SQM Club: Everything You Need to Know, Facts and Benefits
By TOI Staff December 31, 2022 Update on : November 28, 2023
We humans have always had a profound impact on the planet and its climate. We have been exploiting our world’s resources throughout history without caring about the consequences.
We have destroyed forests and ecosystems and caused mass extinctions in our race to satisfy our relentless urge for expansion and occupation. Because of this characteristic, we have become the dominant species on the planet, with a population of about 8 billion. Our species’ expansionist and destructive character is still the same. We are still plundering what we destructively want from the planet like we have been doing for thousands of years.
The only difference now is that we are so numerous that our planet has begun to fail and cannot recover from the damage we are causing. If we continue our destructive behavior for a couple more centuries, our beautiful blue planet will become a fiery inferno, just like Venus.
Although we know what will happen, most of us don’t care; we feel that the government should take care of it. Among the few who care about our coming demise, most don’t know what to do as individuals or organizations to help solve the problem.
That’s where climate awareness organizations come on the scene. These organizations promote awareness about climate change to the masses. Tell them about their impact on the planet and how they can contribute to solving this problem. In this article, we will discuss an environmental awareness organization called SQM Club and see what positive impact does it have?
What is SQM Club?
SQM Club is a non-profit organization trying to stop or slow down climate change and global warming. It has thousands of members from different organizations around the world. Their motto is to promote awareness of climate and environmental preservation. They believe that climate change is a problem that affects everyone on the planet. And that every human is responsible for protecting the planet and its environment. After all, our descendants have to live here for centuries to come.
The club primarily focuses on carbon emissions into the atmosphere. They promote awareness about reducing carbon emissions to combat and slow global warming.
What does SQM Club do?
As mentioned, SQM Club is a climate awareness organization committed to combating climate change. So, how does it go about doing it? First, the club provides a tool to calculate your carbon emissions. That may not sound like much, but it is a necessary step for any individual who wants to contribute to stopping climate change. The famous quote is, “You can manage what you can’t measure.”
The same applies to carbon emissions; if you want to decrease your carbon emissions, you first need to know how much carbon you are currently emitting. SQM Club provides you with a calculator that can calculate the annual carbon emissions of your or your company.
How does it calculate it?
Like any other calculator, it takes your data as input, applies some formula or calculation, and returns a number as the output. What data does it take as input? Well, anything you do or possess that directly or indirectly emits carbon, such as:
- Your electricity consumption
- If you own a car, then how much distance you travel
- How many flights do you take
- How long do you travel on the train
- If you have an electric car:
- Then where does the electricity come from?
- How much electricity did the car consume over a month or a year?
The carbon calculator will take this data alongside others to estimate how much carbon you emit annually. It will also give you detailed facts and figures about which part of your data emits how much carbon.
With this information, you can start looking for ways to reduce your CO2 emissions by opting for more sustainable alternatives. Or you can offset your carbon by buying carbon credits from various green projects such as tree planting, etc.
What are the advantages of joining the SQM Club?
Joining SQM Club has a lot of benefits for anyone who wants to conserve the planet’s environment.
- Their calculator helps you measure your carbon footprint, which allows you to take action to reduce it.
- They can guide you on how to reduce your carbon emissions effectively. They also help you change your lifestyle to make it better for the climate.
- They can provide you with many ways to buy cheap carbon credits. Carbon credits are essential to offset your carbon emissions if you want to live a carbon-neutral lifestyle.
- Once you join SQM Club, you can find many like-minded people to make friends with. This will give you a sense of community and belonging and also strengthen your determination to do everything you can to conserve our climate.
- SQM Club publishes a monthly list of members showing how much carbon each of them saved. Seeing how much carbon you have saved over the past months and years gives you a sense of satisfaction and gratification.
- You can also compare your SQM score with your friends in the club on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media.
What is the Goal of the SQM Club?
The primary goal of the SQM club is to protect the environment through scientific research and education. It has been providing environmental preservation services since 1954. All SQM services ensure the preservation of natural resources. So that nature can maintain its beauty and all its natural qualities for people to enjoy. The good news is that thanks to the SQM club, thousands of acres in a state park have been saved from pollution and development issues.
Many other companies share the same mission. But the significant difference is that all other companies work with government agencies and have their plot of land. SQM club does not own land and is working to acquire more resources to improve public access.
How does SQM Club Calculate the Carbon Footprint?
The carbon footprint is the total amount of CO2 produced by multiple activities such as flying, driving, or owning a home. Furthermore, the items you buy or consume impact your carbon footprint. As a result, the SQM club has developed a web-based calculator that allows you to perform calculations efficiently. The SQM calculator employs cutting-edge GPS technology to calculate how much CO2 you have produced. You can calculate once a month and analyze how you can reduce CO2 emissions and improve the environment.
Should we solve Global Warming, or is it already too late?
Although we have made a mess of our planet and are continuously dumping carbon in the atmosphere, the situation is not beyond saving. If we take concrete actions now, we can make a difference.
Our climate scientists are already working on how to solve the problem, and they have figured out a lot of solutions. Although we can’t determine the best solution for the problem, we don’t need to. Our current situation requires us to implement any solution we possibly can simultaneously:
Following are some widespread global warming solutions:
- Plant more Trees
Although a lot of different gasses contribute to global warming, carbon dioxide is the one that contributes the most. The easiest way to take carbon out of carbon dioxide is through photosynthesis. Plants always do this; they are constantly converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and storing carbon through photosynthesis. According to a recent survey, there are more than 3 trillion trees on planet earth.
On average, a tree absorbs about 48 pounds of carbon annually, so 3 trillion trees absorb more than 65 billion tons of carbon annually. We can plant about 1 trillion more trees on the land we don’t use for housing and farming.
If we succeed in planting 1 trillion new trees, it will take more than 21 billion tons of carbon out of the atmosphere each year. Although it won’t completely solve global warming, it will slow it down.
- Invest in Solar Energy
The sun is the primary energy source on Earth; all forms of energy come directly or indirectly from it. Although our Sun is renewable, it can keep shining for at least 5 billion years. So, we should use solar energy to make electricity instead of coal and fossil fuels. Although we already use solar energy to generate electricity, it’s still not enough. Currently, only 2% of the world’s electricity is made through solar energy; it can do more. We should aim to increase the share of solar energy in the world’s electricity. This will directly lower the carbon emissions in the air because solar energy doesn’t emit carbon.
- Invest in Wind Energy
Wind energy is another form of free energy that can generate electricity with zero carbon emissions. We should build as many more wind farms as possible.
- Set up more Hydroelectric Stations
Hydroelectricity is another clean, zero-carbon energy source. We should aim to build as many more hydroelectric stations as possible.
- Set up more Nuclear Power Stations
Despite our reservations about nuclear, it is surprisingly one of the cleanest and safest energy sources we currently have. It is more environmentally friendly than solar energy because even making solar panels emits carbon.
Although it produces radioactive waste, that waste is manageable because it usually takes up a small space. It is not transmitted to the air directly, so it poses no immediate harm to humans.
- Stop burning Fossil Fuels
The primary carbon source in the atmosphere is burning fossil fuels, coal, and wood. No scientific method will help prevent global warming if we keep burning them. No number of trees can help us get that excess carbon out of the atmosphere. The best way is to reduce the use of fossil fuels or, ideally, even stop using them altogether.
Frequently Asked Questions
SQM Club is an old organization established in 1954. It has been working on protecting the environment for almost seven decades.
SQM Club and its members have saved a whopping 1,675,433 tons of carbon from going into the atmosphere until now.
You can join them by downloading their app from the Android store on Android phones or the Apple app store on a shoppingmode iPhone. Or you can join them by visiting their official website.
SQM Club is a longstanding non-profit organization with a good reputation. So, the chances of it defaulting your money are minimal; you join the club with confidence.
You can easily track how much you contribute to lowering CO2 emissions with the help of SQM Calculator. You can also track both direct and indirect emissions.
Conclusion
SQM Club is a longstanding global organization with branches all over the world. There are more than 1000 people in it right now. It has an excellent reputation in the community of environment conservationists. If you want to learn how to protect and preserve our planet for future generations, joining them is a good choice.