3 Bits – Leaf Blowers and Horn Blowers

  • 3 Bits periodically provides three bite-sized items of interest about climate news.
  1. Music to Our Ears. In an effort to chip away at the carbon emissions caused by leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and other small gas-powered tools, the State of California recently passed legislation to ban the sales of these types of equipment engines. The ban is expected to take effect in 2024. (Governor Newsom has also signed an executive order to ban the sales of gas powered automobiles by 2035.)  (Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-to-ban-sales-of-gas-powered-leaf-blowers-and-lawn-mowers-11634067777?st=8u9ny6ax8zjxdo3&reflink=article_email_share )

  2. The Right Shell Game. In 1962, Brendon Grimshaw purchased the abandoned Moyenne Island in the Indian Ocean for $20,000 and, for the rest of his days, worked to create a nature preserve on the unique isle. At the time of his death in 2012, he had raised 120 Aldabra giant tortoises, planted 16,000 trees, preserved a wide variety of avian life, and fostered low impact tourism day traffic on the island and off its shores. The island is now officially Moyenne Island National Park.  (Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyenne_Island )

  3. Caber Toss Up. On October 31, 2021, the UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021 will convene in Glasgow. Aside from the irony of thousands of earnest folks flying across the globe to talk about carbon emissions, it is a dialog that needs to happen. So, notwithstanding the tsunami of somber press releases from global companies anticipating Glasgow and professing that they will become carbon neutral by 2050, what does this conglomerate of heads of state, youth groups, academicians, artists, and business big wigs hope to accomplish? The stated goals of the conference are: “1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach; 2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats; 3. Mobilize finance; 4. Work together to deliver”. According to the conference site, central to the achievement of the first goal are the following sub-goals:  “accelerate the phase-out of coal; curtail deforestation; speed up the switch to electric vehicles; encourage investment in renewables”.  While there is the temptation to look at such ambitious goals with a jaundiced eye, let’s instead posit that this a useful step in a long uphill slog, that it is normalizing the dialog about climate change, and that it is reenforcing an appropriate level of urgency.  (Source: https://ukcop26.org/ )

3 Bits shares pertinent news from the ocean of climate-related news and information. While the urgency surrounding climate change demands attention, CCC also wants to showcase where progress is being made and where committed organizations and people are doing their part. We hope you find 3 Bits to be interesting and informative.