In the video “Save Our Snowmen,” frozen creatures are migrating to cooler regions of the Earth on a mission that could affect their very survival. This amusing video instills an unusual sympathy for snowmen while raising a legitimate concern about climate change in a humorous way.
Various locations, such as Puget Sound, are likely to see some species displaced while others find a new niche as the climate undergoes a continuing change. Mass migration is less likely than population shifts due to predator-prey and disease pressures. I’ve covered some outstanding reports on this topic from the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group. See Water Ways, Dec. 1, 2015.
The video also draws attention to the producer of this video, Cool Effect, which was founded by Dee and Richard Lawrence on the idea that small actions can mushroom and result in significant declines in greenhouse gases. The group’s motto: “Changing the world, one small step at a time.”
As stated on the Cool Effect website, “Our belief that small actions ignite planet-sized change was the catalyst for Cool Effect, a platform that brings people together to support the world’s best carbon emission reduction projects.”
Projects already underway include:
Wind power to the people: Reducing emissions of carbon dioxide in Costa Rica by building wind turbines (second video on this page).
Saying no to N2O: The organization is supporting a process to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide — a powerful greenhouse gas — during the production of nitric acid, which is used to make fertilizer.
The productive poo project: Using biogas digesters in India to turn cow manure into a productive energy source while reducing greenhouse gas emissions (third video on this page).
A description of several other projects and how individuals can contribute financially to the cause can be found on the webpage “Pick a project. Any project (or more than one).” Additional project videos can be seen on the YouTube website.
