Climate Crisis: Positive Steps

Before we review the current state of Republican and Democratic approaches to the Climate Crisis, or even the latest bad news, there are some positive developments to extoll.

Last week the Kansas Department of Health and Environment denied permits to build two new coal-fired electricity plants because of the global heating gases they would emit. Yes, Kansas. Said the New York Times, Opponents of the plant say this is the first instance of a regulatory agency’s rejecting a permit for that reason alone.

There's also a movement in Montana to end coal burning, the Times says in an editorial, and participants include "conservative and largely Republican ranchers worried about the impact of global warming on their water supply."

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on an innovative program in Berkeley, CA will make it easier for people to power their homes with solar. Recognizing that a lot of people are eager to adopt alternative energy, the city of Berkeley will front the cost of installing solar panels on homes, one of the chief financial barriers. Home owners will pay back the cost over 20 years, at a rate equal to their savings on their electric bill due to the panels.

Innovations to save energy being discussed range from reducing the number of hours that workplaces operate (which a European study shows could net 1% energy savings for every 1% shaved off those hours) to getting serious and urgent about green-designing the built environment, because we are likely to replace half the current buildings in the next 25 years.

On the long-term future and broader political front, there are indications that the younger generation of voters--called the echo-boom--is significantly more progressive than the general population, particularly on the environment.

Further, even younger Americans are speaking out on the Climate Crisis, through the Step It Up movement and at the Power Shift convention in Washington this coming weekend. Step It Up has declared November 3 a National Day of Climate Action, and Power Shift's assembling 6000 students have a progressive agenda that puts "Make the U.S. Presidential candidates and Congress take global warming seriously." at the top.