Climate change is the single greatest environmental threat of our decade, our generation, and our century.

Some important facts we think you (and everyone) should know:

  • Poor lighting affects visibility, wastes energy, is harmful to nocturnal wildlife and ecosystems and negatively impacts nighttime ambiance. 
  • More than ½ million trees are required to supply Americans with their Sunday newspapers each week.
  • On average, each tree we plant removes approximately 1 ton of CO2 from the atmosphere over its lifetime.
  • It takes 50,000 tons of coal each year to power 24,000 homes.  This coal releases a significant amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, year after year. 
  • 50 wind towers can power 24,000 homes.  After the initial manufacturing process, wind power produces no carbon emissions—year after year.
  • Americans use an estimated 12 million barrels of oil each year just to produce plastic grocery bags that end up in landfills after only one use and then take centuries to decompose. 
  • An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now.  Once a can is recycled, it can be part of a new can in 6 weeks.

Global Warning—The Causes & Implications

The world scientific community overwhelmingly agrees that global warming is real, that human beings are primarily responsible, and the consequences require immediate action.  It is also true that multiple factors other than humans impact our climate.  Normal environment conditions produce a portion of outgoing infrared radiation which is naturally trapped by the atmosphere.  That is a good thing because it keeps the temperature on Earth within certain bounds. 

The problem we now face is that this thin layer of atmosphere is being thickened by huge quantities of human-caused carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.  As it thickens, it traps a much greater portion of this infrared radiation that would otherwise escape the atmosphere and continue out to the universe.  As a result, the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere—and oceans—is dangerously warmer. 

What Exactly are Greenhouse Gases?

Greenhouse gases are those gases produced by natural and industrial processes present in the Earth’s atmosphere, which warm near-surface global temperatures.  Having some amount of greenhouse gases is beneficial.  Without them, the average temperature of the Earth’s surface would be around 0°F.  An excess of greenhouse gases, however, can raise the temperature of our planet to lethal levels.  The greenhouse gases in order of relative abundance are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone & CFC’s. 

Carbon dioxide gets top billing because it accounts for 80% of total greenhouse emissions.  60% of the methane currently in the atmosphere is produced by humans.  Nitrous oxide occurs naturally, though we have added 17% more of it to the atmosphere just in the course of our individual age.  Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)—PFC’s, HFC’s and SF are produced exclusively by human activity and these emissions are on the rise.  To make matters worse, warming temperatures naturally increase the volume of water vapor thereby magnifying the impact of all the artificial greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.

What Can You Do To Help?

  • Encourage investment in Energy Technology
  • Design systems to reduce operating, maintenance and energy costs
  • Improve system-wide and individual lighting control
  • Reduce the strain on traditional energy resources
  • Incorporate LEED standards into projects
  • Be educated about the cost effectiveness of building Green
  • Utilize local educational tools and resources
  • Practice and encourage good stewardship; utilizing resources only when and where needed
  • Take the Energy Star pledge and encourage others to do so
  • Adopt green policies that include: REDUCE – RECYCLE – RENOVATE

Learn how solar energy can make a difference with US Solar Institute

Resource: Sesco Lighting