The Essay | Climate Change Solutions

The Impressive Rise of Climate Change Solutions

The fate of humanity and The Earth is not yet decided. Even this late in the game, climate change can still be successfully turned around. Because the solutions are already here. Right now. Today. In the United States; and all over the world. Impressive remedies large and small, across every sector, extensively scientifically researched worldwide…

They are already in action.

The solutions will surprise you. And you likely are already using some of them without even realizing how very important your own current actions are. Wide-ranging and multi-faceted, these measures go way beyond solar, wind and electric vehicles. Solving climate change is not just about technology. Social solutions and methods of working with the Wisdom of Nature are just as essential.

We must embrace the fact that Yes, we have the ability to Save Life on Earth. There is such a sense of dire inevitability and immobilizing anxiety over what the future holds for us and our planet. But we are not powerless! For this reason, it is imperative to fundamentally change the way we think and talk about this issue. To include this new message. To change the message; the words we use. Because words have power.

Consider this new perspective… We are on the verge of The Most Phenomenal Recovery in the History of Humankind. The reversal of global warming. And the Recovery of the Earth from climate change. It is definitely possible that 50 years from now, the world will look back to this point in time and know that we successfully slowed down and stopped climate change.

Audacious? Yes, of course. We must be. It is time. We are ready. Half-measures avail us nothing. We stand at The Turning Point.

Be BOLD…!

This is a fierce and powerful optimism. It is based primarily on the work of Project Drawdown. Their recent book, “Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming” details scientific and economic evaluations of 100 climate change solutions. Dynamic, innovative technological advancements. Methods of working in tandem with Nature. Drawdown also shows the extraordinarily effective impact that social solutions have on climate change – such as when girls and women have access to high-quality education and family planning.

All of these methods must be seriously scaled up to a magnitude far beyond where we are today. To do this, it is absolutely vital to expand beyond governments and industry to pull everyday citizens into the world of climate change solutions. We accomplish this by empowering people with the knowledge of how we can succeed. We build extensive Alliances across a broad spectrum of very diverse abilities. We take the solutions that already exist and quickly turn them into reality on the very large scale that is necessary.

Achieving this will require strong and powerful Creative Messaging.

There seems to be little awareness of how much is currently being done on our behalf by scores of truly intelligent, highly educated and intensely dedicated people. Yet as smart and committed as the people in the climate change field are, I keep coming back to one solid basic belief: It is regular, ordinary people (like you and me) that are The Key to the Recovery of Our Planet. This is where the power truly is. It is us. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. And within all of us, within me and within you, is a strength and a courage and a wisdom, or you wouldn’t even be reading this right now.

I am not a scientist. Or a lawyer, engineer, politician or physicist, nor do I have a PhD (as many do in the climate change field). I am a regular, ordinary person; a writer/graphic designer/illustrator with lots of creative ideas bouncing around in my head about a wide array of messaging and logistics to pull everyday citizens into the world of global warming solutions.

First, you are likely already taking valuable steps without even knowing how very important your own actions are. For example, reducing food waste and eating a plant-rich diet are within The Top 5 Solutions to directly address the Cooling of the Earth. Drawdown ranks both of these higher in total effectiveness than solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles! These actions may seem small and insignificant, but they’re not. They are far more beneficial than you may realize.

At home, LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, household recycling, composting and upgraded thermostats directly address climate change. All water-saving measures reduce energy use; like for appliances, plumbing and drip irrigation in outdoor landscaping. Retrofitting older houses with window replacements, improved insulation and updated heating and cooling are other very important actions that make a significant difference.

I have this vision of how I long in my heart to live for the rest of my life; to do my part… Build a Not-So-Big solar-powered home. With all the best energy-efficient solutions built-in. Harvest the rainwater that falls on my roof… Drive a 100% electric, zero-emission vehicle – plugged into my household solar to recharge so that my driving is truly “Powered by Sunlight.” This would be a No-Regrets way for me to live an Earth-friendly life knowing that I’m doing what I can to deal with global warming.

Yet I haven’t done it. What’s stopping me? Like many of us, I have my reasons. I live in a wonderful little home that is comfortable, paid for, and rather inexpensive. Too much shade for solar. No garage for an EV plug-in. The HOA electricity is communal and sourced by a coal-fired power plant – not the best option for charging a zero-emission car.

Yes, I could go build this solar house for myself. I can afford it. Yet my life is relatively simple now, and this could be a complicated and quite-possibly-very-lonely undertaking. And I have to ask myself… would my one little solar home save the Earth? No, of course it won’t.

However, I envision accomplishing far more than that. Instead of building just my one home, I would like to see the proliferation of Solar Neighborhoods with 12 or 25 or 82 or 100 such homes… Not-So-Big solar-powered homes with all the best energy-efficient solutions already built-in. Fully incorporate Rainwater Harvesting into these communities – because water is going to be The Next Oil. Each home with plug-ins for 100% electric, zero-emission vehicles that are truly “Powered by Sunlight.” Building multitudes of these neighborhoods with all the solutions move-in ready will provide regular, everyday people a No-Regrets way to live an Earth-friendly life knowing they are doing what they can to deal with global warming.

(…Various forms of solar communities already exist).

Make solutions an Easy Choice. Homes with a smaller carbon footprint. Not just green utilitarian boxes, but attractive communities of excellent design. High quality construction and aesthetics; yet the houses are not big. Perhaps 500 to 1,800 square feet. Marketed to young people, families, singles and empty-nested Baby Boomers downsizing out of their 3,000 square foot house. Focus the marketing on being part of the solutions to climate change.

Create these Solar Neighborhoods for a wide range of economic strata: High-end homes and designs. Middle-of-the-road construction styles and cost. Smaller units of single-family houses, townhomes and condos. Also build Tiny Homes Solar Neighborhoods, with all their brilliant space-saving innovations; using the same quality designs and constructions, only 500 square feet and less (and more affordable).

Work in concert with the rhythms of The Earth. Include south-facing windows to take advantage of the free warmth of Southern Winter Sunlight. Angle the homes to be cooled by prevailing breezes during the hottest months. Grow shade trees on the north side where the sun shifts to in the summer. Build these communities only on land that has already been in use. Take no more from Nature and wildlife.

Have the Solar Neighborhoods off-grid or powered by a microgrid of community solar. Otherwise, we will be under the thumb of the coal-fired electric utility companies, and these powerful monopolies would continue to be in control. At any time, they could reduce the rate they pay for the solar electricity going to their grid – or even eliminate the buy-backs entirely.

Being off-grid provides security and resilience in an era of concerns about the aging energy infrastructure. These Solar Neighborhoods will showcase how far battery technology has advanced. And the batteries in the multitudes of electric cars in the community will provide extra energy storage and back-up for each home. You just can’t get any better than that!

The Alliances… We link up with electric vehicle manufacturers for the Solar Neighborhoods. Each home already includes a solar EV plug-in station. The homeowners will have multiple EVs to choose from and receive a healthy price discount because the EV companies will be competing for the business of every homeowner. They will be selling not just one vehicle but 12 or 25 or 82 or 100 or more into each neighborhood. This benefits everyone.

Do you remember the 1970’s when 7 out of every 10 cars on the road was a Volkswagen Bug? Let’s make it so that by 2025, 7 out of every 10 cars on the road in America are 100% electric, zero-emission vehicles. Now is the time for this.

There are many creative ways to greatly expand EVs into the mass consumer marketplace. Move beyond the limitations of the showroom-floor/test-drive parameters. Shift away from the advertising emphasis of EVs saving money on gasoline. Spotlight instead how much fun they are; and how quiet… Educate the public on how surprisingly far they travel now on a single charge; show how an EV will more than meet their around-town driving needs. And above all, focus the message on the heart… Breathing a quiet sigh of relief for the future of the children and grandchildren of the world.

Oh! The promotional ideas for cars Powered by Sunlight are endless!

The Alliances… This will require dynamic, optimistic, focused teams with the talent and the heart to bring this fully to life. Success will hinge on people with the abilities and connections to pull together a broad spectrum of coalitions to implement this in an effective way. We boldly move forward until our governments are ready to catch up.

Take advantage of the fact that some of these measures are controversial. That’s the beauty of this bold action. Off-grid Solar Neighborhoods in the city!? Rainwater Harvesting?! On a community scale!? There will be resistance. Yet these attributes that Rattle Cages present opportunities to bring necessary attention and media coverage.

Is there a group or metro area ready to take on this challenge? To fully embrace and disseminate this realistic message of optimism? To actually build these Solar Neighborhoods? On an expansive scale? Empowering the citizens of your community… Perhaps sell this first as a local “experiment,” but we all know these actions must spread quickly on a very large scale. Are you willing to become the model that leads others to follow?

No compromises. No negotiations to cut corners. No weakening our measures to work a quiet deal with any special interest. We cannot afford to. This is no longer about money. This is about whether or not we survive.

If we play our cards right, we will thrive.

The Most Phenomenal Recovery in the History of Humankind… This is a Breathtaking Vision! One that will give rise to a Soul-Change, a Spirit-Change among us.

As Project Drawdown so eloquently details, global warming is not Game Over. It is Game On!

The Impressive Rise
of Climate Change Solutions