Page 16 - Green Builder July-August 2020 Issue
P. 16
An Existential Moment
Words and promises are no longer enough. Corporations need to
ta e immediate, decisi e action to ead o lo al catastrop e
In May, the town of Verkhoyansk, Siberia, hit
. degrees Fahrenheit. Although this was a
new record, it wasn’t a freak event. This area of the Arctic Circle has been sweltering with heat,
and ice loss is creating a “feedback loop” of long-term heat and melting.
This is just one sign of how man-made CO pollution, combined with other natural sources,
is accelerating rapidly. Scientists warn that within a short number of years (and the estimate
of how many years keeps shrinking), our continued reliance on fossil fuels could render the
planet uninhabitable for all but the most basic life forms.
The pandemic, by comparison, is a mere symptom of our abuse of Earth’s resources. Companies
and governments must change course to cut greenhouse gas and methane emissions to near
zero now, or risk losing everything. The Eco-Leaders highlighted in this issue oer dierent
templates for what that might look like. It’s time governments, and the rest of the building
industry—and beyond—followed suit. Our very survival is at stake.
14 GREEN BUILDER July/August 2020 www.greenbuildermedia.com
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