Issue highlights:

• Big Moves to Halt Climate Change

• Throwback: Earth Day Actions

• Cities in the News

• Exciting Things to Come…

Dear friends,

This week we are celebrating Earth Day! You’ve probably received emails, stories, and TikToks about how your individual actions can make life on Earth more sustainable. But can those actions really make a difference?

Don’t get me wrong. You can take countless actions to reduce your carbon footprint, from conserving energy use to switching to more active modes of transport. But if we look at the biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters in the world, our individual carbon footprints pale in comparison. 

So don’t get distracted by ad campaigns asking you to eat less meat. Call your representatives and urge them to support climate policies that target the biggest GHG emitters. Those policies could reverse the course of climate change and help us Build Better Cities.  

Happy Earth Day!
Kate

Speed up the renewable energy transition

Sanctions on Russian oil are driving-up energy costs. As a result, US policy leaders are expanding domestic gas and oil production to keep energy prices from rising and help sever Europe’s reliance on Russian oil. This strategy has deprioritized renewables, in part, because we aren’t able to scale-up renewable energy production as a viable energy alternative.

• An economy-wide carbon tax would shift incentives, drive low carbon energy generation [Columbia University]

• Spend more money on upgrading the grid to accept more renewables [Forbes]

• Forget the pump, increase investments in electrifying vehicle fleets [The Conversation]

Hold oil and gas companies to account

For decades, government intervention in energy markets has subsidized the price of and investments in oil and gas. Though this resulted in making energy cheaper for the public in the short term, it has left us in environmental debt.

• 90 companies, mostly oil and gas producers, are responsible for 2/3rds of historic GHG emissions [Stacker]

• Many oil companies have misled the public and denied climate science for their own benefit [The Guardian]

• Boulder, CO, among others, is suing Exxon Mobili and Suncor for cost of wildfires [Denver Post]

Support solutions that consider agency and affordability

Most studies look at the origin of GHG emissions to identify the biggest moves towards reversing climate change. But many of these solutions are expensive and require immediate action by relatively few oil and gas companies. What happens when we can’t rely on those companies? We need affordable solutions that rely upon our individual agency. 

• Drawdown’s net-zero GHG method considers a holistic approach, from land use to education [Vox]

• Reducing food waste is necessary for full GHG reduction [Project Drawdown]

• Support women in leadership for more robust environmentalism [European Journal of Political Economy]

Earth Day Actions

Last year, I sent out an Earth Day shopping list and 3 actions to drop your carbon footprint. Need a reminder? Take a look at this Building Better Cities post!

Cities in the News

• Best architecture in the world: low-tech sustainable design in Burkina Faso [New Atlas]

• Monrovia plans for sea level rise with holistic adaptation [City Lab]

• Biden’s Chinese tariffs increases solar panel prices, will slow solar expansion or force new solar investments? [The Conversation]

• MI universities develop transparent solar panels (new windows anyone?) [Detroit News]

• Integrating water and energy infrastructure can reduce costs by 20% [Frontiers In]

Exciting Things to Come…

We, at Building Better Cities, are working on some new content with friends in Detroit. Be on the look-out and be sure to forward this email, subscribe your friends, and follow @KateGasparro to get all the updates!