Environmental Graphiti
Environmental Graphiti® is a venture that uses art to dramatize the critical science of climate change in an effort to expand public awareness of this urgent issue.
ART makes the science more accessible. Science makes the art more meaningful. Together they tell the story of climate change in a unique and powerful way.
The art in this series is based on the compelling data that describes the various factors that have contributed to climate change over the last two hundred years. Click on image title to see graphic data source.
Gallery 4: What Can We Do To Address Climate Change?
Animal Vs Plant-Based Foods - Impact On Resources
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Decreasing the amount of meat we eat, especially red meat, could cut in half the per capita greenhouse gas emissions relating to agriculture, help avoid further deforestation and reduce the amount of water used for agricultural purposes. This could have a significant effect - 80% of the water used in the U.S. is for agricultural purposes and the amount required for meat production is significantly more than that used for plant production. LARGE IMAGE
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U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales By Model
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Since 2011 sales of electric vehicles have steadily increased, except for a dip in 2015 due to low gas prices. The record-breaking growth of 2016 is expected to continue into 2017. The number of car manufacturers offering electric vehicles has also increased significantly over this measurement period. LARGE IMAGE
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Falling Costs For Clean Energy Technologies
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In 2015 the US Dept of Energy updated its "Revolution Now" report which highlights "four transformational technologies: land-based wind power, silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar modules, light-emitting diodes (LEDS) and electric vehicles (EVs)." The report shows how "dramatic reductions in cost are driving a surge in consumer, industrial and commercial adoption for these clean energy technologies..." LARGE IMAGE
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Global Subsidies - Fossil Fuels Vs Renewables
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Global fossil fuel subsidies totaled $544 billion in 2012, compared to only $101 billion for renewables. The International Monetary Fund estimates fossil fuel subsidies for 2015 to be $5.3 trillion - an amount equal to 6.5% of global GDP. More than 40% of this represents subsidies for coal, the most environmentally damaging of all fossil fuels. Although not good news on its face, the disproportionate funding for fossil fuels represents a tremendous opportunity to shift funding to renewable energy without an overall increase in costs. LARGE IMAGE
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Wasted Food
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When considered on a weight basis, about a third of our planet’s food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. The green house gas emissions attributable to the production, distribution, and disposal of this food are so great that, if considered to be its own “country”, it would be the third-largest emitter, after China and the United States. The value of this lost food on a global basis is estimated to be over $900 billion annually. Reducing this waste would be a huge victory for the environment and for the global economy. LARGE IMAGE
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66%
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According to a 2015 poll conducted by the New York Times, Stanford University and the non partisan environmental research group, Resources for the Future, 66% of Americans would be more likely to vote for a candidate that says: “Global warming has been happening and we need to stop the damage. It’s time to use new forms of domestic renewable energy and manufacture cars and appliances that use less gas and electricity.” LARGE IMAGE
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Green Jobs - By The Numbers
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This digital painting uses a random selection of statistics about "green jobs" to create the background texture of the piece. Some of the numbers used are: "In 2015 there were 2.5 million green jobs in the US.""(E)nergy efficient retrofits in the United States could create more than 3.3 million cumulative job years of employment." "Employment in electric power generation now totals 860,869 jobs, up 13%." "In embracing wind power, Texas created nearly 25,000 jobs." "LEED certified buildings drive 3.3 million US jobs...and are expected to generate $190.3 billion in labor earnings in 2017." "Solar technologies employ almost 375,000 workers, or 43 percent of the electric power generation work force. (Coal, by contrast accounts for about 86,000 workers.)" LARGE IMAGE
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Projected Share Of Renewable Electricity Generation
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The percentage of total electricity generation from renewable energy sources in the U.S. is projected to grow from 13% (in 2013) to as much as 22% in 2040. However, the anticipated share of electricity generation is significantly affected by various factors, particularly the future price and volume of available oil and gas resources. LARGE IMAGE
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ASAP
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The Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 countries in December 2015, recognizes that “…climate change represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet…” and emphasizes “…the need for urgency in addressing climate change…” Signatory nations pledged to avoid the most catastrophic impacts by keeping post-industrial age warming to 2 degrees Celsius or below, with a goal of 1.5 degrees, if possible. Certain climate models predict that if carbon emissions continue at current levels, the earth will exceed the 2 degrees Celsius threshold before the middle of this century. “Most scientists concur that two degrees C of warming …would harm all sectors of civilization—food, water, health, land, national security, energy and economic prosperity.” Michael E. Mann, “Earth Will Cross the Climate Danger Threshold by 2036”, Scientific American, April 1, 2014. LARGE IMAGE
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The Politics Of Climate Change
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According to PRRI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, "... Democrats are three times as likely as Republicans to say the earth is warming and that humans are to blame." Climate change affects all of us, regardless of political affiliation. If we each work to remove the political lens through which we view the science, we can begin to address this urgent issue, together. LARGE IMAGE
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The Duck Chart
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First published by CAISO* in 2013, the “Duck Chart” illustrates the challenge of “net load” – the difference between forecasted demand and expected electricity production from variable generation resources like solar and wind. “In certain times of the year, these curves produce a 'belly' appearance in the mid-afternoon that quickly ramps up to produce an 'arch' similar to the neck of a duck—hence the industry moniker of “The Duck Chart”. The risk of over-generation can be mitigated in various ways, including: increasing demand by expanding service to undersupplied areas; offering consumers incentives to use energy during parts of the day when supply is highest; improvidng efficiency ofenergy storage; and increasing power plant flextibility to respond more quickly to changing conditions.(*California Independent System Operator Corporation) LARGE IMAGE
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97% Consensus
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"Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals1 show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities. In addition, most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position." https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/ Accessed Feb 1, 2018 LARGE IMAGE
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No Carbon Electricity Generation Share - Europe And US
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European countries have substantially increased no-carbon generation since 2002 by adding renewables to the energy source mix. Of the 24 countries listed in the chart, 13 generate at least 50%, 18 generate at least 33%, and the United States generates just over 30%, of energy from no-carbon sources. LARGE IMAGE
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Reforestation
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Tree planting on previously forested sites (reforestation) or on sites not previously forested (aforestation) is one of the carbon offset strategies that help fight climate change. Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in biomass. Under the terms of the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, world leaders - government, business and NGOs - pledged on a voluntary basis to cut deforestation in half by 2020, end it by 2030, and restore an area of forest and cropland larger in size than India. LARGE IMAGE
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Fiscal And Environmental Gain From Removing Subsidies
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According to the International Monetary fund, “The fiscal, environmental, and welfare impacts of energy subsidy reform are potentially enormous. Eliminating post-tax subsidies in 2015 could raise government revenue by $2.9 trillion (3.6 percent of global GDP), cut global CO2 emissions by more than 20 percent, and cut pre-mature air pollution deaths by more than half. After allowing for the higher energy costs faced by consumers, this action would raise global economic welfare by $1.8 trillion (2.2 percent of global GDP).” LARGE IMAGE
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