Earth In Crisis: Cooling Down
Celebrating Milestones And Wins For The Climate
By Tracey MacDermott
For the GPHN
At the end of April, devastating tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma. The drenching, heavy rain created severe flooding. Texas too was pummeled, unspared by horrific damage from Mother Nature. Hundreds were rescued after heavy rainfall.
It is recognized science that climate change is the cause of storms that are more severe; more deadly.
The never-ending disasters can wear us all down. It is challenging to remain hopeful. However, we have many reasons to keep the faith. We must continue working to solve the climate crisis.
First, renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels. It is expected that prices will continue to drop, driving more adoption. Our own city is leading with its Climate Protection Fund. Per its website, more than 1,900 households and small businesses have signed up for rooftop solar with Solar Switch Denver. The program brings together homeowners to buy solar at a discounted price through group purchasing. Innovative programs such as this help make solar more affordable.
More people are becoming familiar with the term Climate Justice and Environmental Inequities. Understanding what this is, is a key component in addressing climate change. Denver residents can be proud that the city is developing programs that focus on equity and social justice.
The use of rooftop solar has grown by 51 percent nationally since 2022. It is expected that renewable energy will overtake coal by 2025 as the world’s largest source for electricity. On Earth Day this year, President Biden announced $7 billion in grants for residential solar that serves low- and middle-income communities. Providing funding will not only help drive costs down for these households, but address environmental injustice. It means solar will be affordable to more people — not just the wealthy.
The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere could peak by 2025. Even though 2023 set a record for atmospheric CO2, we might just be seeing the end of the rise and begin to bring concentrations down. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has projected that emissions could peak next year but certainly by 2030, based on current policy settings. It is critical that we bring down emissions sooner to prevent the worst effects of climate change. This includes slowing global warming and ocean acidification. To be successful we will need to strengthen current laws, develop new technologies and simply stop using fossil fuels.
While it is exciting to know that we may be turning a corner, we still have a ways to go to bring Earth into balance. Discussions about the climate emergency have evolved to figuring out what we must do to halt and even reverse harm.
Not that long ago electric heat pumps and electric cars were not part of mainstream conversations. Yet last year the sales of electric vehicles (EV) hit $1.2 million. Bloomberg reported that fast-charging infrastructure for EV’s increased 16 percent in the second half of last year — even before federal dollars kicked in. Also last year, electric heat pumps outsold gas furnaces. The IEA has determined that we have the technology now to cut emissions in half by 2030.
There are many wins for the climate. Yet we need to continue to work within our communities. We need to continue engaging in productive conversations with those who still don’t fully comprehend or trust the realities of proven science. We need to keep the pressure on our legislators for legislation and critical public policy.
We need to build from the great things happening. Together, we can solve this. It will take all of us doing our part. The Park Hill community has consistently stepped up to lead when it comes to solving big issues. Our work continues.
Tracey MacDermott is an at-large member of the board of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. She was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2017, and is currently the Statewide Co-Chair of the Climate Reality Project for the 100% Committed Campaign. Email her at traceymacdermott@gmail.com.