Marin Voice: Focus on climate solutions Marin can implement in the next 5 years

Our planet is heating up.

That’s no longer news, but it’s happening far more quickly than predicted, with real impacts today and dire consequences for our children’s future.

Global warming is already causing longer and hotter summers, increased fire danger, rising sea and bay levels, worsening air quality, prolonged droughts and threats to our infrastructure. That it’s global feels overwhelming.

We all ask, “What can I possibly do that will make a difference?” We know there’s a climate crisis, but what are the solutions?

The good news is that real solutions already exist. Some actions are easy, and we all can do them right now. Others require all of us working together.

How much our planet heats up – and how quickly – depends on the choices we make in every aspect of our lives: at home, at work, with our neighbors and our local government.

In other words: we can do something, and each of us has a part to play.

The major cause of global warming is our reliance on fossil fuels: the gasoline in our vehicles; diesel in trucks and generators; the gas that we use to cook our food, heat our buildings and our water. Burning the very fuels that improved our lives since the industrial revolution has added catastrophic levels of greenhouse gases to our atmosphere, causing significant climate disruptions – a global phenomenon with dire local impacts.

The best question we must ask is: “What are the most important climate actions we can take right now, and how will our actions change our children’s future?”

The next question is, “What’s possible in the next few years?” The answer is, “It depends.”

It depends on the choices we make — individual choices and community choices. It depends on the policies we adopt and the actions we embrace. It depends on commitment and collective action. It depends on speed and scale.

Three sectors contribute the most greenhouse gas emissions: transportation, food waste, energy and buildings. By aggressively implementing key climate solutions, we can avoid the worst impacts of climate disruption and protect our children’s future, this decade and beyond.

Experts say we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 80% no later than 2030 and be fossil-free by 2033. To get there, we need to do three things.

• Eliminate fossil fuels in our transportation. Pledge to make your next vehicle electric. Bike, carpool and use transit whenever you can.

• Use clean energy. Sign up for 100% renewable energy and eliminate the use of fossil fuels in our homes, government and commercial buildings.

• “Draw down” greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Plant trees and keep them healthy, support regenerative agricultural practices, protect wetlands and the ocean.

We can start right here in Marin and across the Bay Area: Nine counties,101 cities and towns, as well as 7.8 million people. Collectively, we can dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and do our part to slow global warming, joining efforts throughout California, the nation and around the world.

To learn more, plan to attend the next Marin Communications Forum “Climate Solutions for Marin – the Next Five Years” on March 18 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Rafael.

The keynote speaker is Rhea Suh, CEO of the Marin Community Foundation. Panelists include student activists and community members. Learn more about climate solutions, get inspired, take a climate pledge and take action. To register, email michelle@first5marin.org.

Imagine what we can accomplish for future generations if we work together now.

Leslie Alden is the executive director of Drawdown Bay Area, connecting business, government, and the community to solutions that will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Previously, she was an aide to the late Marin Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who was instrumental in launching California’s first community choice energy program – MCE Clean Energy.