{"id":4987,"date":"2017-11-21T10:01:06","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T15:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4987"},"modified":"2017-11-21T10:30:28","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T15:30:28","slug":"the-distillery-november-17-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4987","title":{"rendered":"The Distillery: November 17, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We can all use some positive news these days, especially on the environmental front in which science is considered evil, denial is an alternative fact and the EPA is now what I\u2019m calling the Environmental Destruction Agency. And while I don\u2019t want to gloss over the issues \u2013 there isn\u2019t enough paint in the world to do that \u2013 I offer here The Distillery, a weekly (or thereabouts) selection of posts to help offset the PTSD of our current nightmare.<\/span><\/p>\n

The posts I pick will be \u201creal\u201d in the sense that they aren\u2019t pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, as fun as those can be, but are evidence of EcoOptimism.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Back in October 2014, an EcoOptimism post asked \u201cWill the solutions come from cities?<\/a>\u201d In the context of that year\u2019s fruitless UN Climate Summit, I wrote \u201c[EcoOptimism lies] not with national governments at all, and that\u2019s reason for hope\u2026. In its stead, lower level officials, notably mayors, have been leading from the bottom up, changing mundane things like building codes and transportation programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities are where a majority of us 7 billion humans live. [And cities] emit 75% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. So focusing on cities makes a lot of sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a case in point, I cited NYC\u2019s \u201cOne City Built to Last<\/a>\u201d report, which was a follow up to the previous administration\u2019s PlaNYC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the current US federal administration\u2019s move to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, the role of the federal government is even further diminished and local governments are filling the void, many under the mantle of We Are Still In<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From Business Insider:
\nJune 5, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA group representing $6.2 trillion of the US economy says they’re ‘still in’ the Paris climate agreement\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image source: https:\/\/www.wearestillin.com\/<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>The WeAreStillIn group had a sizeable presence at last week\u2019s COP (Conference of the Parties) that was the first one since Trump withdrew the US from the Accords. It served to show, exactly as the hashtag says, that much (or most?) of the US is still on board. And it was a stark contrast to the official US presentation which promoted coal and nuclear energy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From CityLab:
\nOctober 23, 2017<\/p>\n

“Cities Are Thinking and Acting Globally, Says Paris Mayor<\/a>”<\/p>\n

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Image source: Raw Story<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>This reaction, by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, recognized the significance of local commitments. (In an unrelated context, Hidalgo said <\/a>“Mr. Trump is so stupid.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From Grist:
\nAugust 24, 2017<\/p>\n

\u201cStates keep cutting carbon, despite federal inaction.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image source: Paul Horn\/Inside Climate News<\/p><\/div>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>The local level includes states as well as cities. The northeast states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) have jointly agreed on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This will partially replace the Clean Power Plan initiative by President Obama and that Trump has vowed to rescind.<\/span><\/p>\n

(New Jersey outgoing Governor Christie had pulled the state out of an earlier RGGI, despite the state Senate attempting to override him as well as a court ruling against him. The incoming Democrat-led administration will probably rejoin.)<\/span><\/p>\n

From ThinkProgress:
\nAugust 22, 2017<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. Louis adopts a 100 percent renewable energy goal\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image source: Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>This further illustrates the potential role of states, even those that you might think would be averse to clean energy. The post notes that \u201cMissouri\u2019s history is deeply tied to coal.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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From The Nation:
\nNovember 15, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown Is Doing Far More to Combat Climate Change Than Trump\u2019s Washington<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

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Image source: California Air Resources Board<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>We can always count on Jerry. And this is particularly important given both the size of California\u2019s economy – it’s the sixth largest in the world<\/a> – and the fact that California often sets the precedent for other states.<\/span><\/p>\n

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