B-20 Home Heating Oil Enters the Inflection Point Conversation
By: Sheryl Goldberg
They say we’ve reached an inflection point in our society. But what does that mean? An inflection point is the point at which the data starts trending in the opposite direction. Inflection points aren’t magical; something has to happen in order to “bend the curve.”
As we reach another July 4th milestone, I am so proud of my fellow New Yorkers. We really did bend the COVID-19 curve. We drastically changed our behavior. The first several weeks were dire. The number of fatalities kept rising. Within a few weeks, the inflection point came as the number of deaths continued to rise, but more slowly, and then, began to decline.
It was hard, and sadly, despite our success, far too many people lost their lives and/or their loved ones. As we un-pause, we do so with an abundance of caution, well aware of the consequences of reckless behavior.
The COVID pause gave us time to reflect upon another curve in the news. The disparate ways that the virus impacted members of our society shed light on the long battle that minority groups have endured in their efforts to bend the curve on their basic human rights and opportunities. We must join together to bend that curve past its inflection point. We can do this. Human lives are at stake.
But why stop here? Another curve demands our attention. We must work to bend the Climate curve.
The consequences of unbridled carbon emissions are as devastating to human life as the aforementioned curves. Here is one thing that many of us can do that will help bend this curve. Switch to Bio-diesel home heating oil. A blend of 20% bio-diesel (“B-20”) mixed in with your usual oil delivery is available. Switching to this mix would reduce carbon emissions by about one ton of carbon dioxide per year for each household that makes this change. It is EASY and cost effective.
Ultimately, we will all need to move to heat pumps and clean electricity. But, if you are not yet ready to switch to an electric heat pump, this is a small step-down you can take now from the comfort of your couch.
Croton 100 has been collaborating with Robison Fuel to enable heating oil customers to reduce their carbon emissions by purchasing B-20 fuel at a discounted price. B-20 contributes about 9-12% fewer carbon emissions because the (soy) plant absorbed CO2 during its lifetime (not because that portion of diesel burns cleaner). And, it costs the same (or less) than standard (B-5 or #2) home heating oil. That is reason enough to switch. But, because making this switch is an important step toward bending the climate curve, our aggregate purchasing power provides other benefits. If you are not an oil user, pass the information on to friends and family who are.
When confronting trends that require our efforts to hasten the arrival of inflection points, we have proven that our combined efforts CAN, and WILL save lives.
