Decarbonizing our planet - between lies, greenwashing and urgent action – Part 1

Many actors, little to no effect! This is how one can sum up the efforts of organizations, governments, investors and GreenTech companies, especially startups, when it comes to introducing measures to save our climate.?

When you look at the current climate developments, it makes you wonder if we don't increasingly have to deal with how we as humans can live with the climate catastrophe. A point that certainly still comes much too briefly in the discussions and measures.

Why are we not making progress with our efforts??Who or what is causing the (increasing) emissions? Which measures make sense and which ones come to nothing? Who is greenwahing? Who are the players? Will politics save the climate? Are we consumers the bad guys? How can we positively influence the climate through our behavior?

I will explain all these questions and topics to you and also back them up with science. I will provide you with vivid examples that have more than opened my eyes when studying the subject and sometimes almost made me despair as to whether we can still turn things around. I am not interested in lobbying or polemics, but in enlightenment. Only enlightened citizens can initiate the right changes.

We will have to take different perspectives in order to understand the complexity to some extent. These are, without any claim to completeness regional aspects, economic growth, greed for profit, habits, brainwashing, influencing, wrong measures and wrongly directed funds.

But let's begin simple.?

Not to be forgotten are the climate catastrophe deniers. In the discussions whether we have a climatic change or not, it brings it in my opinion the Kabarettist Marc Uwe Kling on the point: Yes, we could do now what against the climatic change, but if we would determine then in 50 years that all scientists were wrong nevertheless and there is no climatic warming, then we would have ensured completely without reason that one can breathe the air again even in the cities, that the rivers are no longer poisonous, that cars make neither noise, nor stink and that we are no longer dependent on dictators and their oil resources. That would make us pretty angry." and that we are no longer dependent on dictators and their oil reserves. We'd be pretty upset about that."

And then there's the younger generation, especially the "climate gluts." The climate stickers are criminalized and are very likely the only terrorists who want the state to keep its promises. Of course, it would be more appropriate if these young rebels would use their intelligence and commitment in a more meaningful way, namely in the development of technologies that support the climate. We will come to the importance of this topic in the following newsletters.?

As a father of 4 children, 3 in adulthood, discussions in the family sometimes go to the point that my generation is destroying this planet. The topic of sustainability is at the top of the agenda for this young generation, which is really important. Sustainable means, among other things, the careful and sustainable use of our resources. I think that my generation lived more sustainably in their younger years than the current young generation. We went to school on foot or by bike, wore clothes made of pure textiles, which were embroidered with patches when holes appeared. Vacations took place in Bavaria or at the North Sea. Lived was in cramped living space, heated only if one began to freeze despite a thick sweater in winter. The car was a luxury item. Shopping was done around the corner at the "Tante Emma" store, where milk was filled into jugs. Drinking water was available at the public drinking fountain. We spent our free time in nature and we were many times more satisfied than today's young generation.

My message is that the contemplation of renouncing cherished habits is also an essential aspect in the topic of sustainability.

Part 2 will deal with the regional aspects in relation to the climate crisis.