The days continue to shorten. The sun appears later and disappears earlier each day for at least a few more weeks. The landscape has become drearier. Even when the sun shines brightly and the sky vibrates blue, the light reveals the loss of leaves, bare branches, dusty shades of dead foliage. A bundle of yellowed asparagus fronds tumbles around the yard in the blustery wind. The blackberry brambles look forlorn. The evergreens do their best to bookmark shades of green for spring’s return, but they too look tired and tarnished.
Different people react differently to the lengthening dark. Our farmer friends have taught us the deep value of winter’s nourishing rest, time for recuperation and nascent regeneration. The chipmunks just give up altogether and opt for hibernation. The bird beings fluff up their feathers and squabble a bit more over seed. Enthusiasts of skiing and outdoor winter activities view these days with impatience as they wait for snow.
As for me, I react to the light, holding on through these weeks of decreasing sun and hoping against hope that the turning of the light, even with the onset of the coldest season, will offer relief. In the meantime, I watch the darkening sky with weary regard.
So it is with the world over the past discouraging weeks. After the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a stark report calling our situation “Code Red” In August, it took until Nov. 6 for Congress to pass the (barely) bipartisan infrastructure bill that originally held great promise for taking climate action. By the time it passed it had been drastically reduced by members of Congress beholden to oil, gas and coal interests. For almost two whole weeks in early November international delegates met at the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, but in the end the youth leaders remained largely outside as protestors and the lobbyists inside succeeded in watering down crucial elements of the agreements. Any step is good, but baby steps do not suffice when giant strides are needed.
Meanwhile, December is here and the Senate has so far failed to complete passage of the Build Back Better bill, a companion to the infrastructure bill, even after it has been chopped drastically by those who want to ignore climate change to protect their own short-term gains.
So, in short, in the twilight of this year, it is up to us now. What can we do as individuals and families to respond to our darkening future? The main actions we can take are to consider every household purchase we make in light of our future. The two most helpful resources I have found so far are a workbook called “Drawdown,” edited by Paul Hawken, and a new book by Saul Griffith titled “Electrify!” Griffith demonstrates that by moving all our mechanical functions to electricity we can not only maintain our familiar comforts, but save huge amounts of money and help equalize the protections from climate change around the world.
If every household, says Griffith, makes its next major purchases with climate in mind and selects electrical options, we could see a tremendous positive reduction in the greenhouse gasses wreaking havoc with our future. Using the categories deeply researched by the hundreds of “Drawdown” scientists, here are some suggestions for actions and decisions that we can control for our own households. Of the 80 strategies researched by “Drawdown” (No. 1 has greatest impact in terms of carbon reduction; No. 80 is the least effective) many high impact changes are within family reach.
Food: No. 3 is reduce food waste; No. 4 Move toward a plant-rich diet; No. 21 is clean cookstoves; No. 60 is composting.
Buildings: No. 31 is insulate; No. 33 is add LED household lighting; No. 42 is heat pumps.
Energy: No. 10 is rooftop solar; No. 77 is distributed energy storage.
Transport: No. 26 is electric vehicles; No. 69 is electric bikes; No. 74 and No. 75 is trains and ride-sharing. (Individuals can’t build railroads or ride-sharing sites, but we can choose these options (pandemic permitting.)
Land Use: Most of these strategies require community or governmental action; however, afforestation (replanting trees) is listed as No. 15.
Materials: These strategies are mostly larger-scale but refrigeration is the No. 1 strategy for huge carbon savings. At the household level this translates into heat pumps for heating and cooling. Also No. 46 is home water saving; No. 55 is household recycling.
Next time: specific resources to help us adopt these strategies into our own lives as we wait out the dark.
Judy Wagner lives in Northfield.