Word: pachauri
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...excuse to put off the transition to cleaner power, in the WFES's opening session today, Abu Dhabi announced that it had pledged that 7% of its energy would come from renewable sources by 2020, up from nothing today. "This is really a very powerful image," says Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, one of the summit's A-list attendees. "It clearly shows that a country that has no immediate economic need to diversify its energy production is willing and able...
...Gore’s credibility hangs on embodying his political beliefs in his own lifestyle. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who as Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mr. Gore, is a vegetarian. Citing studies showing that producing 2.2 pounds of meat causes the emissions equivalent of 80 pounds of carbon dioxide, Dr Pachauri has publicly stated that the two best things an individual can do to fight global warming are to drive less and adopt a vegetarian diet...
...numbers, Pachauri is absolutely right. In a 2006 report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) concluded that worldwide livestock farming generates 18% of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions - by comparison, all the world's cars, trains, planes and boats account for a combined 13% of greenhouse gas emissions. Much of livestock's contribution to global warming come from deforestation, as the growing demand for meat results in trees being cut down to make space for pasture or farmland to grow animal feed. Livestock takes up a lot of space - nearly one-third of the earth's entire landmass...
...Pachauri right that going vegetarian can save the planet? (At least the 68-year-old Indian economist practices what he preaches.) It's true that giving up that average 176 lb. of meat a year is one of the greenest lifestyle changes you can make as an individual. You can drive a more fuel-efficient car, or install compact fluorescent lightbulbs, or improve your insulation, but unless you intend to hunt wild buffalo and boar, there's really no green way to get meat - although organic, locally farmed beef or chicken is better than its factory-raised equivalents. The geophysicists...
...Still, Pachauri is just slightly off. It's a tactical mistake, first of all, to focus global warming action on personal restrictions. The developed world could cut back hugely on its meat consumption, but those gains would be largely swallowed up - sorry - by the developing world, which isn't likely to give up its newly acquired taste for cheeseburgers and pork. The same goes for energy use, or travel. It's great for magazines to come up with 51 ways you can save the environment, but relying on individuals to voluntarily change their behavior is nowhere near as effective...