The United States joined more than 190 countries in signing the Paris Agreement and publicly professing our willingness to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. At the opening of the Paris meeting in December of 2015 President Obama addressed the gathering. “I have come here personally”, he said, “as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases to say that the United States not only recognizes its role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.” Specifically the US committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent below the 2005 level in 2025. That would include curbs on carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, perflurocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride and nitrogen trifluoride, all of which contribute to the warming of the planet. This could be accomplished through a combination of laws, regulations and incentives.

This commitment was made to the people of the world and for the next President not to honor it, in the words of economist Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and a senior adviser to the U.N “would mean blowing off the whole rest of the world and I don’t think the United States would find another partner to do that. We would just be the renegade state on the world stage.”

President Trump’s proposed budget seeks a 31 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget and the dismantling of the Clean Power Plan. It is important that those of us who recognize the danger of not moving towards clean energy sources speak not in generalities, but in specifics. At a time when the rhetoric from Washington blames environmental regulations for job losses and perpetrates the myth that climate change is a hoax, it is not enough to simply talk about saving the planet. Obviously that is the ultimate goal, but in the meantime people are concerned about health and job security. Therefore, it is important to show that climate change solutions can contribute to quality of life here and now, not just for future generations.

According to the 2016 US Energy and Employment Report (USEER) from the US Department of Energy (DOE), solar energy employed more people than the traditional coal, gas, and oil combined. “Proportionally, solar employment accounts for the largest share of workers in the electric Power Generation sector,” the report released this past January states. It continues, “This is largely due to the construction related to the significant buildout of new solar generation capacity.” The report noted that 6.4 million Americans now work in the energy industry and in 2016 added 300,000 new net jobs, which made up 14 percent of the entire job growth of the US for the year.

The report also showed that there is an upward trend in energy efficiency across several industries. Data show that almost 32 percent of the US construction industry was working on energy or building energy efficient projects. Of the 2.4 million people working in the Motor Vehicles industry, the report identified 260,000 jobs supporting alternative fuel vehicles, an increase of 69,000 jobs in the last year. The USEER also surveyed energy industries across the country and asked them to predict projected job growth in the energy industry in 2017. The results of the survey predicted an increase in hiring across many industries within the energy sector. It is important to note that the survey also indicated that the highest growth rate over the next 12 months, a 9% increase or 200,000 jobs will be in the energy efficiency sector. David Foster, DOE Senior Advisor on Industrial and Economic Policy, stated that “Whether producing natural gas or solar power at increasingly lower prices or reducing our consumption of energy through smart grids and fuel efficient vehicles, energy innovation is proving itself as the important driver of economic growth in America.”

Kumar Venkat, founder of Clean Metrics Corporation notes that “Cutting fugitive methane emissions in the oil and gas industry could be done with existing technologies that have a short payback period due to the economic value of the recovered methane. But in general, curbing methane and black carbon emissions will require regulations that simultaneously address public health and climate change. The EPA under the Obama administration did just that last year with a rule targeting methane emissions from new or modified oil and gas wells.”

According to Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, “More than 250 coal plants-almost half of the total number in this country-have announced in recent years that they will close or switch to cleaner fuels. Washington isn’t putting these plants out of business; the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan hasn’t even gone into effect yet. They are closing because consumers are demanding energy from sources that don’t poison their air and water, and because energy companies are providing cleaner and cheaper alternatives.”

World leaders spoke out in Paris on the importance of acting on climate change now. Below is a representative sample of their comments:

“Tackling climate change is a shared mission for mankind…Let us join hands to contribute to the establishment of an equitable and effective global mechanism on climate change, work for global sustainable development at a high level and bring about new international relations featuring win-win cooperation.” –President Xi Jinping, China

“To resolve the climate crisis, good will, statements of intent are not enough. We are at a breaking point.” –President Francois Hollande, France

“Governments must show the strongest leadership to limit the effects of climate change which we strongly believe is also the cause of radicalism and terrorism…” Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, Tuvalu

“For Honduras, climate change is a matter of life and death. The figures don’t add up…we are not all equally responsible.” President Juan Hernandez, Honduras

“Small steps will no longer do. The biggest steps need to be taken by those with the biggest boots.” President Sauli Ninisto, Finland

If jobs and health are priorities now then we need to speak loudly and clearly about how keeping our commitment to the Paris Agreement and reducing our use of fossil fuels and increasing research on and use of alternative energies will create more jobs and provide a cleaner, healthier environment now, as well as create a habitable planet for future generations.

Now more than ever those who can read the signs of the times and accept the science of climate change must move from passivity to activity. Although climate change is certainly a global issue, actions must begin at the local level, in our own backyards. Mayors are in the forefront of sustainability issues and a number of them have shown tremendous initiative in addressing issues at the local level. A key concern of municipalities throughout the United States is that the federal government cannot be regarded as a source of leadership on climate change. 

The series of questions that follows is designed for you to ask local leaders. It is time for us to challenge them. Schedule an appointment to meet with the mayor of your city or with someone from his/her office. Write a letter to him/her and/or write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. Put the questions out there and get people thinking. It is not necessary to ask every single question. Choose those that are of most concern to you.

The following questions are derived from the areas of sustainability that are used to determine “Greenest Cities”: CO₂ emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality, and environmental governance:

Does the Mayor belong to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate Change and Energy?

How many buildings in the city are certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDS)?

What are the criteria for new building construction?

What plans does the city have to reduce dependence on fossil fuels?

What portion of the electricity in the city is from renewable energy sources?

How many miles of bikeways does the city have?

How many green roofs do city buildings have?

What plan does the city have to reduce greenhouse gases?

How efficient is public transportation?

Does the city have hybrid buses?

How much green space does the city have?

Does the city have a plan with target dates to reduce energy consumption?

Does the city ban the use of plastic bags?

Does the city have a climate action plan?

Does the city have an Office of Sustainability? (e.g. Philadelphia)

Sometimes it is difficult to feel that what one person does makes a difference. Then it is helpful to remember the words of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

A few quotes to ponder:

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” – Mother Teresa

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and one another.” –Mahatma Gandhi

“The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long…America cannot resist this transition. We must lead it.” –Barack Obama

“When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.” – David Orr

“If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.” –David Suzuki

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” –Native American proverb.

“We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.” –Preamble to the Earth Charter

The quote above summarizes so clearly the world we are called to see today. I remember once reading that we can live in a house of mirrors where everything we believe is reflected back to us or a house of windows where reality changes moment by moment. To deny climate change is to choose to live in a house of mirrors, but the reality outside the windows is that millions of people are suffering and being displaced because of the disruptive effects of climate change: stronger storms in the form of tornados, hurricanes, and cyclones, tsunamis, forest fires, extreme drought in some areas and flooding in others, melting glaciers and rising sea levels.  Climate change knows no borders. It affects all of us, but those living in poverty are disproportionately affected.

Pope Francis reminds us in his encyclical Laudato Si’ that “Climate change is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.” He continues with a quote from the Bolivian Bishops that “Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest.” A call to climate justice is woven throughout the encyclical.

A brief look back at headlines of natural disasters around the world during the past year:

January

• Southern US states braced for floods as Mississippi nears record crest
• Floods hit 16,000 properties in wettest December in a century in the UK
• El Niño rain turns southern California roads to rivers
• Monster snow storm bears down on US east coast threatening chaos
• Deaths in Japan and Taiwan as record cold snap hits east Asia
• Wild weather lashes Australia, bringing damaging winds, flooding rains and hail

February

• Call for urgent inquiry into world heritage forest fires in Tasmania
• Rescuers race to save dozens trapped under rubble of Taiwan earthquake
• UK’s winter floods create 30,000 tonnes of landfill waste
• ‘Severe’ earthquake close to Christchurch (New Zealand) results in injuries and cliff collapse
• Cyclone Winston: tens of thousands homeless in Fiji a week after storm

March

• Tornado touches down in Oklahoma
• Military helicopters join fight against biggest wildfire in Kansas history
• Crane arm bent in half after 105mph Storm Katie winds hit UK
• Storms batter the Southern States while Australia still swelters

April

• Vanuatu hit by 6.9 magnitude earthquake
• Thousands stranded by floods and landslides in north-west Pakistan
• Battered Fiji braces for fresh disaster with arrival of Cyclone Zena
• Japan hit by 7.3-magnitude earthquake
• Ecuador earthquake: death toll triples following 7.8-magnitude quake
• Heavy rains lead to flooding of more than 1,000 Houston homes
• India crippled by extreme weather as 100 million exposed to floods

May

• Huge wildfire blazes across China-Mongolia border
• ‘Absolutely apocalyptic’: Fort McMurray evacuees describe terror of Alberta wildfires
• Dozens buried by landslide in south–east China after heavy rains
• 23 tornadoes rip across Midwest
• Sri Lanka floods displace 350,000 people and leave scores missing
• Powerful earthquake recorded in Australia’s Northern Territory
• ‘There are no words to describe how bad it is’: India endures severe heatwave
• Cyclone Roanu: Bangladesh moves 2 million people from coast
• Deadly volcanic eruption in Indonesia
• Western Australia earthquake has strength of ‘atomic bomb’
• Houses collapse during severe floods in southern Germany
• 20,000 Families Displaced by Floods in Ethiopia

June

• Sinkholes and landslides follow flooding in France and Germany
• Paris floods: ‘There’s something terrifying about it
• Northern Tasmania faces worst flooding in decades as storm heads south
• Floods in southern China, while a powerful tornado hits Montana
• New wildfires erupt in California as heatwave strikes west coast
• Deadly Floods Hit Central Region of Ghana

 July

• Typhoon Nida creates chaos across Hong Kong
• Deadly storm hits Macedonia
• Canary Islands fire ravages 7% of La Palma
• Hundreds evacuated from path of wildfire in southern France
• Floods Leave 11 Dead and 1,700 Homes destroyed in Niger

August

• Louisiana flooding: 20,000 people rescued as major disaster declared
• Floods in Louisiana and the Philippines, and a heatwave in South Korea
• Myanmar struck by 6.8-magnitude earthquake
• Deadly earthquake hits central Italy
• Typhoon Lionrock hits Japan
• Dozens Killed in Floods, Over 100,000 Affected in Sudan
• Deadly Floods in Mali and Burkina Faso

September

• East coast of New Zealand struck by earthquake of 7.1 magnitude
• Oklahoma earthquake among strongest in state history
• Wildfires in Spain force residents and holidaymakers to evacuate
• Train derails after landslide as heavy rain causes UK travel chaos
• Thirteen dead and more than 200 injured in 5.7 Tanzania earthquake
• Haze from Indonesian fires may have killed more than 100,000 people
• Samoa hit by hail storm so rare residents thought it was a hoax

October

• ‘It was like a monster’: Hurricane Matthew leaves Haiti in crisis
• Typhoon Chaba sweeps away houses and cars in South Korea
• Italy earthquake: historic structures levelled in biggest quake since 1980

November

• Thousands stranded and towns cut off after New Zealand quakes
• Fukushima residents urged to flee as 7.4 magnitude quake hits Japan
• 7-magnitude quake strikes near El Salvador as hurricane Otto makes landfall
• Torrential rain and floods hit south and eastern parts of Egypt
• Deadly Flash Floods Hit Johannesburg

December

• Thousands in Tennessee hope to return home as rain slows wildfires

This is just a brief snapshot of some of the multiple natural disasters which occurred during the past year. Not all, but many are caused by human activities. Millions of people have been affected; oftentimes those in countries with little infrastructure to cope with the after effects of these disasters.

I had the opportunity to meet the late Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Laureate from Kenya several years ago and something she said has stayed with me: “In the course of history there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground; a time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other.” It is time for all of us to look out the window and see the one world that we all share. Perhaps the mission of the Pachamama Alliance, an international environmental organization, might challenge each of us as we move into a new year: “To bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet.”