Many people, when they hear the phrase “greenhouse gas emissions,” likely think of one greenhouse gas in particular: carbon monoxide. However, there is another greenhouse gas that is far more powerful than CO2: methane. Methane is 34 times more effective in causing global warming than carbon dioxide — and yet, we allow vast quantities of it into our atmosphere every day, through one simple act: throwing away biomaterial. Any kind of biomaterial — from food scraps to animal waste to wood products — when put into a landfill, decomposes and creates methane. Dumping biomass in landfills, as we do ..read more

It is no secret that the United States is a deeply divided, partisan country. It’s part of the reason it has been so difficult to pass meaningful climate legislation. And it’s the reason I believe ICEMAN is the bipartisan solution we so desperately need. This belief is not unfounded. I have shown ICEMAN to both Republican and Democratic legislators, and they have all been hugely supportive. I’ve met with Senators, Congressmen, and senior regulators in the EPA and DOE. I sent them my executive summary, then met and sat down with them face-to-face. Republican, Democrat, legislator, and regulator ..read more

A decarbonized future will require a movement—and a movement is made up of individual people. This means we all have a role to play in creating that future. Individuals have to take personal responsibility—and that is something you can start doing today. As individuals take personal responsibility, they’ll inspire their friends, their neighbors, and their communities. Thus, building the movement into a collective effort. As more individual people and communities get involved, it will inspire even more people and communities to get involved, creating a positive feedback loop. This movement has ..read more

History has shown that international climate agreements, policies, and mandates don’t work. From the Paris Agreement all the way back to the first Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, we have tried mandating reductions in carbon footprint, with little success. At the Paris Agreement, it was finally recognized that handing down mandates wasn’t working. Instead, the Agreement asked countries to set their own goals. While this might seem like an equitable idea, it isn’t very effective in reducing the overall global carbon footprint in time to avoid catastrophic, irreversible environmental harm. After all ..read more

The common fear about many of the climate change solutions generally recommended by international consortiums like the Kyoto Protocol—policies such as cap and trade or carbon fee and dividend—is that they will simply pass the cost on to the consumer, leading to inflation and negatively impacting the economy. With ICEMAN, there is no such fear. In fact, ICEMAN will have the opposite effect, increasing profit margins and reducing the costs of products—all while reducing carbon emissions. ICEMAN doesn’t incur any costs in and of itself. It won’t cost anything to be included in the Index; we’ll do ..read more

When considering what product to buy, consumers consider a number of attributes: price, quality, availability—and, increasingly, sustainability. The green movement has already gained momentum, thanks to growing consciousness of global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, and the consequences for our planet, our species, and our individual well-being. Green ways of thinking and purchasing continue to become more and more mainstream. The largest group is younger consumers who are aware of their imperiled future should climate change continue to go unaddressed. The market forces of competitive adva ..read more

In this country, great change often starts at the grassroots level. Social activists lobby for a change they believe is needed. Individuals who agree with that belief join the movement. When there is a big enough groundswell, the government begins to adopt that change. Often, this takes years and years—although sometimes, it happens practically overnight. The United States is a country of We, the People. It is structured for power to flow from the bottom up. It’s how the Constitution was written, and from the Declaration of Independence onward, throughout American History, the power has always ..read more

Grassroots Movement in East Hampton In May of 2014, my hometown of East Hampton, New York, voted to adopt a remarkable goal: committing to 100 percent renewable energy. The proposal, called the Comprehensive Energy Vision, was put forward by the Town of East Hampton Energy Sustainability Committee, under my leadership as chair. With this Vision, East Hampton resolved to use 100 percent renewable energy for electricity, transportation, and heating fuels by 2030. Although other towns and municipalities in California had made this commitment, we were the first town on the East Coast to set such a ..read more

The true power of ICEMAN is that once it is implemented, its effects snowball. It creates a domino effect—a powerful positive feedback loop. The Carbon Factor Index casts a spotlight on manufacturers’ greenhouse gas emissions. After placing CFI certification labels on products, the market forces of competitive advantage will favor products that are closer to carbon neutral, as consumers choose products they know are better for the environment. Low-carbon manufacturers will have a competitive advantage and become more successful. Manufacturers with higher carbon footprints will face pressure to ..read more

ICEMAN is currently focused on manufacturing. However, it has the potential to be expanded across every industry. In some industries, it can operate exactly as it does for manufacturing. For example, in the food-processing industry, the emissions from the manufacturing process for foods can be measured and calculated the same way as any other manufacturing process. The CFI label could go right there on the cereal box, next to the nutrition label, letting consumers know how green that cereal is. But ICEMAN can go further than manufacturing across industries. Food, for example, can expand all th ..read more