What We Did This Year

It’s the time of year when our mailboxes and email are flooded with requests for funds. But just what have we accomplished worldwide against Climate Change? The groups I follow, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, and Audubon Society, are all sending out their accomplishments. I am just an ordinary person and this is my perspective of what has changed. 

First, we are on our way to making electric cars in the Western world. Norway leads the world in per capita use, although China has the most cars in use. (1) The US has been slow to change, with gas-guzzling trucks, SUVs and luxury cars common in most areas. My only concern with this is what we will use to create the electricity. Germany has closed three of the last six nuclear power plants, showing how smart they are once again. (2) One positive outcome of the COVID pandemic is that skies cleared when people stopped driving. So we got to see what clean air looked like. Of course, clear does not mean clean.

Businesses have found a selling point to be carbon neutral, so we have moved past the pioneer stage of change. News outlets are reporting on climate change daily. This means “a rapidly evolving research” (3) in most areas. 

A good summary before the Climate Change Conference was on Vox. “Coal is effectively dead in many countries. Renewable prices are falling rapidly. The price of solar fell by 89 percent in the past decade. Onshore wind fell by 70 percent. They’re now cheaper than coal and gas. To make this transition, we will need lots of energy storage. There’s good news there too: The price of batteries has fallen by 97 percent in the past 30 years.”(4)

The Hill had a summary of how well/badly we have done in combatting climate change. (5) Zaelke and Dreyfus see positives as advances in science, policy and activism. Feedback loops, which I covered in a previous post, are being monitored. Fossil fuels are on their way out, at a snail’s pace. Awareness of the need for natural habitat and the species it contains, and activism by youth are on the rise. The World Bank is putting its money where its mouth is, starting a fund to help countries trying to advance in this field.

So, to sum up, we have turned the bow of the ship. Although we signed back onto the Climate Change Agreement, my greatest hope is with the youth of today. They are being affected the most, and they have the best chance to turn things around. I believe they will.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car_use_by_country#, accessed 12/31/21
2. https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-germany-angela-merkel-gerhard-schroeder-11b97717f822a38c90fb7483ffc825aa, accessed 12/31/21
3. Lionello, P., Abrantes, F., Gacic, M. et al. The climate of the Mediterranean region: research progress and climate change impacts. Reg Environ Change 14, 1679–1684 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-014-0666-0, accessed 12/32/21
4. Lopez, German. The world’s progress on climate change. https://www.vox.com/the-weeds/2021/11/5/22765434/climate-change-global-warming-progress-glasgow-cop26, accessed 12/31/21
5. Zaelke, Durwood, and Dreyfus, Gabrielle. The good, the bad and the ugly of climate change in 2021 — but it’s not too late to act. https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/587652-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-climate-change-in-2021-but-its. 12/29/21. Accessed 12/31/21.

Inspiration

I was absolutely inspired this month when I was asked to give a short talk on poetry to a group of gifted students who are writing about climate change. The students who are learning about climate change are our hope for the future. The organization that is mobilizing these children is Chicago Gifted Community Center . They support a Climate Summit once a year, and the link above will take you to the page where writing is accepted for this, whether you’re a kid or adult. 

As I have mentioned before, the news is full of actions being taken by countries all over the world. Unfortunately, the United States can’t seem to get over its love affair with fossil fuels. I understand that people will be thrown out of work. So let’s train them to do something else they enjoy. I have traveled into a mine (northern Michigan) and it is not a fun job. It does put food on the table, so people don’t want to give it up. I get that. But it is going to be obsolete in a few years. Start learning new skills, people.

As for the owners of fossil fuel companies, take some of the millions you are making today and invest in another type of renewable energy. Some countries have already done it. Iceland and Sweden are leading the way, with almost 100% renewable energy. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Germany, Uruguay, United Kingdom, Denmark and China round out the top ten. 

Our present system of government is failing on this front, with a minority of rural states bucking the trend. It will take a massive effort to overcome the people representing these states, who don’t want progress in our response to climate change. In fact, I have a family member who doesn’t believe there is a crisis. And it’s not the one that was described as “he doesn’t believe there’s a flood until he feels the water.”

So how do we overcome the reluctance of many people to even acknowledge there is a crisis? I believe it will come. In every new idea/invention there are several groups: the pioneers, the settlers and those who don’t want change at all. There is an excellent description of change management here: Caveo Learning. We have had pioneers for some time now, and the mass of humanity that sees the danger of not changing is beginning to move. Let's see what Caveo says about addressing the reluctance to change.

We address resistance through audience analysis. Gather data that predicts or measures resistance by the various target populations, then analyze it to determine where the problems are, the size of the problems of resistance, and the potential impact on the project. Then, build action plans to mitigate the resistance.

Of course, don’t focus solely on resistance avoidance. There are many positives—or at least, there should be—for the change being implemented; focus on those benefits, as well. (1)

Perhaps we should change our focus and spend more time preparing people for the major shift that is inevitable if we survive. 

(1) Change Management and Countering Resistance to Organizational Change  https://www.caveolearning.com/blog/change-management-and-countering-resistance-to-organizational-change, accessed 10/22.

Climate Emergency

 We have gone from Global Warming to Climate Change to Climate Emergency in the last couple of years. Of course, there are those who have been pointing to this future, as we went about our business happily hoping some magic technology fix would occur so that we wouldn't have to change. Unfortunately, nature doesn't work that way. We are learning by our mistakes that nature can be inflexible at times. Warm up the atmosphere and you will warm up the oceans. Warm up the oceans and you will melt the polar ice caps, create massive storms unpredictable in scope and location. Warm up the climate and you will ensure massive extinctions, that may include ourselves. 

I have been raising butterflies for three years. The first year, I had over 100 monarch butterflies hatch from their chrysalides. Last year, although milkweed was plentiful, I only raised 20. This year, so far, I have raised one swallowtail and two monarchs. Was it the very wet June that drowned several of my dahlia, or the drought since then that killed my milkweed? I can only hope this is not occurring species-wide. I think it was the insecticide my association felt compelled to spray on the lawn because people don't want to have lawns that look "bad" from insects. 

How do you reach people who are blind to what is occuring? The media has picked up on this topic and we are now deluged with ideas every day. I began this year choosing one topic and writing on it, but I am overwhelmed by the amount of information out there. My need for constant stimulation doesn't help much. I listen to public radio and watch the news every day. I think the most promising news is that we as a species have realized we are on schedule for disaster after disaster until we solve some of the problems. 

Most pressing, of course, is the carbon in the atmosphere. It was startling to see how clean the air became with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. People stayed home for weeks, traffic was negligible and the skies were blue over Chicago. So, our modes of transportation have been the first to be changed. Electric cars will be a reality in a few years (what will we do with all those batteries?) and buses have already gone electric in half a dozen cities.

Companies are also beginning to find ways to capture carbon from the atmosphere. Today, Iceland opened the world's largest carbon capture plant. (1) It will capture 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air, the equivalent of 870 cars. If we can create these plants all over the world, they will have an impact.

Solar and wind power continue to increase in use. Governments all over the world are making commitments to improve mitigation efforts. The United Nations has made climate action a Sustainable Development Goal (#13) . In fact, the United Nations has the most extensive list of resources I have seen on the Web. (2) It is understandable that the governing body of the world would have the broadest view of the effects of each country on the environment.

I have more hope now than I have ever had. Those that are fighting this change will soon be outnumbered and hopefully the governments will take note.

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/09/worlds-biggest-plant-to-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-rock-opens-in-iceland-orca . Accessed 9/24/21

(2) https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ . Accessed 9/24/21

Alaska

 My family counselor said of my son that he didn't believe there was a flood until he felt the water. This could aptly describe the attitude of Alaskans toward climate change. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely beautiful there, the people are wonderful, and I am sure there are many that are worried about the warming. What was surprising to me was that Alaska favored no taxes over renewable energy sources. They had no recycling except in government buildings. They make a good deal of money from tourists, who must go by plane, train, ship or car, all of which use fossil fuels. Alaska is still mostly wilderness, with only 300,000 people in its largest city. The state basically has two main roads, linking Fairbanks to Anchorage and Anchorage to Canada. Many citizens fly small planes to travel within the state. Although the snow is melting faster, glaciers are sliding down mountains, and the pine beetle has killed millions of pines along the base of the mountains, (1) global warming is a topic that is avoided with tourists (they may discuss it among themselves). At dinner one night, a gentleman who had moved there after years of visiting in the summer said that the mountains have 1/3 the snow they used to have. As someone who camped in the Rockies a half dozen times, I know what the glaciers there looked like 70 years ago. There are no glaciers in Rocky Mountain National Park today. The West, in general, has a denial system in place about global warming, in spite of the 20-year drought, savage forest fires, and heat waves that kill people. This denial system helps continue living in the world without changing the way we live. I include myself in that system, and I know how harmful denial can be, both as a relative of an alcoholic and as a teacher of children with disabilities. You can't solve the problems you don't see. I sure hope this changes soon.

(1) Popkin, Gabriel, Invasive Insects and Diseases Are Killing Our Forests, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/opinion/epidemic-invasive-species-trees.html