Photo By: Photo by Justin Lim from Unsplash
Coauthor: Paige Gehringer
Will We Need to Drastically Change Our Lives to Save the Planet?
Currently, there are numerous questions regarding what must be done to save our planet. Will we have to completely eliminate fossil-fueled cars? Will we have to eliminate the consumption of meat?
Despite much misinformation, making a meaningful change does not have to drastically change the way we live.
Innovation and clarifying misinformation
The truth is, given current technology, we can resolve the climate crisis without major changes in the way we live. Over the past dozen years, there have been extraordinary innovations in energy technology that make acquiring a low-emission economy look more manageable than before. Whereas before it would take an excessive amount of time and money to achieve a low emission economy, it is now a reality we can begin implementing today!
To prove this reality, Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, explains in a New York Times post that the cost of electricity from wind power has fallen 70% since 2009 and the cost of electricity from solar power has decreased 89%. Not only is this a great opportunity to take better care of this earth we call home, but it can significantly decrease the price of energy for everyone.
A common belief held by the community is that rooftop solar owners are shifting the cost to other ratepayers who do not have solar. This is simply a false narrative being propagated by the investor-owned utility companies to try and maintain their market share and bottom line.
The truth is, most rooftop solar panels produce more energy than the household uses. When this happens, the utility companies use the excess energy provided by those solar panels to help provide energy to others in the community. This ultimately saves the utility companies money which in turn saves ratepayers money.
Here’s an analogy to consider: What if the beef industry took this position?
“Now that there are more and more vegetarians, beef consumption is down. Therefore, we will not make the profit we expected from the feedlots and slaughterhouses we were planning to build. To make the profit we are entitled to, we will have to raise the cost of beef. Since everyone knows vegetarians are rich yuppies, they are shifting the cost of beef onto poor red-blooded American beef eaters. Therefore, the government must give us the right to tax vegetables to make everything fair.”
Renewable Energy is the Answer – RIGHT NOW!
Despite many rumors that moving towards a low emission economy is impossible, experts have developed the right technology to make this a reality that benefits all. In order to save the planet, we do not need to stop eating meat. We simply need to move to a more efficient way of producing energy. The great news is, that way of producing energy more efficiently is here in the name of solar and wind energy!
Say goodbye to the old way of producing energy. The future has arrived!
The Center for Community Energy is dedicated to the decarbonization of our atmosphere. Please help support CCE so it can continue to focus on the interests of individual ratepayers, small businesses, and others, and help our state and planet achieve critical climate goals!
