Friends,
I hope you’re making it through the summer alright and finding some joy along the way.
The summer for me so far has held a real mix: difficult current events, times of illness and health, new places and people, and slow time with loved ones. Through the season, I’ve let this Rachel Carson quote be a guide:
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
To this end, I’ve been trying—not always successfully—to take time away from screens, away from the news cycle, and to instead be mindful of the many wonders of the world around me. It has helped.
Here are some other threads from summer so far—in a different format than usual.
Following
Even as I’ve been trying to have a healthier daily relationship with the ins-and-outs of world news, a big story I’ve followed this summer has been U.S. federal climate policy—and what it means for global and local responses to the climate crisis. Already it’s been a summer. I won’t rehash it all.
But the proposed legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, is a big deal for climate and clean energy. And it might actually pass.
It’s come about lately. A few weeks ago it looked like the door was closed on any real climate legislation coming from the U.S. government any time soon—yet again, despite popular support in recent years for precisely that, and despite Democrats ostensibly being in a position to do something about it.
The rub was, and still is, that there actually aren’t enough pro-climate politicians in office yet. So one senator (who receives more fossil fuel money than anyone in Congress), plus fifty Republican senators, has held ungodly power over any potential climate legislation. It’s unclear exactly why this senator’s mind changed—theories include public pressure, his peer members of congress accountable to constituents to make a backroom deal, the economic arguments finally getting through—but it did, just enough that the largest climate and clean energy investment by the U.S. government in history (a low bar) now seems possible.
There are still ways this could fall through. But its potential implications are worth exploring.
Here are two general overviews of what this bill contains and what it could do, from a climate standpoint:
The Climate Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act - Evergreen Action
How the New Climate Bill Would Reduce Emissions - The New York Times
High level, what would this bill deliver? I am not a journalist, so please defer to the experts cited above for all the details. But quickly: several independent research groups (Rhodium, Energy Innovation, REPEAT at Princeton) concluded that by 2030 it would bring U.S. greenhouse gas emissions down by somewhere around 40% from 2005 levels. This is significant. In doing so, it could undermine the demand for volatile and inflationary fossil fuels and boost clean energy manufacturing, sending market signals and shifting the balance of power globally by showing the U.S. is serious about industrial policy that gives clean energy a chance.
From a global policy standpoint, it is projected to bring the U.S. closer to meeting its Paris Agreement pledges (aka, bringing it closer to its fair share to the global potluck). Beyond the global economic implications for developing renewables, this would send a powerful signal in global climate politics. I saw firsthand at COP26 last year how the lack of something like this from the U.S.—some significant material skin in the game, and with it, credibility and negotiating power—contributed to the summit’s largely insufficient outcome.
In the near term, this bill is projected to bring down household energy costs (and the effects of inflation), create jobs, and save lives by reducing air pollution. Beyond, you know, counteracting the climate emergency that does the opposite of all those things.
The stakes here are high. The costs of inaction on climate are immeasurable in terms of human and beyond human life and culture. But economic losses from inaction are measurable, and according to a Deloitte report, they are far greater than the costs of action. Moreover, when annualized, the Inflation Reduction Act is less than 5% of the funding the U.S. military receives every year.
The downsides to this bill are real. After the initial shock of seeing a bill in play at all, I, like many advocates for sensible climate policy, have had to grapple with the real trade offs it contains in order to appease that one senator and the fossil fuel lobby. This is a deeply compromised bill: it not only keeps fossil fuels around, it pegs renewables development to fossil fuel lease sales. It kind of codifies an all-of-the-above energy policy. Though analysts estimate that “every additional ton of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the bill’s fossil fuel provisions would correspond to 24 tons of emissions saved,” it doesn’t restrict fossil fuels and may actually continue to lock in their place. It’s a real pill to swallow and insane that this is what is politically feasible in 2022, when people in power have known for decades and decades that burning fossil fuels overheats the planet and shifting to alternatives is a matter of life and death.
Speaking of life and death: the people who will bear the brunt of these tradeoffs are mostly those living on the frontlines of fossil fuel refineries and future expansion sites (like in the Gulf Coast) which this bill enables—people who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income overwhelmingly and disproportionately experience the health consequences of producing these deadly materials. Folks living in what have traditionally been sacrifice zones cannot and should not be left behind in the push for climate progress. In real senses, they have been with this bill. Even as environmental justice groups fought hard to put and keep $60B in environmental justice funding in the package—a major shift in priorities from the proposals of even five years ago.
At the same time, clean energy advocates laud the level of investment (investment, not just spending) this bill would bring to setting an industrial policy that acts on the tremendous opportunity a clean energy economy represents for low- and middle-income folks. The bill does have a lot of consumer-facing incentives to help households attain electric appliances, EVs, and improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings (which 87% of Americans support), for example, beyond the jobs created. Quality-of-life improvements brought by decarbonization would be more available to you and me.
If it passes, it could positively affect people’s lives in real, material lives. And it could have ripple effects not easily modeled: to paraphrase Jesse Jenkins, the Princeton analyst, if this bill passes, non-federal climate action—local, state, corporate, and individual action—will get cheaper, easier and more likely. This could be a turning point.
All this to say, multiple things about this bill can be true at the same time.
This bill is nothing until it’s passed. And of course things could play out differently than expected (or exactly as some fear). Maybe these takes are proven wrong. I’m taking a risk in putting an analysis out there. But I think it’s worth grappling with.
Apart from the specifics of what the bill does, many believe it keeps political options in play for the future. The struggle will certainly continue, but it could play out on different, more favorable terrain. As journalist and policy researcher Julian Brave NoiseCat put it: “With this legislation we get to fight another day. That’s big.”
If this bill passes, it would break the "thirty-four-year stretch that saw no major legislative action on the climate in the U.S. Congress.” And movements of ordinary people helped make it happen. Aside from the outcome, ordinary people like all of us can help make more happen from here.
How? Some ideas:
If it passes, I hope you’ll strongly consider utilizing any incentives you qualify for to help the decarbonization and electrification of the U.S. accelerate quickly. Here is an excellent guide on home electrification; I’m sure fine updated breakdowns will be available if the bill passes. The big picture: there is a massive energy transition underway, and the power we rely on to heat and cool our home, cook our food, and move us around can be abundant and cheap electricity from renewable sources. This is welcome, since powering our economies through fossil fuels brings widespread, needless death and illness, especially for folks who have been historically oppressed. We can help this accelerate the transition, not only by opposing projects that harm communities, but also by preparing to and then adopting clean energy as we are able.
Learn about then vote for pro-climate candidates in November, at all levels of government from local to federal. Voting is a bare minimum action, albeit one with potentially the biggest climate impact an individual can have. And “think of voting as a chess move, not a valentine” (I guess I can’t write a post without quoting Rebecca Solnit). You can also call or email your existing members of Congress to remind them you are a voter and climate is an important issue for you (yes, of course alongside other issues) so they will support future legislation that does what this bill does not.
Writing
There are other ways beyond political advocacy we can positively contribute to a global and sometimes paralyzing problem. I recently wrote about this for Do Justice and offered suggestions on how each of us might break the disempowerment, stoke joy, and be helpful in this era: A Better Way Than Climate Paralysis (Actually, 5 Ways)
There are plenty of lists out there on this question of “what can I do?” More on this topic soon. But this is a start. (When I polled y’all last October, you said you were most interested in “what can I do” content.)
One action I didn’t mention in that article is to talk about what’s going on with our world ecologically. As Dr. Katharine Hayhoe points out, speech can help us connect on shared values, find creative solutions, and change culture. I’m not great at this yet, but working on it! Here is an article I wrote for Faithward on the theme: Why Pentecost Calls Upon Us to Talk About Creation Care
A piece my friend Liuan and I cowrote landed recently on a list of recommended articles for people struggling with anxiety and hopelessness during extreme weather. Christina Colón’s Sojourners article It’s Hard to Write Headlines in a Heat Wave included our piece from back in March, Christians Must Avoid ‘Lifeboat Mentality’ in Climate Crisis alongside several others.
Liuan and I wrote our piece in the shadow of the IPCC report and at the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine. But we tried to address a mentality that can take root whenever scary extreme weather events happen, such as, lately, in flash floods in St. Louis and Kentucky; wildfires in and around Yosemite; dreadful heat in the UK, Spain, and Portugal in July and India and Pakistan in April and May, and Iraq right now; the massive July heatwave pretty much across the U.S. through July. The temptation can be to mentally head for the “lifeboats.” This form of mental flight concedes far too much, when there are other ways available that are grounded in faith, hope, and love. I’m glad Colón found it helpful.
Check out the full list for other pieces that offer important resources for difficult days. (From a faith angle but not exclusively so.)
Reading
Speaking of heat, I’m starting to read The Ministry for the Future; so far it is lit. It’s a work of science fiction, in the sense that it takes place in the future and extrapolates from the present. But it deals with our own very real planetary dynamics. Above all, it’s billed by people I respect—like journalist Whitney Bauck—as a work that expands our imagination of what’s possible. And as I am still trying to lean into imagination, I was intrigued to pick it up.
The book deals in part with the concrete, difficult decisions that need to be made to avert climate catastrophe. To simulate these dynamics, check out this Financial Times quiz. It gamifies the kinds of challenges we are facing and will face and asks you to navigate them. It is an engaging, educational little exercise. I did just alright when I took it a few months ago (result below), but I learned:
See how you fare? (Pairing the quiz with the book was Whitney Bauck’s idea.)
I’m reading The Ministry for the Future with a few friends. Want to read along and discuss in a group? Let me know! We can get together in-person if you’re local, or virtually if you’re not. The plan is to read through August and September.
Speaking of reading: call me weird, but I track many of my goals on an August-July yearly calendar. So, I didn’t read as much this last year as I set a goal to, but what I read was good. Here are the most notable books I read over the last year:
I’ll share more about them soon on Instagram.
Read any of these? Interested in your thoughts. Any next recommendations? I’ve been told I read too many heavy books, so if you have any you recommend for pure enjoyment, I’d love to hear of them.
Let me highlight two books for now:
First, The Genius of Birds. Jennifer Ackerman manages to make bird intelligence studies entertaining and delightful to read. She posits that even though humans often make the mistake of anthropomorphism when it comes to relating to the beyond-human world—that is, projecting ourselves onto animals or trees and seeing them in our own image—we can also err into anthropodenialism: refusing to see other species’ similarities with us and thus how learning about them can teach us about ourselves and other life on earth. (Maybe this is the delicate balance in play with human-to-human empathy too?) I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and deepening my understanding of some of my favorite creatures.
Shortly after finishing this, I came across Ed Yong’s excellent article “How Animals Perceive the World.” Like Ackermann in The Genius of Birds, here he practices ecological empathy. Yong is a Pulitzer winning journalist for his work reporting on COVID-19 these last few years. I found this article to be paradigm-shifting; it changed my vision toward the world and I think you’ll find it worth your time.
Second, Debra Rienstra’s Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth. My friend Liuan wrote an excellent review if you’re interested. Here’s what I wrote about the book a while back, but it never quite make it into a post. Adding it now in case it prompts you into the book (I hope so!):
Refugia Faith offers a map to healing and renewal within a world undergoing climate upheaval.
Climate is often thought of as a technological or political problem. It is certainly the latter—as the latest IPCC report [link] shows—but more so a psychological (which is to say, spiritual) problem and a worldview (which is to say, theological) problem. Debra Rienstra faces these spiritual and the theological dimensions head on. She asks: “what would it mean for us to be people of refugia?” and offers plenty of possibilities to consider.
In this lovely, soulful book, Rienstra uses her many skills—as a writer, theologian, and climate learner and advocate—to re-envision Christian faith in light of the climate crisis. Following Mary Annaïse Heglar’s advice on how anyone might contribute to our ecological struggle, in this book Debra Rienstra has responded: she has done what she’s good at, and done her best. For this we can be grateful. The resulting book is truthful, good, and beautiful. (To echo other reviewers: this is a beautifully written book.)
Many readers (including me) will relate to Rienstra’s more recent climate awakening. She writes, “I feel as if something long latent in me has come alive, and I can hardly stop it now. Perhaps this change is not sudden at all but the natural outworking of a long trajectory.” Thankfully, Reinstra’s trajectory has led to this book. And while Christian readers will most relate, Rienstra’s is an expansive faith, full of wonder, and people from many faith traditions will find plenty here to think about and relate to their own commitments.
Refugia Faith is a stirring work of ecotheology for our time. It has all the elements of a pivotal text. It deserves to be read widely, taken to heart, and put to transformative use in the world.
And more
My friend Tina Muir is advancing the sustainability conversation within the running community. She’s been putting out daily videos as part of a ‘100 Days of Sustainability’ series. Check them out on Instagram for daily, inspiring actions (you can subscribe there for emailed versions too).
I enjoyed listening to this On Being episode with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, titled with her powerful question: “What If We Get This Right?” It’s a short listen, but one brimming with possibility and imagination rather than resignation or doom. A teaser quote: “For me it’s all about how do we build the future we want to live in, where there’s a place for us and the people and things we love.”
I aim to share about other current projects over the coming weeks. One big one: I’m soon starting a fellowship that will help me learn more about the climate field from experienced folks and meet people who are driving solutions. I’m excited!
One other thing I’ve been up to lately is spending more time on the bike. What an amazing way to move. I’m going to try to do more of it.
In general, I’m going to keep trying to roll with the joy wherever it’s found.
Thank you for reading. I hope you found something in here to provoke mind or movement. If you have thoughts to share, I’m always interested to learn from you.