing countries and developing local communities. Because the climate change carbon budget is a global burden with specific cities contributing vasts amounts of CO2 and other cities showing great responsibility climate equity has to be considered when implementing every project. All countries rich and poor must realize they have a moral responsibility but interms of financial ability and technological ability many countries are lagging behind. Climate equity realizes these developing communities will need help. Although poorer countries must exhit responsible behavior implementing technological programs to mitigate climate change may be too costly and could destroy their economy.
How best to steward an environmental sustainable lifestyle - be certain all three pillars of sustainability are functioning together not just one or the other. Are the changes you implement draining your budget, if so the financial pillar has been omitted. Choose to implement changes incrementally rather than all at once. Are the end users edified by the product selection or by the proposed changes of behavior, if not the social pillar of sustainability has been omitted. Are the selected products decomposing when sent to the landfill, if not the environmental pillar is not in effect. There must be a balanced well thought out approach to sustainability to achieve effectiveness.
Creativity and innovation can be used to prevent polution, reducing waste at the point of origination, mitigating environmental impact, decreasing carbon footprint, decreasing the amount of waste sent to the landfill and decreasing the amount of GHGs released into the atmosphere from organic waste. Some examples already implemented by environmental champions are as follows:
1. Instead of sending wastes to landfills several companies turn their waste stream into a revenue stream. Companies reduce the waste they generate by turning their waste streams into profit streams.
2. Rice bran that rots quickly when separated from the kernel is converted into a meat preserver thus zero waste, zero GHG and zero chance of disrupting the environment. A profit is made from the rice bran as well.
3. Cranberry seeds converted to powder form for a profit and is added to food and beverages as an enhancer.
4. Egg shell membranes converted to egg shell calcium to enhance bone and joint health converting a waste stream to a revenue stream.
5. Wastes that comes from olives when processed at an olive mill rots quickly. Olives are 20% oil and 50% water and the water putrefies quickly releasing methane as a GHG . To prevent methane polution the water is freeze dried to a powder form and added to pasta, mayonnaise and beverages. The waste is turned into a profit stream and never reaches a landfill or any waste stream.
6. Grape seeds are processed and the extract used to develop skin and potable minerals again as a revenue stream while eliminating the waste all together.
7. Plastic bottles from bottled water and other plastic containers recycled into fabric used to make professional clothing lines such as dress slacks and jackets. Plastic bottles instead of going to a landfill or to a designated waste stream these plastic bottles are converted to a profit stream while saving the environment.
Getting started as a good custodian or as a good steward of the earth's resources requires some concrete steps and the following formulas may help you get started. Estimation of the waste you generate individually, as a household, as a Church or as a business is the starting point. The formula for businesses uses 250 days/year having deducted 11 holidays and all weekends. The formula for Churches uses 156 days/year meeting in the facility an average of three times per week. Large Churches may need to use the formula for businesses to calculate the waste generated by employees in addition to calculating the waste generated by parishioners. Add the results from both formulas to obtain a more comprehensive estimate. The formula for individual households does not deduct any holidays nor weekends using 365 days/year. For all formulas feel free to adjust the days spent at home if you travel much, the days used by businesses and Churches in order to arrive at a more accurate estimate. 1.6 pounds as a variable is used as a statistical estimate for waste generated by the average individual. We divide by 2,000 to convert pounds to tons. If you're not comfortable with formulas simply contact your waste stream vendors for actual data. To estimate the waste you generate use the following formulas:
Estimate of Waste Generated For a Business
Number of employees x 1.6 pounds x 250 days/year
2,000
Estimate of Waste Generated For a Church
Number of parishioners x 1.6 pounds x 156 days/year
2,000
Estimate of Waste Generated For a Home
Number in your household x 1.6 pounds x 365 days/year
2,000
Here is a sample problem using the formula designed for a home.
A family of 6 consisting of a father, mother, two children and the parents of one spouse live at home year round. How much annual waste can be estimated for this family in pounds and tons?
ANSWER 6 x 1.6 pounds x 365 days/year = 3,504 pounds annually or 1.752 tons when divided by 2,000
If you would like to estimate your carbon footprint or environmental impact, how much polution is generated or to measure the amounts of GHGs you are responsible for here is a formula to use to get started. We all have an impact on our environment at varying degrees some more than others. Individuals and households have an impact on the natural environment. Events such as July 4th celebrations, the Olympics, large national events have their own carbon footprints as they generate anthropogenic GHGs into the atmosphere. Large corporations and large Churches have their own carbon footprint based on the number of employees, parishioners, habits, management and use of technology. Countries and nations also have their own carbon footprint based on habits, management, consumption and use of technology. The formula is as follows:
E = P x L x T
E = Environmental Impact
P = Population (use household number, parishioner number, employee number, which ever is applicable)
L = Level of consumption (electricity, chemicals, all products purchased from all sources, food, clothing, cosmetic etc.)
T= Technology( including automobiles, appliances etc.)
Summary
Sustainability is an esoteric discipline and the basic structure has to be understood before manipulating any sustainable green project. There are 3 pillars that hold up the discipline of sustainability along with 3 strategies.
Three pillars
1. Economic/Financial Pillar
2. Social Pillar
3. Environmental Pillar - Going green is an off-shoot of the environmental pillar.
Three Strategies
1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
If any GREEN project is implemented all three pillars must be engaged simultaneously in tandem to achieve effectiveness. Ignoring one or more of the three pillars when executing any green project will cause inevitable failure. As a checklist always consider the following action items:
1. Are the 3 pillars of sustainability being engaged?
2. Financial pillar - is the cost of going green going to break the bank, cause collapse to an industry, city, state, demographic or region. If so consider incremental implementation. If the financial pillar collapses your project will also collapse.
3. Social pillar - are end users edified by the concept, the process and will the project leave society better off for future generations with inaccurate concepts, predictions, prognosis, expectations, apathy and straddled with debt as a result.
4. Environmental pillar - is the research thorough and comprehensive and tested for efficacy? Are the targeted reduction benchmarks of green house gas emissions realistic, are new green products tested to be compostable, will breakdown at landfills and are processes viable.
Because sustainable projects on a national and international level involve major moving parts especially economically, socially and environmentally execution has to be moderated carefully, never emotionally. Sustainable projects are always zero sum and will only be successful if all 3 pillars are respected in tandem. Ignoring just one of the three pillars inevitably results in failure.
We must be armed with the fundamentals of Sustainability to educate the national constituency and to move forward with respect to all three pillars. A film writer added to a script the crux of what sustainability is. The script said "the resources are never exhausted because they never tried to tear its soul out!" You see wreckless abuse of our environment is way more than the damage caused but a symptom of the condition of our hearts.
Chinese Version
氣候變遷學院 全球各地有許多人提出以下問題： 什麼是氣候變遷？ 全球暖化意味著什麼？ 全球暖化是個騙局嗎？ 什麼正在走向綠色？ 我如何知道對環境該相信什麼？ 聖經有談到氣候變遷嗎？ 什麼是永續性？ 科學和宗教一致嗎？ 儘管由於源自「古英語」術語的翻譯而導致很多時候難以理解，基督教聖經的基本好處之一是，只要我們花時間研究，聖經就包含了生活挑戰的所有答案。 2015 年 5 月 24 日的教皇通諭是教宗為其教學辦公室做出的最高教學貢獻，已發送給所有主教，以便在世界範圍內分發，支持氣候變遷。請注意不要將氣候變遷與熱門議題「全球警告」混為一談。氣候變遷是永續發展學科的一個組成部分。盡量不要因為幾年前新聞中出現的所謂不誠實的全球暖化數據報道而將嬰兒和洗澡水一起倒掉。 現在，每個學科的所有個人都可以使用氣候變遷社群提供的信息，其中包括美國和英國國家科學院的 5 份國際報告。個人和領導者應該採用氣候變遷界提供的數據，對其進行解釋，以理解研究結果並將這些資訊融入日常個人和企業理念中。例如，從基督教的角度來看，為了在生活的各個領域追求卓越，我們採取了永續發展的原則，這是應對氣候變遷的前提。基督徒應該樹立榜樣。 那麼非科學家有資格就氣候變遷發表言論嗎？只要我們不試圖透過扮演科學家的角色來解釋，我們就可以向他人陳述事實。我們可以根據科學文獻來建構並說明這些數據對我們人類意味著什麼。我們所有政治、經濟、宗教和社會人士都可以談論氣候變遷及其對人類的意義。 作為引言，《創世記》是最古老和主要的證據來源，大約寫於公元前 1440 年至 1400 年之間。該文件記錄了永續性，顯示了上帝在創造地球時所設定的內在運作方式。你會看到記載，上帝常在每天創造之後說「這是好的」這句話。調查顯示，存在以因果為評估體系的「智慧設計」。 就永續性而言，上帝創造了一個可持續發展的地球和宇宙。當您研究氣候變遷時，您會聽到溫室氣體這個術語。溫室氣體或 GHG 是自然界自然產生的，例如二氧化碳、蒸發產生的水蒸氣和甲烷，以及來自牛、綿羊和山羊等農場動物、農場廢物和垃圾掩埋場等的溫室氣體。如果不積極緩解和管理水平，這些自然溫室氣體可能會產生問題。有些溫室氣體在大氣中停留的時間比其他溫室氣體長得多，半衰期更長，並且比其他溫室氣體造成的長期危害更大。 根據美國環保署的說法，甲烷作為一種溫室氣體是有問題的，因為它透過增強或增加太陽光線增加表面熱量，捕獲的熱量是二氧化碳的二十五倍。儘管地球上的二氧化碳含量比甲烷多，但甲烷將熱空氣困在地球表面，對環境的影響也大得多。必須積極減少這兩種溫室氣體的排放，以降低地表熱。農場地區有機腐爛產生的甲烷需要透過永續策略來減少，例如減少和回收有機產品，而不是送往垃圾掩埋場或任其腐爛，將甲烷排放到大氣中。舊汽車、天然氣和石油工業廢棄物也會產生甲烷，作為溫室氣體排放到大氣中。牲畜可能排放到大氣中的甲烷量超過 26%，而老舊汽車的排放量目前正在下降，佔大氣甲烷排放量的 29% 以下。甲烷的全球暖化潛勢 -GWP 為 72，因為它在大氣中的壽命為 12+/-3 年，而一氧化二氮的 GWP 為 289，因為它的壽命為 114 年。 “我們因缺乏知識而滅亡。”何西阿書 4:6。 關鍵問題與「人為」溫室氣體有關，這些溫室氣體是人造的，在大氣中停留的時間比天然溫室氣體長。上帝創造了樹木和海洋來吸收溫室氣體並保持空氣清潔。然而，如果我們耗盡地球上足夠數量的樹木，並將按照自然秩序合成的人為溫室氣體排放到大氣中，那麼我們就會中斷這一過程，使大氣中的溫室氣體多於所需，從而導致我們呼吸的空氣受到污染。我們將過量的人為溫室氣體排放到大氣中，壓倒了自然的空氣淨化系統，加劇了這項挑戰。
換句話說，我們向大氣中排放的溫室氣體超過了地球樹木和海洋所能吸收的排放量，超出了我們的碳預算。創世記 2 章 15 節說： 創世記 2:15（新國際版） 15 耶和華神將那人安置在伊甸園，使他修理看守。 從一開始，上帝的旨意就是讓所有人類照顧地球，成為地球的守護者，並了解事物的運作方式，以便我們能夠與系統合作。如果我們不了解事物是如何運作的，我們往往會在不知道自己在做什麼的情況下濫用地球。想像一下，如果地球幾個世紀以來都被濫用，將會造成多大的傷害。在研究氣候變遷時，請牢記這些基礎知識。走向綠色是一種限制我們砍伐樹木數量的嘗試，以便有足夠的數量來吸收有毒溫室氣體。 樹木透過授粉的種子以及發芽的動物攜帶和埋藏的種子來繁殖。所有這些都是上帝系統的一部分，目的是在地球上保留足夠數量的樹木以保持空氣清潔。然而，我們作為人類也可以透過種植樹木成為良好的守護者，並且種植種子或樹木並不與經文衝突。管理亞馬遜、中非、南亞和澳洲東部等熱帶雨林非常重要，因為熱帶雨林是全球地球大氣氧氣的主要提供者。同樣重要的是，雨林還可以淨化空氣中的溫室氣體二氧化碳。 創世記 8：22 筆記錄 「只要地球存在，播種和收穫、寒冷和炎熱、夏天和冬天、白天和黑夜就永遠不會停止。” 正如創世記 8 章 22 節所記載，上帝啟動了永續發展，並將人類作為種植樹木的工具，並在本質上領導了「照顧地球」的使命。 人類管理地球資源的責任始於上帝的祝福和委託，人類以管家的身份管理地球上的所有資源，以確保永續性，為子孫後代留下足夠的資源。當上帝委託人類擔任地球的管家時，上帝希望人類了解上帝在創造時所設定的生態系統，尊重這些系統並與這些系統合作。人類對永續發展的責任不僅是道德上確保子孫後代擁有足夠的資源，而且也是一種邏輯上的責任，如果我們濫用自然系統和資源，人類將在一段時間內失去必要的自然資源。 創世記一章二十八節記載：「神賜福給他們，對他們說，要生養眾多，遍滿地面，治理這地。也要管轄海裡的魚、空中的鳥，和地上各樣行動的活物。 當上帝委託人類征服地球並統治資源時，這是一個正式的委託，成為一個管家，即對託付給某人的事物進行仔細和負責任的管理。管理或管理伴隨著責任。例如，每個部門負責人都對財政預算負責，並對分配給該部門的實體資產負責，以確保每項資產達到預期壽命並妥善管理財務。 馬太福音 25:14 擴展了人類對上帝賜給人類的資源所負有的道德和自然責任。 「再說一次，天國可以用一個故事來說明：一個人去長途旅行，他召集了他的僕人，並在他離開時將錢託付給他們。”上帝將地球的資源託付給人類，讓人類與創造時所設定的系統一起運作，以確保永續性。人類採取的每一個行動都會產生相應的後果。如果我們以道德和邏輯的方式管理資源，結果就會好，反之，如果我們管理資源不當，結果就會不好。加拉太書 6:7 記載：“不要自欺，神是輕慢不得的。人種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆。”我們經常對資源管理不善，忘記了我們已經擁有了資源，當後果發生多次時，我們不會將後果與我們過去的行為聯繫起來。更有用的是上帝的系統可以預測結果，這樣我們就可以避免災難。 這項研究讓任何人都能了解氣候變遷和綠色環保的主題，使我們成為充分理解這些主題的卓越者。該研究為永續發展主題提供了結構，並參考以下內容： 一、可持續發展的三大支柱 1. 財政支柱－保留充足的財政，以便為子孫後代提供保障。 2. 社會支柱－保存、塑造和傳播可接受的行為以影響子孫後代。 3. 環境支柱－確保我們在與環境的互動中牢記保護環境。綠色發展和氣候變遷是環境支柱的子集。
二.可持續發展的三大策略 1. 重複使用 - 選擇減少可能進入我們環境的化學品使用量的流程，減少包裝，增加大量採購。 2. 減少－使用可重複使用的產品，而不是一次性使用的物品。 3. 回收－尋找並確定回收合作夥伴。選擇可回收的產品。 註：社會支柱要求代代相傳的道德價值或希伯來語“L dor v' dor”，如果不加以解決，將導致社會崩潰。社會支柱內插入了三根鋼棒，如下所示： 1. 技能的準備與掌握 2、持續的良好品格 3. 智慧並做出適當的決定 為了充分掌握永續發展、綠色環保和氣候變遷的基本原理，必須提出以下術語和概念： 什麼是永續性——利用資源來滿足當前的需求，而不損害子孫後代滿足自身需求的能力，不浪費任何東西，並以可補充的速度使用資源。 什麼是 Anthropogenic - 這個術語由兩個希臘字「anthropos」（意思是人）和「genesis」（意思是創造）組成。人為是指由人創造的或人造的東西，它是對自然的綜合，反對自然法則和創造系統。 什麼是氣候變遷 - 有關氣候變遷的綜合數據顯示，地球經歷了變冷和變暖時期，而不僅僅是溫度的長期升高。 什麼是碳足跡 - 個人、組織、家庭、活動、城市、州或國家直接排放的溫室氣體 (GHG) 總量。 什麼是全球暖化 - 衡量溫室氣體對地表空氣附近地球溫度升高程度的衡量標準。 什麼是環境影響 - 給定人口數量、家庭人數或組織的員工數量、他們的消費水平以及技術造成的影響，我們的人口消耗資源的速度。溫室氣體在大氣中停留的半衰期或速率，以及每種溫室氣體造成的影響，有些比其他溫室氣體對大氣更不友善。 什麼是全球暖化潛勢 GWP - 衡量溫室氣體對地球表面暖化程度的衡量標準。地球表面溫度受溫室氣體在大氣中壽命的影響。溫室氣體分子在短期內可能對大氣具有高度破壞性，而其他壽命較長的溫室氣體分子對大氣的破壞速度較慢。 什麼是 Cap-N-Trade - 限制任何公司可能產生的二氧化碳量，並對釋放到大氣中的每一部分二氧化碳向公司收取費用。 全球化和永續性－全球化是工業化國家相互依存、共同努力實現經濟和政治利益的結果。因此，永續發展已成為每個世界領導人、企業和家庭每一張辦公桌上的議程項目。 污染預防 (P2) - 透過分析目前的廢棄物處理流程並進行流程變更（例如減少使用對環境有毒的化學品和重複利用材料而不是將其送往垃圾掩埋場），從源頭減少廢棄物。 氣候變遷臨界點 - 天氣和氣候閾值，當超過或跨越時，將導致難以扭轉半永久性的氣候條件，例如風暴頻率和新手段或地球的平均加熱水平。 天文學和氣候變遷 - 大約每 405,000 年，木星和金星就會施加引力，逐漸影響地球的氣候。此外，當地球繞著太陽公轉時，到達地球的陽光的變化可以忽略不計，導致氣候變遷和生態變化。天文學是綜合討論氣候變遷的一個重要變數。 反饋循環 - 與氣候相關的反饋循環的一個例子是，北極冰因其淺色而將陽光反射回大氣中，導致很少融化。然而，隨著時間的推移，隨著冰融化並變黑，暴露出顏色也深的土壤，太陽光線被吸收，加熱空氣。這會導致地表變暖，最終導致冰層融化。 氣候公平－是一項平均分配緩解氣候變遷挑戰的財政壓力的策略，特別是針對發展中國家和發展中當地社區。由於氣候變遷碳預算是全球性的負擔，特定城市排放了大量二氧化碳，而其他城市則表現出重大責任，因此在實施每個項目時都必須考慮氣候公平。所有國家無論貧富都必須認識到自己負有道德責任，但許多國家在財政能力和技術能力方面都處於落後狀態。氣候公平意識到這些發展中社區將需要幫助
儘管較貧窮國家必須表現出負責任的行為，但實施減緩氣候變遷的技術計畫可能成本太高，並可能摧毀其經濟。 如何最好地管理環境可持續的生活方式——確保永續發展的所有三個支柱共同發揮作用，而不僅僅是其中之一。您實施的變更是否耗盡了您的預算？選擇逐步實施變更，而不是一次性實施全部變更。最終用戶是否受到產品選擇或建議的行為改變的啟發，如果不是的話，永續性的社會支柱已被忽略。所選產品在送往垃圾掩埋場時是否會分解，如果沒有，環境支柱就不起作用。必須有一個經過深思熟慮的平衡方法來實現永續發展，以實現有效性。 創造力和創新可用於防止污染、減少廢棄物產生、減輕環境影響、減少碳足跡、減少送往垃圾掩埋場的廢棄物量以及減少有機廢棄物釋放到大氣中的溫室氣體量。環保倡議者已經實施的一些例子如下： 1. 有些公司沒有將廢棄物送往垃圾掩埋場，而是將廢物流轉化為收入流。公司透過將廢物流轉化為利潤流來減少產生的廢物。 2. 與米粒分離後會迅速腐爛的米糠被轉化為肉類保鮮劑，從而實現零浪費、零溫室氣體和零破壞環境的機會。米糠也能帶來利潤。 3. 蔓越莓種子轉化為粉末形式以獲取利潤，並作為增強劑添加到食品和飲料中。 4. 蛋殼膜轉化為蛋殼鈣，以增強骨骼和關節健康，將廢物流轉化為收入流。 5. 在橄欖磨坊加工橄欖時產生的廢物很快就會腐爛。橄欖的成分是 20% 的油和 50% 的水，水會迅速腐爛，釋放甲烷作為溫室氣體。為了防止甲烷污染，水被冷凍乾燥成粉末形式並添加到義大利麵、蛋黃醬和飲料中。廢物被轉化為利潤流，並且永遠不會到達垃圾掩埋場或任何廢物流。 6. 葡萄籽經過加工，萃取物用於開發果皮和可飲用礦物質，再次作為收入來源，同時消除廢物。 7. 瓶裝水的塑膠瓶和其他塑膠容器被回收製成織物，用於製作職業服裝系列，例如休閒褲和夾克。這些塑膠瓶不會被送往垃圾掩埋場或指定的廢物流，而是轉化為利潤流，同時保護環境。 開始成為地球資源的良好監護人或良好管理者需要一些具體步驟，以下公式可能會幫助您入門。首先估算您個人、家庭、教會或企業所產生的廢棄物。企業的公式使用每年 250 天，扣除 11 個假期和所有週末。教會的公式是每年在設施內舉行 156 天的聚會，平均每週舉行 3 次。大型教會除了計算教區居民產生的廢棄物外，可能還需要使用企業公式來計算員工產生的廢棄物。將兩個公式的結果相加以獲得更全面的估計值。個人家庭的公式不扣除任何假期或週末，使用 365 天/年。對於所有公式，如果您經常旅行，請隨意調整在家度過的天數、企業和教會使用的天數，以便獲得更準確的估計。 1.6 磅作為變量，用於對平均個人產生的廢物進行統計估計。我們除以 2,000 將磅轉換為噸。如果您對公式不滿意，只需聯絡您的廢物流供應商以獲取實際數據。要估算您產生的廢棄物，請使用以下公式： 企業產生的廢棄物估算 員工數量 x 1.6 磅 x 250 天/年 2,000 教堂產生的廢棄物估算 教區居民數 x 1.6 磅 x 156 天/年 2,000 家庭產生的廢棄物估計 您的家庭人數 x 1.6 磅 x 365 天/年 2,000 這是使用為家庭設計的公式的範例問題。 一個六口之家，包括父親、母親、兩個孩子和一個配偶的父母，常年住在家裡。可以估計這個家庭每年產生多少廢棄物（磅和噸）？ 答案 6 x 1.6 磅 x 365 天/年 = 每年 3,504 磅或除以 2,000 時的 1.752 噸 如果您想估算您的碳足跡或環境影響、產生了多少污染或測
您所負責的溫室氣體排放量是一個用於入門的公式。我們都不同程度地對環境產生影響，有些人比其他人影響更大。個人和家庭對自然環境有影響。 7 月 4 日慶祝活動、奧運、大型國家活動等活動都有自己的碳足跡，因為它們會向大氣中產生人為溫室氣體。大公司和大型教會根據員工數量、教區居民、習慣、管理和技術使用都有自己的碳足跡。國家和民族也有基於習慣、管理、消費和科技使用的自己的碳足跡。公式如下： E = P x 長 x T E = 環境影響 P = 人口（使用家庭號碼、教區居民號碼、員工號碼，以適用者為準） L = 消耗量（電力、化學品、從所有來源購買的所有產品、食品、衣服、化妝品等） T=科技（含汽車、電器等） 概括 永續性是一門深奧的學科，在操作任何永續綠色專案之前必須了解其基本結構。永續發展紀律有 3 個支柱和 3 項策略。 三大支柱 1. 經濟/金融支柱 2. 社會支柱 3. 環境支柱－走向綠色是環境支柱的一個分支。 三大策略 1. 減少 2. 重複利用 3. 回收 如果實施任何綠色項目，所有三個支柱必須同時協同作用才能取得成效。在執行任何綠色專案時忽略三大支柱中的一個或多個將導致不可避免的失敗。作為清單，請務必考慮以下行動項目： 1. 永續發展的三大支柱是否已落實？ 2. 金融支柱－是指走向綠色而導致銀行破產、導致產業、城市、州、人口或地區崩潰的成本。如果是這樣，請考慮增量實施。如果財務支柱崩潰，你的專案也會崩潰。 3. 社會支柱－最終使用者是否受到概念、過程的薰陶，以及計畫是否會為子孫後代帶來更好的社會生活，從而產生不準確的概念、預測、預後、期望、冷漠並因此背負債務。 4. 環境支柱－研究是否徹底、全面且經過有效性測試？溫室氣體排放的目標減排基準是否現實，新的綠色產品是否經過測試可堆肥，是否會在垃圾掩埋場分解以及製程是否可行。 由於國家和國際層面的永續項目涉及主要的活動部分，尤其是經濟、社會和環境方面的項目，因此必須謹慎地執行，而不是感情用事。永續專案始終是零和的，只有同時尊重所有三個支柱才能成功。僅忽視三大支柱之一必然會導致失敗。 我們必須掌握永續發展的基本原理，以教育全國選民並在所有三個支柱方面取得進展。一位電影編劇在劇本中加入了永續發展的核心內容。劇本上寫著“資源永遠不會枯竭，因為他們從未試圖撕扯它的靈魂！”你看，對環境的肆意破壞不僅造成了傷害，而且是我們內在處境的一種症狀。
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2021 - The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow on 1 – 12 November 2021
2016 Update - Presidencies event: taking stock of progress made during the Bonn Climate Change Conference - May 26, 2016
2015 Update - UNFCCC COP 21/ CMP 11 - Twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties and the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
As decided at COP 19, Paris, France
2014 Update - UNFCCC COP 20/CMP 10 - Twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties and the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
December 1 - 12, 2014 - Lima, Peru
2013 Update - 19th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
2021 年 - 第 26 屆聯合國氣候變遷締約方大會 (COP26) 將於 2021 年 11 月 1 日至 12 日在格拉斯哥蘇格蘭活動園區 (SEC) 舉行 2016 年更新 - 主席團活動：評估波昂氣候變遷會議期間的進展 - 2016 年 5 月 26 日 2015年更新 - UNFCCC COP 21/ CMP 11 - 第二十一屆締約方會議和作為京都議定書締約方會議的第十一屆締約方會議 根據法國巴黎第 19 次締約方大會 (COP 19) 的決定 2014 年更新 - UNFCCC COP 20/CMP 10 - 第二十屆締約方會議和作為京都議定書締約方會議的第十屆締約方會議 2014 年 12 月 1 日至 12 日 - 秘魯利馬 2013 年更新 - 第 19 屆聯合國氣候變遷綱要公約 (UNFCCC) 締約方會議 (COP)
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