Watch Full First Episode of ‘Years of Living Dangerously,' Showtime's Landmark Series on Climate Change
Years of Living Dangerously, the first-ever series solely about climate change premieres at 10 p.m. Sunday on Showtime, but you don't have to wait that long to watch the first full episode.
Luckily, producers have created a YouTube channel and uploaded the entire 60-minute debut—not something I'd count on happening every week.
In this first episode, we're taken across the world to get various climate-related answers from experts, as well as residents who have been reduced to praying for rain in Texas and examining forests in Indonesia that sit on peat, a substance that could release ample carbon into the air in the event of a forest fire.
Some of Hollywood's brightest stars, like Don Cheadle and Harrison Ford, go on their own expeditions measuring methane with NASA scientists and trying to understand why some accept manmade climate change and others say droughts and extreme weather are no more than acts of God. Meanwhile, journalist Thomas L. Friedman explores a drought that influenced conflict in three Middle Eastern countries.
Over the next eight episodes, the series will feature reports from journalists like Chris Hayes and Lesley Stahl, as well as actors like Matt Damon and Olivia Munn.
——–
YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE
Showtime Breaks Ground With First-Ever Climate Change Series
5 Must-See Documentaries From the 2014 Environmental Film Festival
Sea Shepherd Founder to Bill Maher: ‘If Oceans Die, We Die’
——–
An algal bloom on a pond in Heather Farm Park, Walnut Creek, California on Oct. 8, 2016. Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images
Harmful algal blooms may be even more harmful than we thought.
<p>They have already been shown to kill the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/toxic-algae-blooms-florida-1915716568.html" target="_self">fish that swim</a> in the water they infest or the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/toxic-algae-dogs-nyc-2640040842.html" target="_self">animals that drink</a> from it. Now, new research indicates they could even poison the air. In a<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10402381.2021.1881191" target="_blank"> study published in Lake and Reservoir Management this month</a>, scientists for the first time detected an airborne instance of the algal toxin anatoxin-a (ATX), also known as "very fast death factor."</p><p>"ATX is one of the more dangerous cyanotoxins produced by harmful algal blooms, which are becoming more predominant in lakes and ponds worldwide due to global warming and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a>," study lead author Dr. James Sutherland of the Nantucket Land Council said in a <a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/algal-blooms-can-release-very-fast-death-factor-toxin-into-the-air" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<p>ATX is a toxin made by cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. Despite their name, these single-celled organisms are not plants but rather bacteria that can photosynthesize. The toxin can cause loss of coordination, muscular twitching and respiratory paralysis. It has been known to kill livestock, pets and other animals that drink contaminated water.</p><p>"Although no previous studies have documented the capture of airborne ATX molecules or cyanobacteria cells containing ATX, we hypothesized that ATX could become airborne under certain environmental conditions," the study authors wrote.</p><p>To test this idea, the scientists devised a way to sample the air above a pond in Nantucket, Massachusetts dealing with a harmful algal bloom (HAB). They brought an air sampling device to the shore on windy days and collected airborne particles on filters. They also tested the water for the presence of the toxin.</p>
<p>The scientists collected their samples between July and October of 2019. They detected ATX in the water at concentrations as high as 21 nanograms per milliliter, <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-that-a-dangerous-algal-bloom-toxin-can-be-found-in-the-air" target="_blank">Science Alert reported</a>. And, on one foggy and windy day in September, they detected it in the air also. They recorded an average of 0.87 nanograms per filter on their air sampling device, which would equal an airborne exposure of 0.16 nanograms per meter squared.</p><p>The researchers are not sure how the toxin ended up in the air, but think the wind might have blown it in small droplets from the pond, and then the fog allowed it to persist for longer than usual. In any case, it is a problem worth investigating further.</p><p>"These findings indicate that emission of ATX molecules, or cyanobacteria containing ATX, during HABs presents a potential human health exposure not previously examined," the researchers wrote.</p>
<p>Harmful algal blooms are a problem for many other reasons, of course. They can deprive water of oxygen as they decompose, killing fish and degrading water quality, the press release explained. They are also made worse by human activity, according to Science Alert. They are fed partly by excess nutrient pollution from agricultural runoff. As Sutherland noted, they are also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/harmful-algal-blooms-2646107064.html" target="_self">exacerbated</a> by the climate crisis. The cyanobacteria prefer warmer water temperatures, and heavy rain from extreme weather events can wash more fertilizer and other nutrients into bodies of water.</p><p>The research just signals another reason to be wary of pond scum.</p><p>"People often recreate around these lakes and ponds with algal blooms without any awareness of the potential problems," Sutherland said in the press release. "Direct contact or inhalation of these cyanotoxins can present health risks for individuals, and we have reported a potential human health exposure not previously examined."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Harmful Algal Blooms Are Increasing Across the U.S. - EcoWatch ›
- Toxic Algae Blooms Set New Records From Coast to Coast ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
New Montana Bills ‘Declare War on Wolves, Bears and Other Carnivores,’ Wildlife Advocates Say
8h
Animals
A grizzly bear searches for salmon. Scott Suriano / Moment / Getty Images
A flurry of bills has recently been introduced to Montana's state legislature that reduces restrictions on the killing of grizzly bears and wolves — two predators which have historically struggled to survive in the state.
<p>One such bill is <a href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billhtml/SB0098.htm" target="_blank">SB 98</a>, put forward by Republican Sen. Bruce Gillespie, which would expand the state law allowance for killing grizzly bears. Currently, Montanans can kill grizzly bears if they are caught in the act of killing their livestock, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/montana-wolves-bears-war-against-wildlife/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>. But the new bill — which has already passed the state Senate — would mean grizzly bears could be killed if they were "believed to be 'threatening' a person or livestock." The bill also states that grizzly populations have "<a href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billhtml/SB0098.htm" target="_blank">recovered</a>" and should be taken off the federal <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> list.</p><p>Other bills include SB 314, which would allow all but 15 breeding pairs of wolves to be killed, and HB 224, which would legalize the use of neck snares to hunt wolves.</p>
<p>With Montana's first Republican governor in 16 years, Greg Gianforte, and a Republican-controlled legislature, the bills represent "a political sentiment," according to Rep. Tom France, a Democrat and retired regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/28/us/montana-wolves-grizzlies-hunting.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>, adding that Montana's State Legislature is now saying, "We don't live by federal laws and aren't going to pay attention to them."</p><p>Proponents of bills like the ones aimed at limiting wolf numbers feel they have "no voice" when it comes to keeping the predators away from eliminating their game, like elk and deer, State Senator Bob Brown, a Republican who introduced one of the bills, said at a hearing, according to The New York Times.</p><p>"We can't sit by and allow our game — the thing that feeds so many families — to be taken off the table," he added.</p>
<p>Activists and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> advocates have opposed the bills, calling them a series of "bad bills" that "declare war on wolves, bears and other carnivores," according to a <a href="https://blog.humanesociety.org/2021/02/three-montana-lawmakers-declare-war-on-wolves-bears-and-other-carnivores-with-flurry-of-bad-bills.html?credit=blog_post_021921_id12086" target="_blank">statement</a> by Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. "These bills — all put forward by just three lawmakers, Rep. Paul Fielder, Sen. Bob Brown, and Sen. Bruce Gillespie — also seek to usurp biologists, including the state's wildlife agency," Block wrote.</p><p>In 1975, the grizzly bear was listed on the Endangered Species Act when only about 800 to 1,000 of remained, The New York Times reported. Today there are an estimated 1,800 in the Lower 48 — a successful recovery attributed to restrictions on hunting and poaching.</p><p>Sen. Gillespie, however, said the state's grizzly management is currently "stuck in a time capsule," according to the <a href="https://missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2021/01/grizzly-bears-4/" target="_blank">Montana Free Press</a>. "They long ago hit the target of 300 [grizzlies]... That means there are many times more conflicts [and] attacks — life-and-death conflicts," he added.</p>
<p>Despite popular conception, fatal grizzly bear attacks are extremely rare — only one person dies on average every three years in the lower 48, according to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/grizzly-bear-resurgence-increased-interactions-humans" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>. But as human and grizzly bear populations continue to expand, things might get "interesting," James Jonkel, a biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks who manages bears in and around Missoula, told National Geographic.</p><p>According to biologists, the problem will not be a lack of space across Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and even California, but rather of "social acceptance," National Geographic reported.</p>
<p>A new survey of Montana residents by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) and the Human Dimensions Lab at the University of Montana shows that Montana residents "overwhelmingly hold positive attitudes toward grizzly bears," the Sierra Club <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2021/04/montana-survey-reveals-widespread-support-for-grizzly-bears" target="_blank">wrote in a statement</a>. Eighty-five percent agree that grizzly bears "are part of what makes Montana special" and 81 percent enjoy knowing grizzly bears exist in the state, even if they never see one.</p><p>The survey, however, also shows that this acceptance declines when surveying people who live and work on agricultural-ranching landscapes. "Survey responses reveal remaining public misconceptions about the role of hunting in preventing conflicts between bears and people," the Sierra Club wrote. These misconceptions include the knowledge that hunting could resolve human-and-bear conflict or scare the bears away — both claims that have been refuted by <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/program/documents/Common%20Myths%20Regarding%20Grizzly%20Bear%20Management%20.pdf" target="_blank">grizzly bear experts</a>.</p><p>Instead, experts recommend prevention measures like electric fencing, carcass removal and removing food and items that may attract bears in order to avoid future conflict and achieve a "'self-sustaining grizzly population' that Montanans favor," the Sierra Club concluded. </p>
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Trending
An explosion at an Ohio paint factory injured eight people, two of them critically.
<p>The fire ignited just after midnight on Thursday at Yenkin-Majestic Paints in Columbus, Ohio, <a href="https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/firefighters-battle-two-alarm-blaze-at-east-columbus-paint-factory/" target="_blank">NBC4 reported</a>. Firefighters arriving on the scene were met with employees exiting the building, five of whom were injured and needed to be taken to a hospital.</p><p>"Two other employees were trapped inside the building and had to be rescued. They are in critical condition at OSU Main," Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin told <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/injured-reported-explosion-paint-plant-columbus-ohio/story?id=76938444" target="_blank">ABC News</a>.</p><p>Everyone harmed in the fire are plant employees. One person remains missing; the<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusDivisionOfFire/posts/3516181915153256" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Columbus Division of Fire wrote on Facebook</a> that they had searched the entire building.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="353b2c88151a80cad01c7bec0858c804"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusDivisionOfFire/posts/3516181915153256"></div></div>
<p> Martin told the paper that firefighters were doing everything they could to find the missing person. About 40 employees were in the plant when the fire started, <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2021/04/08/columbus-ohio-paint-manufacturing-plant-explosion/7137210002/" target="_blank">The Columbia Dispatch reported</a>.The explosion that started the fire damaged part of the building where it ignited, making the search and rescue effort more difficult. The spreading fire triggered other explosions, including one in another building within 100 feet from the first building that caught fire.</p><p>Firefighters managed to contain the blaze by 5:15 a.m., according to the Columbus Division of Fire.</p><p>"There will still be visible black smoke rising from the original fire building as we let some of the products burn off," the division wrote on Facebook.</p><p>The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) workers checked the surrounding air and water for chemicals, <a href="https://twitter.com/KristaWBNS/status/1380109150978461708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1380109150978461708%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.10tv.com%2Farticle%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Ffirst-responders-investigating-report-of-explosion-in-northeast-columbus%2F530-02f3d2e5-024f-4dac-bb9a-da1de48aa03c" target="_blank">WBNS reported</a>.</p>
<div id="a1ba7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5f59642d4c2d79983c05a7ae3fcbff50"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1380109150978461708" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This is what we’re seeing now at the explosion site near the east side of Columbus. I know EPA workers were out he… https://t.co/V12NDLXRRk</div> — Krista10TV (@Krista10TV)<a href="https://twitter.com/KristaWBNS/statuses/1380109150978461708">1617878637.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br>Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corporation is a family-owned business that makes coatings. There are explosion risks in the paint-making process, according to the <a href="https://www.iloencyclopaedia.org/part-xii-57503/chemical-processing/item/380-paint-and-coating-manufacture" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety</a>.<br></p><p>"Flammable solvents, combustible powders (especially nitrocellulose used in lacquer production) and oils are all fire or explosion risks if ignited by a spark or high temperatures. Sources of ignition can include faulty electrical equipment, smoking, friction, open flames, static electricity and so forth. Oil-soaked rags can be a source of spontaneous combustion," the entry states.</p>
Read More
Show Less
NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory on April 7, 2021. NOAA
Atmospheric methane levels surged in 2020, a new report from NOAA shows, accelerating an increasing trend, alarming scientists, and possibly auguring a vicious cycle of global heating.
<p>NOAA also <a href="https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2742/Despite-pandemic-shutdowns-carbon-dioxide-and-methane-surged-in-2020?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9m3eUxybt0dvfX0kDLAdH5m7FE562JWwp-OPR355NHdelyr3y1VSRBjSM2xKW10Rh1p1SyF7nY0uoQ24inHQeAfvczGw&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> global <a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/top_story/co2-atmospheric-concentration-reaches-new-high-at-over-420-ppm/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9pkM_IzYRqRV1vjijf0aEAL94SzLx8tYVVsphIxgJZMqb9F8O_r9iOEnICFweZyE6UImixvv96uoWFWgSW7MH7uM7aQg&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">atmospheric carbon dioxide levels</a> are higher than at any point in the last 3.6 million years. "It is very scary indeed," Euan Nisbet, professor of earth sciences at Royal Holloway University of London, told the Financial Times. About 60% of methane emissions are caused by human activity, and U.S. oil and gas operations are a <a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/top_story/methane-pollution-increased-driven-in-north-america-by-fracking/?swcfpc=1&utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--p2urNftjYuA2xHzLZGhatJL-27AxwfYAkMFENp3mkR4lWVJPUGTMs6Q1NtM27LvfxHWPm1J8HMzgZgfSBBHPOFrBVOQ&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">major driver</a> of recent methane pollution increases.</p>
<p>"Although increased fossil emissions may not be fully responsible for the recent growth in methane levels," NOAA research chemist Ed Dlugokencky said in a statement, "reducing fossil methane emissions are an important step toward mitigating climate change." </p>
<p>Methane is a far more potent heat-trapping gas than carbon dioxide, and scientists are worried global warming could be triggering accelerated methane releases from tropical wetlands and melting Arctic permafrost. "Our path to net zero is obvious, challenging and necessary," Martin Siegert, a professor at the Imperial College London, told The Guardian, "and we must get on with the transition urgently."</p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/07/carbon-dioxide-levels-in-atmosphere-reach-record-high?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--yhvRZqH9XDWKPfBUFVeB4xgja36damR_xF5bZ2fBoWK5GTVcS4SdJbOdEZd8NiDL9M42QICHkwuzUQfSZjeCRQUUgAg&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>:</p><blockquote>Professor Simon Lewis, from University College London, said: "It is easy to forget just how much and just how fast fossil fuel emissions are affecting our planet.</blockquote><blockquote>"It took over 200 years to increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 25%, and just 30 years to reach 50% above pre-industrial levels. This dramatic change is like a human meteorite hitting Earth."</blockquote><blockquote>But he added: "If countries make plans now to put society on a path of sustained and dramatic cuts to emissions from today, we can avoid ever-rising emissions and the dangerously accelerating impacts of climate change."</blockquote>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong><br/></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a967f863-1bf8-448b-9448-b67540e80b4d?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9ZCnl-UrLK_foeP8MIgUnC_RIYjujNssHjuucR8GcmB7g1lT2dyzkVz5oLtOPmK169DYgUY9VV02HsRSai3wjXoyJdBA&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FT</a>, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/04/07/global-warming-carbon-dioxide-levels-highest-3-m-years/7130141002/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8F-BVyPNJXJGINnZEksuCA46V3FMnhlgVEQ3v1I8UovzHrH5qhRQep6dOrgtieN9kT594l_iZqdFdhcHQi0O87GlKRNQ&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USA Today</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/07/carbon-dioxide-levels-in-atmosphere-reach-record-high?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--yhvRZqH9XDWKPfBUFVeB4xgja36damR_xF5bZ2fBoWK5GTVcS4SdJbOdEZd8NiDL9M42QICHkwuzUQfSZjeCRQUUgAg&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/547024-co2-methane-emissions-soared-in-2020-noaa?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9a9LJ4_kVlXg06t3LIauHWHMI7Tm3ZXyovLBwoLb0FbkrpIvZ4lLsUDvmlwpgMGFPySUzv51uW3WJrWT9Tcax9ydFy8w&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Hill</a>, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-carbon-dioxide-highest-level-million-years/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CBS</a>; <a href="https://climatenexus.org/climate-change-news/methane-surge/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=120270142&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_fhe9TBxA9quDgUVP0kSxxRTbeVbIRye1_GJL85SNz77qi4CNjh5eH51fkKA3U3jW8sAxql5eNYp6XCudyF3DLDcdmZg&utm_content=120270142&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Climate Nexus backgrounder</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
Read More
Show Less
Extensive bike parking is seen in Amsterdam's city center. AleksandarGeorgiev / Getty Images
By Christian Brand
Globally, only one in 50 new cars were fully electric in 2020, and one in 14 in the UK. Sounds impressive, but even if all new cars were electric now, it would still take 15-20 years to replace the world's fossil fuel car fleet.
<p>
<br/>
</p>
<p>The emission savings from replacing all those internal combustion engines with zero-carbon alternatives will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0121-1" target="_blank">not feed in fast enough</a> to make the necessary difference in the time we can spare: the <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-a-carbon-neutral-uk-the-next-five-years-are-critical-heres-what-must-happen-151708" target="_blank">next five years</a>. Tackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorized transport, particularly private cars, as quickly as possible. Focusing solely on electric vehicles is slowing down the <a href="https://unfccc.int/climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign" target="_blank">race to zero emissions</a>.</p><p>This is partly because electric cars aren't <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/transport-and-environment-report-2020" target="_blank">truly zero-carbon</a> – mining the raw materials for their batteries, manufacturing them and generating the electricity they run on produces emissions.</p><p>Transport is one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize due to its <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/transport/term/increasing-oil-consumption-and-ghg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heavy fossil fuel use</a> and reliance on <a href="https://www.transportforqualityoflife.com/u/files/The%20carbon%20impact%20of%20the%20national%20roads%20programme%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">carbon-intensive infrastructure</a> – such as roads, airports and the vehicles themselves - and the way it embeds <a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/reversing-car-dependency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">car-dependent lifestyles</a>. One way to reduce transport emissions relatively quickly, and potentially <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.07.017" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">globally</a>, is to swap cars for cycling, e-biking and walking – active travel, as it's called.</p><p>Active travel is cheaper, healthier, better for the environment, and no slower on congested urban streets. So how much carbon can it save on a daily basis? And what is its role in reducing emissions from transport overall?</p><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2021.102764" target="_blank">In new research</a>, colleagues and I reveal that people who walk or cycle have lower carbon footprints from daily travel, including in cities where lots of people are already doing this. Despite the fact that some walking and cycling happens on top of motorized journeys instead of replacing them, more people switching to active travel would equate to lower carbon emissions from transport on a daily and trip-by-trip basis.</p>
<h2>What a Difference a Trip Makes</h2><p>We observed around 4,000 people living in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Vienna, Orebro, Rome and Zurich. Over a two-year period, our participants completed 10,000 travel diary entries which served as records of all the trips they made each day, whether going to work by train, taking the kids to school by car or riding the bus into town. For each trip, we calculated the carbon footprint.</p><p>Strikingly, people who cycled on a daily basis had 84% lower carbon emissions from all their daily travel than those who didn't.</p><p>We also found that the average person who shifted from car to bike for just one day a week cut their carbon footprint by 3.2kg of CO₂ – equivalent to the emissions from driving a car for 10km, eating a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">serving of lamb or chocolate</a>, or <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sending 800 emails</a>.</p><p>When we compared the life cycle of each travel mode, taking into account the carbon generated by making the vehicle, fueling it and disposing of it, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2021.102764" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we found</a> that emissions from cycling can be more than 30 times lower for each trip than driving a fossil fuel car, and about ten times lower than driving an electric one.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102224" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">We also estimate</a> that urban residents who switched from driving to cycling for just one trip per day reduced their carbon footprint by about half a tonne of CO₂ over the course of a year, and save the equivalent emissions of a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714" target="_blank">one-way flight</a> from London to New York. If just one in five urban residents permanently changed their travel behavior in this way over the next few years, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102224" target="_blank">we estimate</a> it would cut emissions from all car travel in Europe by about 8%.</p><p>Nearly half of the fall in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0797-x" target="_blank">daily carbon emissions</a> during global lockdowns in 2020 came from reductions in transport emissions. The pandemic forced countries around the world to adapt to reduce the spread of the virus. In the UK, walking and cycling have been the big winners, with a <a href="https://www.creds.ac.uk/publications/at-a-crossroads-travel-adaptations-during-covid-19-restrictions-and-where-next/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">20% rise</a> in people walking regularly, and cycling levels increasing by <a href="https://www.creds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/covid-transport-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">9% on weekdays and 58% on weekends</a> compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is despite cycle commuters being <a href="https://www.creds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/covid-transport-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">very likely to work from home</a>.</p><p>Active travel has offered an alternative to cars that keeps social distancing intact. It has helped people to stay safe during the pandemic and it could help reduce emissions as confinement is eased, particularly as the high prices of some electric vehicles are likely to put many potential buyers off for now.</p><p>So the race is on. Active travel can contribute to tackling the climate emergency earlier than electric vehicles while also providing affordable, reliable, clean, healthy and congestion-busting transportation.</p>
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christian-brand-501349" target="_blank">Christian Brand</a> is an </em><em>Associate Professor in Transport, Energy & Environment, Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em><em>Christian Brand received funding for this work from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme via the 'Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches' project and UK Research and Innovation via the Centre for Research on Energy Demand Solutions and the UK Energy Research Centre.</em></em>
</p><p>
<em><em></em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-is-ten-times-more-important-than-electric-cars-for-reaching-net-zero-cities-157163" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
</p><iframe height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157163/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1"></iframe>From Your Site Articles
- United Airlines Will Invest in Carbon Capture En Route to Net Zero ›
- U.S. could reach net-zero emissions by 2050 with more benefits ... ›
- Why corporate climate pledges of 'net-zero' emissions should trigger ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less