Climate change: ‘We can solve it. We already are’

Previously published by the Durango Herald.

It’s time for real change – in how we care for our world and the people in it, how we energize our lives, and how we plan our future. 

Each of us has a role to play, things we can do every day going forward to make things better.  Climate change is a problem and we can solve it.  We already are.  

We’re changing how we grow our food, shifting to practices that build healthier soils, conserve water, and increase resiliency.   We’re blending solar panels into fields and pastures, where they provide shade for plants and livestock along with electricity.  As consumers, we’re changing how we use the food we buy, wasting less and composting more.  We’re changing how we manage our forests, on public and private lands, to reduce wildfire risk and protect the watersheds so critical to life in the West.

We’re changing how we power our homes, businesses and transportation.  By next year, 50% of the electricity consumed by Tri-State’s co-op customers will come from clean resources.  LPEA plans to exceed that by adding in more local renewables.  Electric vehicles are mainstream now, as is rooftop solar teamed with battery storage. 

63% of Americans feel a personal sense of responsibility to help reduce global warming, according polling by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.  We can harness that sense of responsibility to enact the next phase of changes.

We need to change how we build things, from personal decisions like using fire-resistant building materials in our homes, to national priorities like interstate transmission lines that connect renewable power from deserts and windy plains to big cities across the country.  Bureaucratic bottlenecks have pushed the average time for permitting to 4.3 years for transmission lines and 2.7 years for renewable energy generation projects.  We won’t meet our climate goals unless we fix our broken permit process and create an efficient way to get these clean energy projects built.

We need to change how we see each other and treat each other.  Energy affects every single person on the planet.  Ditto for climate.  We should act like we’re in this together.  Tribal, siloed interest groups fighting against each other will slow down the transition to clean energy and make us all miserable to boot.  Democrats and Republicans are starting to find common ground and common cause on this issue.  Let’s thank them for that and cheer them on to bigger things.

I’ve been tracking clean energy bills going through the Colorado legislature this session.  Many have bipartisan sponsors.  Some are passing on unanimous votes.  Republicans are voting for zero-carbon technologies and for studies on how to achieve the next phase of Colorado’s rapid transition to clean energy.  At the federal level, Republicans are working across the aisle on permit modernization.  We all need energy.  We all need national infrastructure capable of meeting the challenges ahead.

The time for real change is here.  We are living it now.  In honor of Earth Day, think about the changes you can help bring into the world.  Talk about that with your friends and family, neighbors and co-workers.  What can you do yourself?  What changes do you need your elected representatives to work for?  Tell them through a phone call, email, or at a town hall.  I’d suggest asking for clean energy permit reform, but you do you.

There’s a lot to celebrate this Earth Day and a clean future to plan.  The fun starts April 22 at 10AM on Main Street with the Procession of the Species Parade.  Dress as your favorite animal, fungi or tree and march to Buckley Park for music, dancing, food, crafts and more.  Celebrate the progress we’ve made and the clean, healthy, abundant future we’re building together.  Visit https://www.earthdaydurango.com/ for more information.