This Earth Day, be a champion for change
Humanity is not headed for extinction, and we are already working to avoid the worst climate-change scenarios.
Earth Day is around the corner, which has us thinking about, well, the Earth. When Earth Day was established in 1970, things were different. There was no Environmental Protection Agency, no Clean Water Act, no Superfund. The Cuyahoga River had recently caught fire again. Our biggest environmental issues included leaded gasoline, air pollution and vehicle emissions. And toxic waste still gave us superheroes like Daredevil.
How much have things changed? Earth Day is a good time to take stock of how we’re doing on addressing the environmental issues of today.
First the bad news. We’re not going to lie; there’s a lot of it, especially in Iowa. Consider:
Cancer rates are increasing.
The East Nishnabotna waste spill killed 750,000+ fish,
The Marengo C6-Zero plant explosion happened after years of warnings.
The number of impaired waterways, though decreasing, is still too high.
Last summer, we had a record-breaking number of beach advisories.
Iowa’s state parks have $100 million in deferred maintenance.
The legislature still has not funded the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund that voters added to the state Constitution in 2010.
Insurers are pulling back from Iowa because of severe storms brought on by climate change.
Zero superheroes get their powers from carbon emissions.
Looking at the global picture can be equally dour. We have continually increasing global temperatures, dangerous weather, and advocacy groups with names like “The Last Generation.” Perhaps it’s not surprising that the majority of youth, according to one international poll, agree that “humanity is doomed.”
While we understand these feelings, we also understand that catastrophizing generates revenue; for the media, as the saying goes, bad news is good news. That catastrophizing can make the problem seem too big, impossible to fix, and our efforts inconsequential. So why bother trying?
We should bother because the problems aren’t the end of the story. Consider our past successes:
Acid rain was once big news, poisoning forests and leaving waters “devoid of fish.” It’s no longer in our news because it’s mostly a solved issue in North America.
The ozone layer is slowly healing itself and is on track to recover in most places by 2040.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2022 committed us to the largest clean energy investment in history. After its passage, U.S. emissions fell by almost 3%, bringing them down to almost 20% lower than 2005 levels.
Many other countries have reduced their emissions over the past two decades.
And there is good news in economics as well as politics. The costs of batteries, wind, and solar energy have collapsed over the past 15 years, leading to their widespread adoption in states both blue and red. Worldwide renewable energy adoption is so high that global carbon emissions may have peaked in 2023.
So what now?
First and foremost, keep a level head. There are real problems. They are big problems. But they are not destiny. Humanity is not headed for extinction, and we are already working to avoid the worst climate-change scenarios. Now is the time to keep championing change, not the time to descend into despair.
Second, recognize the good news. Even in Iowa, where the governor and Republican legislators have prioritized bounties on raccoons over clean water or climate resilience, there are bright spots. We’re still a national leader in renewable energy with much more renewable capacity expected by 2030. And, while we didn’t make the cut, Iowa joined Missouri and Nebraska to apply to form a hydrogen hub. That shows that even leaders who don’t prioritize climate problems can be motivated to take important steps to fix them.
This Earth Day, remember first that all is not lost. Then sign up for Iowa City’s Earth Day activities, volunteer through Earthday.org, join your local Izaak Walton League, the Sierra Club, or 100 Grannies, or find other ways to make next year’s Earth Day retrospective even better.
Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick live in Iowa.
Originally published in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on April 13, 2024.