Climate lessons from moving house

Hi friend,

Moving house is apparently one of the most stressful life events.

In the past three years, we’ve moved four times (once to a different country), so I like to think we’ve developed a thick skin and a system to make it easier.

But that was until we were given two weeks’ notice to pack up our shit and move for the fifth time. It’s now five days before the move, and although we’ve made good progress with the packing, I’m knackered. My back hurts. I’ve had migraines. And my sleep patterns are completely out of whack.

I’m excited, though. Our new place is a dream, we’ll be closer to the beach and the city, and I’ll cut my work commute in half. Eye on the prize.

It got me thinking about Parkinson’s Law and the idea that work expands to fit the time allotted for it. In other words, if you only have two weeks to do something, you’ll hustle to get it done – no matter what. Give yourself too much time to do something, you’ll procrastinate and get sidetracked by a box of old photos.

Parkinson’s Law and climate change

We need more Parkinson’s Law thinking in our efforts to fix our collapsing climate.

We still have seven years to limit global warming to 1.5C, and 27 years to reach Net Zero. That’s a lot of time to fuck around and get distracted by things like carbon offsetting credits that don’t take us closer to those goals.

And yes, I know that reversing the shit-show we’ve created will take time. I know that carbon capture technology isn’t anywhere near where it needs to be. And I know that the corporate will to change is buried in a sea of profits. It’s the backache, migraines, and insomnia that come with change.

But key announcements last week have made me optimistic, including:

• Plans to slash emissions from the US power industry,

• A new law to reduce methane emissions from the European power industry, and

• A move by India to ban new coal-fired power plants.

We need bold moves like this to drive change. But it needs to happen faster. Seven years is too long; 27 is way too long.

We can make shit happen – and quickly. We have smart people. We have the technology. We have the money. And now we have ChatGPT 😉.

But we need to give ourselves less time to do what needs to be done. And we can all start right now, by packing one metaphorical box at a time and resisting the urge to fart-arse around and thumb through the old photo box.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

— Tarryn ✌️

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Last week's climate and sustainability news worth noting

🪨 India has removed a key clause from the final draft of its National Electricity Policy (NEP) that would effectively ban new coal-fired power plants from being built (other than those already in the pipeline). The draft policy also proposes delaying the retirement of old coal-fired plants until energy storage for renewable power becomes financially viable.

❌ The Biden administration has unveiled a plan to slash emissions from the US power industry. If it goes ahead, carbon companies would need to install carbon capture equipment that sucks emissions from the plants before they can enter the atmosphere. Meanwhile, China’s CO2 emissions are on track to reach an all-time high in 2023.

😷 The European Parliament has approved a new law to reduce methane emissions in the oil, gas, and coal industries. EU countries will have to establish their own national reduction targets, and infrastructure operators will need to comply with stricter requirements to detect and repair methane leaks.

🔥 New research has found that Australia’s catastrophic 2019/20 bushfires may have contributed to the rare three-year La Nina. That’s because the fires created enormous emissions that affected global weather patterns.

🌋 Scientists have discovered a microbe in volcanic hot springs that “gobbles up CO2 astonishingly quickly”. The new microbe, a cyanobacterium, was discovered in volcanic seeps near the Italian island of Vulcano. It also sinks in water, which could help trap the CO2 it absorbs.

🛢️ It will cost over US$30 billion to plug the more than 14,000 old, unplugged wells in the Gulf of Mexico. A study has found that non-producing wells that haven’t been plugged now outnumber active wells in the gulf and are at risk of springing damaging leaks and spills.

🌀 Wild weather: Temperature records in Vietnam and Laos. Floods and landslides in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) kill more than 400 people. Wildfires in Canada burn through 964,000 acres and force 30,000 residents to flee Alberta.

One small thing you can do.

Because lots of little actions combined can add up to something remarkable.

Stop buying stuff you don’t need.

It will make life a lot easier next time you move house.

I'll leave you on this happy note...

Elephant fist-bumps an excavator that rescued him from a trench.

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