- The world is on fire. Climate change is here. We’ve enjoyed a (relatively) comfortable past 70 years or so, especially in the US, but extreme weather events are getting more frequent and more extreme. The future will be different than the present, and we need to act quickly, ambitiously, and collaboratively to retain some of that relative comfort.
- Climate change is everyone’s responsibility. Cities, states, and countries all need to take action, and many are, but none of it is sufficiently quick or ambitious. Voting isn’t enough, so we must claim the other roles available to us: neighbor, consumer, employee, etc.
- Technical solutions require healthy skepticism. Even well-intended technology creates unintended consequences, especially when deployed at a fast pace and broad scale, or in areas rife with historical inequities. Tradeoffs must be interrogated thoughtfully.
- Behavior change is required. There’s nothing we can buy that will solve climate change. For example, yes, switching to electric cars will reduce a major form of carbon emissions, but they’ll also reinforce the sprawling land use patterns that generate emissions in myriad other ways. To emit less carbon we’ll have to actually change our behavior of consumption.
- Seek and maintain perspective. The four points above are all big bummers. We’ve been digging up carbon to send into the atmosphere for nearly 200 years, so we won’t turn it all around overnight. We need to create opportunities to find joy along the way.
Transportation & Technology