Cars, trucks and airplanes worldwide are the #1 cause of global warming and or climate change, not President Donald Trump and not withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord. Fixing these problems unfortunately is highly political in Washington and around the world. Big oil and OPEC are entrenched and they fight any progress into an electrically or solar powered world. It’s the harmful emissions from fossil-fuel-based gasoline, diesel and jet engines. Cars and trucks are half the big problem and airplanes are the other half — 50/50.

Mainstream media including CNN and NBC during the Wednesday landfall of Hurricane Michael on the Florida panhandle openly claimed that climate change was responsible for the strength of this hurricane, but the historical record proves otherwise, however their claim is not without merit. Michael was a rare storm but not unprecedented. This is not to say that climate change is a hoax, it is not. Rising sea levels are a reality around the world as are rising sea temperatures which affect the intensity of hurricanes.

Since the first airplane took off on Kitty Hawk Beach and the horse-drawn carriage went horseless, and Henry Ford’s classic ‘Model-T Ford’ was sold from coast-to-coast — emissions from vehicles have gotten worse year-after-year up to present day. The number of operating cars, trucks and airplanes certainly is in the billions around the globe. The number of airplanes in the sky — at any one time on any given day — is staggering to really comprehend. Each flight fowls the air we all breathe.

Furnaces that burn home-heating oil or natural gas, including kitchen stoves, need to be outlawed and replaced with solar and or electric heating. However, coal-burning electric generating plants are a viable alternative for the time being, but coal’s days are numbered. Coal’s contribution to total energy needs is undeniable, but it is clearly old-school technology.

Now a few words concerning nuclear power: No! It may be perfect to power a nuclear submarine or aircraft carrier but power plant mishaps have taken a heavy toll on the environment that will be felt for years. The cruise ship industry perhaps should convert to nuclear power and this technology should be made available to them or forced upon them.

Not much is going to change worldwide until fossil-fuels are 100-percent phased out by laws and replaced with electric cars, trucks and airplanes. The technology behind electric storage batteries has a way to go, but this year car manufacturer Audi has what they claim is the “first all-electric car” on the market. This is the future of getting ahold of climate change and start cooling down the atmosphere.

Gas stations around the world will be forced to convert to electric recharging stations with universal interchangeable batteries for cars and trucks. The key here is to be able to switch out a drained battery for a recharged battery in minutes – about the same amount of time it takes to stand there and fill your tank with gasoline. Switch out your car battery and off you go for another 500 miles or keep your car charged up at home.

Getting rid of single-use plastics is next. Say goodbye to plastic bags, straws, dishware, cups and containers. This must be implemented by individual countries and not mandated by an unenforceable and useless Paris Climate Accord that President Trump was correct in withdrawing the USA by going against the accord signed by practically every other country in the world.

The big problem with this accord is many countries were expecting the USA to spend billions cleaning up their environmental problems or disasters they allowed to get out of control and President Trump rightly said no.

You can throw up all the science you want to – in support of climate change or against it. Understanding climate change is mostly common sense observations from around the world of ugly smog-filled skies, oceans full of plastic garbage, overflowing landfills and flooded low-lying coastal development such as South Beach Miami which now often floods during rains mixed with a high tide and a full moon.

It’s not up to the USA to clean up everyone else’s environmental mess, but it is the USA’s responsibility to lead the way with research and development of the electric battery and other renewable energy sources. Every roof top on homes, condos, apartments, businesses, manufacturing plants, government offices and schools should have solar collectors and wind turbines where appropriate. The growing demand for electric power must be accommodated by massive infrastructure power-grid upgrades.

Costa Rica, a small country in Central America with 5-million people, is leading the way with trading out fossil fuels for energy renewables – hydro-electric, thermal, wind and solar. This country claims to be more than 95-percent fossil free in the production of publicly shared electric energy. Plans are underway to replace gas cars with electric cars. Audi’s new all-electric car is being marketed in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s politics are a mess, but they are undeniably a shining example of a government attempting to clean up their own country. Single use plastic bags – as given out in grocery stores — are being phased out and replaced with reusable canvas bags brought to the store by the customer that are now readily available for purchase.

Solar energy, electric storage research and development has been stifled long enough by big oil. They fear the competition, but they are resisting change and others will do the job while big oil dies in the desert sands.

There will be many growing pains with cleaning up the world we live in, but what’s the alternative?

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.Britt