Heat pump case study: the real changes in #electric and #NaturalGas use, utility bills, and #CO2e #emissions after I changed from natural gas furnaces to dual fuel #HeatPump to heat my house. This is what actually changed.
Part of my #CO2 reduction wedge.
co2mmit.substack.com/p/heat-pump-...
Have you used infrared images to better understand where your #home leaks heat? Here's an example if you haven't yet used this tool in your #house.
co2mmit.substack.com/p/my-leaky-b...
"Are you keeping the #heat in your #house? Upgrading a furnace in a drafty house is like pouring more hot water into a leaky bucket. Seal the leaks before you pay to generate the heat."
Read the full discussion and see #infrared photos here:
co2mmit.substack.com/p/my-leaky-b...
"Sealing up the drafts in my own home didn’t require an act of Congress or a sweeping federal mandate. It just took a bit of curiosity and a willingness to look closely at the leaky bucket I was paying to keep warm."
#emissions reduction to address #climatechange
@mrmattsimon.bsky.social describes a path worth taking. The battery in a standard #EV is much larger than a wall-mounted battery installed with a residential solar system. #Vehicle to grid (V2G) is a viable path for reducing #greenhouse #emissions. grist.org/transportati...
Systemic change is necessary, but personal change is also required. The technology is already available for personal change.
If you are concerned about climate change and want to focus on what you can do today, subscribe on Substack: co2mmit.substack.com/about
If 100 readers each take an action to reduce a ton CO2e/year, it adds up to 100 tons of CO2e/year avoided. This can be a change in diet, a switch to an EV, or upgrading a furnace to a heat pump. Equally important, these changes shift marketa for products and services & shift the social norms.
Last night, the 100th person subscribed to CO2mmit on Substack.
I launched this project to foster a sense of personal agency around climate action. I believe personal action to reduce emissions is critical and fosters more engaged and heartfelt advocacy for the policy changes we also need.
What areas in your life are you in the top 10%? Maybe the top 1%? You can probably name a few.
Here's one you might not initially think of. Yet it's important to understand what it will take to reduce global #greenhouse gas #emissions to mitigate #ClimateChange
co2mmit.substack.com/p/those-who-...
Talking about diet to individuals, it's more complicated to use separate goals for CH4 and CO2. We need to be able to stress that simply substituting chicken and pork for beef is "climate action"... co2mmit.substack.com/p/no-beef-le...
It really does depend on your purpose. To get individuals to CHANGE BEHAVIOR - a required element to address emissions - the single bucket does help focus attention. As an example...
Are you concerned about #climate change? If so, the car that you choose matters! Substack @co2mmit
#EV #ElectricVehicle #BEV #car #transportation #emissions #ClimateChange #ClimateAction
co2mmit.substack.com/p/the-car-i-...
An image of three people concerned about climate change; each arguing that climate change is a systems issue; all while driving, flying and eating a steak.
Is #climatechange a systemic problem where we need to focus on the systems to find a solution? Or is it a collective action where we each need to change our behavior to find a solution.
Some argue it's a systems issue.
I argue #ClimateAction requires BOTH...
co2mmit.substack.com/p/system-cha...
...And anything you can do to reduce your emissions makes the problem a little easier to solve, once we collectively decide we want to solve it."
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/o...
I appreciate @mikegrunwald.bsky.social 's conclusion in the NYT:
"In reality, all emissions matter. They accumulate in the atmosphere, so every tank of gasoline, cross-country flight and fossil-fueled load of laundry makes the earth a little warmer...
"Behavior change is not as simple as reading a post I agree with and then my behavior changes."
Apply a basic understanding of habit change to change behavior and reduce our #emissions to address #climatechange... Real #ClimateAction
co2mmit.substack.com/p/habits-act...
Habits, actions and #climateaction. How can I change to a #vegetarian or #flexitarian diet - what actions should I take today? How can I change my habits to align with my values?
"The message...is simple: eat no beef and less meat.
While this sounds like something you do-an action you take-it is more of an aspiration...a statement describing a desired outcome. The...actions you take to get there are much more detailed and define specific actions that fit into your day."
The post explores the emissions reductions if we eat no beef & substitute chicken/pork/fish; or shift to #vegetarian or #vegan diets. It also offers a link for a tool to estimate the emissions caused by your #diet & lets you explore alternate #diets that would have the same caloric value.
Choices we make each day - what we eat - have a significant impact on the greenhouse gas emissions we cause. Read about a simple focus to significantly cut down #emissions: eat no beef and less meat.
co2mmit.substack.com/p/no-beef-le...
Checkout the full discussion on Substack @co2mmit and, if you are concerned about climate change, subscribe and follow along. co2mmit.substack.com/p/our-househ...
"these steps required planning, a commitment to make a different choice, and for one change a financial commitment to act according to our values even when it cost more. There is no single, one-size-fits-all recommendation here...Every decision is personal, requiring personal change and resources."
"I recommend estimating your own carbon footprint at a household level. A good tool for your use is the University of California, Berkeley Cool Climate calculator. For air travel, a specialized tool from MyClimate is appropriate."
"Household consumption directly and indirectly accounts for 70% of global emissions. Our daily decisions—what we buy, how we travel, what we eat, and how we heat and cool our homes—are levers with direct power to create change."
One response to climate change is in our control - what we do to reduce our own emissions. Today begins a weekly post on Substack to discuss actions that meaningful cut emissions, how to approach these change, and why they are important. Subscribe at the link.
co2mmit.substack.com/p/commit-to-...
Thanks for both!
If we were just about to pass meaningful legislation, I'd agree it's a policy issue. But when I don't see any realistic path where Congress passes legislation causing significant US emissions reductions, I believe we (you & I) can take the actions in our full control today - our personal emissions
I've watched 30 years of attempts to get good policy (and worked on 10 years of that) - and we don't have meaningful policy in the USA. If the 55% of Americans concerned or alarmed about climate changed acted that way, we could make a significant dent, shift markets, and change social norms.
I agree with much of the piece, but for climate change, I don't agree with his focus that "This isn’t a lifestyle problem; it’s a policy problem." To reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the lifestyle problem is front, center, and fully in our control.
An EV researcher says the Trump administration’s retreat from regulating car emissions “will not stop the public and commercial transition to electric vehicles, but it will make that shift harder, slower and more expensive for everyone.”
Crucial point from @grist.org:
"API pioneered many of the arguments now wielded against the endangerment finding... Trump’s EPA used many of these same arguments in its proposed endangerment finding repeal, demonstrating how much his deregulatory agenda owes to the oil industry’s work."