The fire in Lahaina, Maui; extreme heat in Phoenix; floods in Vermont; and the yellow sky over New York City. The signs of a warming planet are everywhere, and the sense of urgency over the climate crisis grows. Each day, the newspapers report both on progress toward decarbonization and on political resistance from fossil fuel interests and communities opposing the siting of wind and solar farms. The sense of urgency seems lacking, and people enraged about climate change are stunned by those who do not share their sense of crisis.

The difficulty with the transition to renewable resources is our continued massive investment in the infrastructure that supports a linear rather than circular economy. Some of the debt used to build these facilities is not yet retired. Turning this huge economic boat around is going to take time. We simply cannot turn off the current economy, and the transition to environmental sustainability will take a generation—around twenty years—before it is mostly complete. When thinking about the complexity of the task, look to your own lifestyle. How much fossil fuel energy do you use each day? We use it to preserve and cook food, to connect to the internet, to watch movies, […]