Earth In Crisis: Planting Trees Is Sexy
The Climate News Is Grim, But We Can Do More. We Must Do More
By Tracey MacDermott
For the GPHN
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At the end of February, the International Panel on Climate Change released its second of three reports on the impacts and risks of climate change. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. The news is grim, and we are hurtling to a point of no return.
One of the key findings in the latest report is that if we are to avoid the worst, we must act now. Central to this report is the issue of inequality. Specifically, those who have contributed the least amount of damage to the carbon footprint will be impacted the most. This is age-old problem evident not only globally but here in the U.S., and right here in Denver.
“Inequality is at the heart of today’s climate crisis,” noted Nafkote Dabi, the policy lead of Oxfam, an international confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations that is focused on fighting global poverty.
“In the little over 100 days since COP26, the richest 1 percent of the world’s population have emitted much more carbon than the population of Africa does in an entire year. Clearly the time has come to claw back the outsized wealth, power and consumption [of the super-rich] through wealth taxes or bans on carbon-hungry luxury goods like private jets and mega yachts. People living in the most affected countries do not need this report to tell them that the climate has changed.”
Warning Bells Are Clanging
Our inability to act more than 50 years ago when Earth Day began and the warning bells first started ringing has meant decades of missed opportunity. Since then, we have come to the point of no return as there are changes for the climate which are inevitable. These changes include extreme weather, heat waves, heavy and more frequent rainfall, droughts, fire, changing seasons and sea-level rise.
We already know our coral reefs are critically harmed with little hope on the horizon for saving them.
Left unchecked, the impacts of climate change means humans will be facing food and water insecurities, vector-borne diseases and worsening physical and mental health. The report notes that our current adaptation measures are not effective, and any future adaptation methods won’t be able to prevent future damage.
An important aspect of the just-released report is that researchers consciously made an effort to consult with indigenous leaders and social scientists in order to understand vulnerability and climate justice. This is a critical step and must be part of the overall solutions to climate change.
Leaders must step up their game
Cities present key challenges as well as opportunities. Rising temperatures worsen what we already know are challenges, such as air pollution. Adopting changes, including taking immediate steps to adopt widespread use of electric buses and electrified homes and buildings can be part of the solution. Replacing gas with electric leads to cleaner air, healthier homes, a reduction of energy bills. But this means policy changes and bold action from our local elected officials.
Any major infrastructure plan must be reviewed and critically evaluated to assess whether it truly is solving climate change — or whether it really constitutes an elected official’s idea of a vanity project. Some simple solutions for cities on coasts include physical barriers to stop floods, including such as planting trees upstream to slow excess river flows.
One solution — which can be applied right here in Denver — is to stop reducing our permeable land. When we allow developers to build from property line to property line, rainwater cannot absorb into the ground, which leads to devastating flooding.
Here’s another: As heat island effects continue to heat up our cities, natural cooling is critical. Planting trees should be at the top of every single planning effort. These simple policies can actually be challenging, as some leaders don’t see planting trees as politically sexy as, say, pushing to build a new arena that might one day be named for them.
Meanwhile, our window of opportunity is rapidly closing. We are on target to exceed the crucial 1.5 degree Celsius global warming marker within a decade. Climate change is inevitable. However, we still have the opportunity — indeed the moral obligation — to act. We must be fast.
April 22 is Earth Day, and here in Greater Park Hill we make a month of it. Please join our Registered Neighborhood Organization to help our neighborhood become a sustainable leader and partner. We will continue our work to help educate with an upcoming lectureship series. We are working to make our world headquarters, at 2823 Fairfax St., sustainable and 100 electric-powered. We will continue to provide our neighbors with change, and hope.
“There is still so much in the world worth fighting for.” — Jane Goodall
Tracey MacDermott is an at-large member of the board of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., and immediate past chair. 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.