Earth Day Challenge

Too often we give our power away by assuming political leaders or corporations have all the power to save the environment, and individuals don’t. Part of that is our own advocacy strategy as environmentalists. It’s easier to mobilize people against Donald Trump or oil companies than it is to mobilize people against our own bad habits or those of neighbors. Blame it on human nature and our own resistance to sacrifice; it’s easy to say: “My impact is too small, so I don’t need to change my habits.”

The coronavirus crisis lays bare this copout as the lie it is.

For years, reactionary politicians and oil executives have predicted Americans won’t change their driving or flying habits. Some environmental groups have said the environment can only be saved if governments and corporations make a change. Then wham! We experience a pandemic and amazingly, people are able to make massive changes to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in a matter of weeks. Car traffic is down more than 36 percent according to Caltrans. Stanford researcher Rob Jackson estimates global carbon output will fall by more than 5 percent this year, the first dip since 2008 and the largest reduction on emissions in the last 40 years.