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The last time carbon dioxide reached atmospheric levels of 1000 parts per million molecules of air (ppm), “it ended the dinosaurs,” said Dan Cashdan, ’86, senior managing director of HFF Securities L.P., “We’re at 380 ppm right now. In the next 30 to 60 years, we’ll be at 500 to 600 ppm,” he said. “We want to stay within that range. Any more and climate change will get away from us.”
An environmental analyst and policy expert who has led efforts to introduce alternative energy sources to the commercial property industry, Cashdan spoke to the student-led Net Impact group on May 10 at the Charles M. Harper Center. He said the rise in carbon dioxide levels causes a rise in temperatures on earth. “There is a relationship between carbon dioxide levels and climate change.”
There’s also a relationship between climate change and heat waves, hurricanes, floods, droughts, and plant and animal life cycles. “What will happen when there’s not enough water for 7 billion people?” Cashdan asked. “The Himalayan Glacier provides fresh water for 40 percent of the world’s population. That includes India, Pakistan and China. What happens if it melts?”
Cashdan said if either the Greenland Glacier melts or the Antarctic ice sheets break, water levels would lead to a 20 foot rise. He also said the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is 95 percent confident that sea level would rise a foot or two. “I don't know what the probability is for one of these events,” he said. “But even if it's fifty-fifty, that is a scary position. The event of global warming has the potential to be catastrophic.”
According to Cashdan, there are three reasons why we’re suffering a collision between civilization and earth: the population explosion, science and technology, and our way of thinking. “There are disagreements among scientists about climate change, but the consensus is strong that the issue boils down to energy: oil and coal,” he said. “It’s a broad topic that is really very narrow.”
Now the question is how to adapt, Cashdan said. Individuals should look to their homes, cars, workplaces and what they purchase. “Buy better cars, do less driving, integrate solar to lower your electricity bill,” he said. He advocates an all-electric society, devoid of coal and liquid fuels. “This would make a difference.”
Corporate America also will begin to make more of a difference, Cashdan said. “Finally there is a convergence of economic and environmental interests. Corporate America finally believes.”
Will it be costly? Yes, Cashdan admits, “But we can do it. The U.S. needs to take the leadership role. There’s no where to look but to ourselves.”
— Carmen Marti