Going green

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COP 24, the United Nations Climate Conference, will be remembered as the breakthrough on the climate crisis. Representatives from the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Australia missed a great opportunity to join the celebration. Their failure to participate opened the doors for the rest of the nations to reach a revised agreement on December 15, 2018. The new rules will ensure countries keep their promises to cut carbon emissions, to deliver the Paris goals of limiting global temperature rises to well below 2°C.

Green power generation

While U.S. representatives were laughed at for attempting to sell coal to solve the climate crisis at COP 24, Xcel Energy and other electric power generation utilities are shutting down coal plants in this country. This is a customer-driven transition made possible by communities demanding clean energy and low-cost wind and solar power generation. In the Green business model, communities are no longer captive ratepayers. Low-cost green energy solutions are leaving coal in the ground. Old coal plants are no longer cost competitive. From refrigerators to electric vehicles, green power is the best solution for the climate crisis.

Case in point: Last week, SunShare, a Colorado provider of community solar gardens, signed a deal with Xcel Energy for six Denver residential community solar gardens, serving 2,500 households. Community solar enables people who can’t install solar panels on their rooftops to have access to the benefits of solar power.

Power generated by a 150-megawatt wind farm in South Dakota will be used to offset electricity consumption of an industrial customer of Xcel Energy, the first major green power purchase agreement in Minnesota. The Clean Grid Alliance called the filing “a big deal” for Xcel and the central Minnesota community of Becker.

On November 20, the Fayetteville City Council approved construction of the largest solar plant on municipal land, working with Arkansas Electric Cooperatives taking a giant leap towards their goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. The project will save $6 million over 20 years.

Green New Deal

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more than 300 local and state government officials called for the Green New Deal in an open letter on Friday. The letter says, “Our nation’s mightiest cities have been flooded by unprecedented superstorms including Sandy, Katrina, Harvey, and Maria. Scientists warn that the impacts will continue to worsen, the federal government’s National Climate Assessment predicts economic losses will exceed the GDP of many states, and our military is responding to climate change as a key threat to national security.”

The Ocasio-Cortez initiative is a climate and social justice umbrella to provide green jobs and reduce economic inequality. The Deal has the full support of thousands of Sunrise Movement youth members, an unstoppable team acting on the pressing need for environmental reform.

The Paris agreement is open

The climate planetary crisis impacts all life. Looking at Earth from the International Space Station would provide a true perspective. We are all at high risk. The U.S. and other renegades are welcome to join the rest of the nations. Withdrawing from the Paris agreement may have looked like a power move – when in fact it is a bad play based on fear and ignorance. Re-joining the Climate Agreement would lower the cost the US would pay and inspire the rest of the world.

Trump’s climate denial is based on false “economic prosperity and energy security” ideas. Economic theories dictate who owns what, and how people are compensated and taxed. Buying stuff is said to be good for the economy, even if you buy things you don’t need.

Economic theories are based on ideas someone made-up. In 1776 Adam Smith said there was an “invisible hand” regulating free markets. He is the father of free trade and the gross domestic product. Economic rules need to change to adapt to new realities.

Climate change is based on the scientific method using precise measurements and proven science. Global warming is due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. On a small planet, unlimited growth is an illusion. Conservation, love, care and respect for all forms of life are required survival principles.

Dr. Luis Contreras

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