Spurred by a colonial mindset and slave mentality, imitative lifestyles and conscious consumerism are on the upswing. So is a new throw-away culture that is snobbish and imitative. A colonial mindset exists where all gains and successes are measured in terms of GDP, and there is an attendant emphasis is on a living, lifestyle and diet that is not in sync with either our environment or geography. Lives are based on splurging resources, money, and showering love and affection on animals more than anyone else which are not in sync with available resources and their base.
All these factors have created a world that is unbalanced, unliveable, and unsustainable. The very individuals who cause major global warming have barely understood this phenomenon. Most are in denial and do not wish to understand it as well deliberately or otherwise.
This is a society that uses goods only once. Consequently, consumer goods are not designed for long-term use or even reuse, in some cases. Our society likes to travel and that too in places which are only to be seen not to be travelled and despite they still feel unlucky even with all the attendant luxuries. Covid-19 has been one of the biggest lessons for mankind. The pandemic, shutdown of social and economic activities led global carbon dioxide emissions to drop by 6.4% or 2.3 billion tonnes. People have adapted to the new normal and that means things will be back to square one, pretty soon.
A large percentage of global warming originates from Fast Fashion, the use of pets, suburban living, and travel. Still, it is hardly mentioned, understood, or acknowledged by our society. Incidentally, they are the same ones who scream about climate change and lead protests as well mostly online allowing off-liners to gaze in amazement. The fashion industry affects greenhouse gas emissions both directly and indirectly. It is the second-largest polluter in the world, after the oil industry. There are three main drivers of the textile industry’s global pollution impacts- dyeing and finishing (36%), yarn preparation (28%), and fibre production (15%).
The fashion industry accounts for 10 percent of global carbon emissions which is more than the emissions for all international flights and maritime shipping, combined. Carbon dioxide emissions in the manufacture of polyester are three times more than those for cotton. By 2030, such emissions from the manufacture of textile alone are projected to increase more than 60 percent.
Fast fashion contributes to greenhouse gases emissions and pollutes the water, air, and soil. This means that as an associated consequence we will use more energy for cleaning carbon emissions. Over its lifespan, a pair of jeans emits the equivalent of 33.4 kg of CO2. This is the same as driving 100 km in an ordinary car or watching around 250 hours of TV on a plasma big-screen television.
More than a third of those emissions originate from fiber and fabric production. Cutting, stitching, and finishing the jeans account for 8%. Packaging, transportation, and retail account for 16 percent of the emissions, with the remaining 40 percent coming from consumer usage (primarily washing the jeans) and landfill disposal.
The textile dyeing industry depletes water sources and poisons them since 72 toxic chemicals end up in waterways. They dump untreated water which contains harmful substances including lead, mercury, arsenic and more.
60 per cent of the material used for making clothes is plastic including polyester, acrylic and nylon textile. These fabrics are in demand as they are durable, lightweight, and economical but they shed microplastics with each wash. Laundry alone releases half a million tonnes of microplastics into the ocean every year.
Heaps of discarded clothes either go to landfills (around 85 per cent) or are burned. One garbage truck of clothes is sent to landfills or incinerated every second and yet only 1 percent of clothing is recycled. Non-vegetarian diet creates a lopsided world and widens the gap between polluters and non-polluters in terms of being culprits and also in terms of being at the receiving end.
The use of animals as food and feed has an undeniable role in releasing GHG. Animals feed on large quantities of straw from grains, rice, and wheat. In return, they produce only a small amount of meat, eggs, and dairy products. There is a loss of 90 percent energy when food is transferred from one trophic level to another. This means that the energy required in meat production is high when compared to direct consumption of plant products.
When equated to other meats and animal products, beef production releases five times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Studies suggest that beef requires 28 times more land, 11 times more water, and produces 6 times more reactive nitrogen when compared to the average of other categories.
Meat production contributes to global warming at a much higher rate than the cultivation of grains and vegetables. Meat-eaters have twice the carbon footprint of vegans. Livestock and their by-products account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day. Methane has a global warming potential of 86 times that of CO2 and is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 over a 20-year time frame.
Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. It stays trapped in the atmosphere for 150 years. Methane emissions from manure and the resources used to produce one calorie of meat products are high.
An increase in the consumption of meat also burdens the freshwater resources of the world. The water footprint of meat from cattle (15 400 m 3 /ton as a global average) is much higher than the footprints of meat from sheep (10 400 m 3 /ton), pig (6000 m 3 /ton), goat (5 500 m 3 /ton) or chicken (4 300 m 3 /ton). The global average water footprint of chicken eggs is 3 300 m 3 /ton and cow milk amounts to 1000 m 3 /ton.
The beef/cattle rearing industry uses one-third of the total volume of water requirement and the dairy sector uses up another 19 percent. Water extraction and processing require energy. Such an energy-intensive society will produce more greenhouse gases.
Pets have a close relationship with GHG. The more animal-loving you are, the more are you a polluter. There are 470 million pet dogs and 370 million pet cats on the planet, and they all add to climate change.
An average-size cat generates 310kg of Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year, an average-size dog produces 770 kg of CO2e per year, and a large dog produces 2,500kg of CO2e per year. Over 64 million tons of greenhouse gases are released only because of America’s pet cats’ and dogs’ eating habits.
Pets feed on about a fifth of the world’s fish and meat. One kilo of beef production generates 1,000 kilos of carbon dioxide. Every year, 49 million hectares of agricultural land are used to produce dry pet food for cats and dogs. The pet food industry generates higher greenhouse gases each year than do countries like the Philippines.
Incidentally, there is no lifestyle more harmful to the environment than splurging urban and suburban habits in urban sprawl. Urban sprawls have the potential and capability to alter the heat balance of urban areas and add to global greenhouse gases.
80% of global GDP is produced in urban areas and results in higher income, consumption, and associated levels of emissions. In fast-growing cities, a considerable share of the global carbon budget will be used up for the capability building of new infrastructure. Land-use changes increase emissions when cities expand and natural vegetation makes way for city grounds.
Cities cover just 3% of the global land surface but account for 58% of the world’s population. Emission savings linked to higher densities, connectivity, accessibility, and land use depend on compact structures. Only a few cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam offer examples that make good use of such structures and present low emission lifestyles.
The impact of and role of travelling in increasing emissions are understood but underestimated. Travel actually generates huge amounts of carbon. The travel industry accounts for 8 percent of global carbon emissions and tends to grow at a rate of 4% annually. It is the need of the hour to promote carbon offsetting to compensate and reduce travel emissions. Visitors from high-income countries contribute to a majority of this footprint.
The use of plastics in napkins and reusable menstrual cups are other additions. Plastic cutleries, brochures, and tickets keep adding to it. Estimates suggest that around 12 billion pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) can be saved and the digital sector has a huge potential to cut down global emissions in half by 2030.
Ironically, people who raise the greatest concern, who shout the loudest, whose voice is shrillest best, and all those who cannot defend themselves of their lifestyle are the ones who are the greatest emitters and polluters. But in an age of perception management and for a society riddled by infodemics, should this be surprising?
The writer is a strategic thinker, educationist, earth scientist, author, mentor, and advisor to various governments. Views expressed are the writer’s personal.