Back to the Stone Age?

More dire news on the environmental front, according to the WaPo. (So what's new?) Two recent journal articles - one in Geophysical Research Letters and the other in Global Biogeochemical Cycles - warn us that humans have to cut our greenhouse gas emissions to zero to prevent a "dangerous rise in global temperatures." Could be difficult, considering the last time humans caused no greenhouse gas emissions was a couple hundred thousand years ago, before we learned to strike two stones together to start a fire.

Assuming we opt not to return to living in caves and eating berries and raw meat, we can still significantly reduce carbon emissions. U.S. electrical product manufacturers are on the cutting edge here - and for good reason. When you consider that buildings alone - with their lighting, heating, and cooling needs - account for two-thirds of electricity use in America and more than a third of our energy consumption, makers of electrical products are in a prime position to make a difference. And we are: from CFLs and LEDs to energy efficient motors to state-of-the-art lighting and motor controls, our products on the market today are already helping reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. (Check out Pat Cleary's post on just how much progress we're making.)

Not sure we'll ever convince humans to give up fire, but we're making progress on getting them to become more energy efficient.