Everybody's got a to-do list for the President-elect, but what's on our list?
On Nov. 4, we witnessed a historic election, followed by global celebrations, widespread euphoria and talk of the long road to restoration of American dignity. But three weeks later, as the euphoria wanes, the demands have started to roll in. It seems like everyday now a different thought-leader publishes a list of priorities President-elect Barack Obama must pursue in order to address climate change and set the country (and world) on a course to wean itself off of fossil fuels.
The call is loud and large for substantial cleantech investment, a complete overhaul of the nation’s electrical grid to accommodate renewables and carbon cap-and-trade. And wouldn’t it be great if Obama saw the reigning analogy between today’s market and that of the 1930s through to its we-will-rise-again conclusion of a green New Deal and 5 million non-outsourceable jobs that would transition the country to energy independence. Of course, we’d love to see swift implementation. But honestly, the man has got a lot on his plate right now. Even if Obama wasn’t single-handedly tasked with reinventing government and resuscitating democracy, we all know political progress takes time. We elected change, but surely change cannot rest on one man’s shoulders.
And so, I ask, what about the rest of us? If we liken the past eight years to a dysfunctional relationship, it makes sense that we might have some trust issues, some betrayal to work through. How can we reinvent ourselves as a trusting, participatory and supportive electorate? I propose this list of three things that we might do to reclaim our identity as democratic citizens and aid the precipitation of the green revolution we so desperately need.
Be prepared to sacrifice for the greater good
Recent opinion pages are rife with the augury: “the bills are coming due.” This refers both to fallout from the Bush administration’s net commitment to environmental degradation and the last 200 years of our profligate burning of fossil fuels. It’s ominous, vaguely admonishing and, as such, irritating. But it’s also true. The President-elect will most likely introduce environmental legislation that while being better for the whole, may require individual sacrifice, and we should be willing to support this legislation.
The first thing to be aware of is that for every piece of truly disruptive legislation introduced, there will be entrenched corporate interests that will fear a loss of profits. And then they will hire people to summon the apocalypse and stoke our fear of higher energy prices, utilities, taxes, etc. The thing to remember though is that higher prices aren’t always a given. If we go back 20 years to the Clean Air Act debate, we catch a glimpse of utility companies scrambling to convince us of how much our electricity bills were going to increase as a result of their having to reduce the acid rain-causing pollutants streaming from the stacks of their coal-fired power plants. Their threat: a $7.1 billion increase to customers per year between 2000 and 2010.
As we know, the acid rain program was passed in spite of that threat as part of the Clean Air Act of 1990 . As of 2006, sulfur dioxide emissions were down 46 percent and electricity rates had actually decreased by an average of 19 percent nationwide. So beware the fearmongering of vested corporate interests. They’re crafty, persuasive and often, totally wrong.
The second thing to keep in mind is: would some sacrifice really be that bad? Am I the only one who’s sad that gas prices are half of what they were a couple of months ago? Americans drove 15 billion fewer miles last August than in August 2007. Venture capital firms poured $455 million into alternative fuels during the first three quarters of this year, up 7 percent from the same period last year. And on Nov. 4, 52 percent of Californians voted in favor of building an 800-mile, high-speed rail line that will reduce the state’s contribution to greenhouse gases and dependence on foreign oil. Could $4.65 a gallon have been worth it?
Consume Well
Notice how I didn’t say “consume less.” In fact, you may never hear anyone concerned with environmental issues publicly utter those words, lest they be immediately pilloried in front of the nearest Sharper Image store and forced to witness the constant purchasing of frivolous, ephemeral gadgetry, forever branded as an enemy to the American lifestyle. But I can’t be the only one willing to ditch this “lifestyle” to which I’ve become accustomed, so long as the new lifestyle provides access to non-toxic, high-quality, sustainable products.
The good news is that sustainability and large-scale industry are destined to meet. It may have that David-and-Goliath ring to it, but I can’t count the number of times in the last few months I’ve heard stories of global corporate executives or the executives themselves saying that the power lies with the customer. “If the customer demands green, we’ll make green products,” they say.
Guaranteed, Obama’s pre-election support for carbon cap-and-trade now has corporations hurriedly devising strategies to green their operations in order to avoid the competitive disadvantage of chasing regulation. But we, as consumers, can catalyze this transition if we’re informed and take the time to find and self-select sustainable products at the expense of their inferior alternatives. Better still, the power of the purse strings is strongest in an economic downturn. We’ve already seen a few big box chain stores, known for their mediocre fare, bite the dust. So to repurpose a popular bumper sticker: The redesign is coming, look sustainable.
Actively Share Ideas
Where has our jadedness been more manifest than in the loss of our will to add to the debate? The Bush administration may have taken the phrase “falling on deaf ears” to new heights, but it’s time to shake off our learned silence and knee jerk cynicism, and chip in on the forums again. Good ideas percolate up and we have every indication that the Obama administration is open to them.
As Obama welcomes science back into the White House, climate scientists, hungry for data, have issued a request: become a citizen scientist. I was at a conference last month where a phenologist appealed to audience gardeners to submit observations of plants that were flowering earlier than normal, as part of a national field campaign charting the effects of climate change on native plants. The data is invaluable to climate scientists, she said, in broadening the scope of their observations.
In his election night acceptance speech, Obama asked Americans to summon “a new spirit of patriotism”—one that unearths the tenets of civic duty, service and responsibility that have been long buried in mainstream American culture. “Unpopular” is an understatement in describing the type of legislation Obama will have to implement to be effective in addressing climate change. Here’s our chance to prove that change is really what we wanted.
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