Hope in the Climate Change Battle
There is hope in our efforts to protect humanity against the damage it has caused to itself and to the planet. What does this have to do with real estate?
Well, if you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you know that I draw a direct connection between the future value of your home in Arizona, in particular, and how quickly we stop pouring carbon in to the atmosphere.
There are two rays of hope that I’d like to share with you.
New report indicates accelerated adoption of renewables.
I’m a big fan of this super-nerdy, quintessentially British YouTube channel called “Just have a think.”
You kinda have to say that channel title to yourself with an English accent to feel the full “Britishness” of it. Like, “just have a think about this detailed description of the difference between lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells while you chomp on some fish and chips and sip on a room temperature Bass Ale.”
In any case, the report that the host talks about is the most hopeful take on renewables that I’ve seen in a while. It takes on the issue of clean technology from the standpoint of disruptive technologies. Specifically, he considered how quickly other disruptive technologies throughout history took over the market once they hit a saturation point, such as cars and smart phones.
The report shows how much more quickly prices dropped for solar and wind over the last 10 years than ever predicted, and how batteries are not far behind. They believe that we could reach 90% carbon reduction by 2035.
It’s worth a look, especially if you are feeling blue about the rate of our current efforts.
Now, for those of you who might say, “See? We just needed to leave the markets to themselves and it all would have been fine.” Not true, we needed utility commissions and governments to lead the way in adopting these technologies to give the boosts to the industries, and, thus, the economies of scale.
Organizing to pass the Build Back Better Plan
A bunch of folks who were organizing in support of clean energy in 2020 are bringing the band back together to organize to educate decision makers about the importance of the Build Back Better Plan in congress. We have put together an Arizona chapter of the Clean Energy for America effort.
This plan is essential, both for clean energy but for infrastructure and new economy jobs. It incentivizes essential growth in clean energy production, electric vehicle adoption and reduction of methane gas use.
Here’s the hard truth. Because of climate change denial and the muscle of the fossil fuel industry, we are a solid 20 years behind where we could have been had we taken this seriously when we first learned about it. Very little of the technology in this plan is new or something we would not have adopted had we invested in R&D in 2001.
But, looking forward, Arizona is central to passing this act. So, please join us as we write letters to the editor, call our members of congress and educate them about the importance of a clean energy future.
