The Holiday Season Is a Great Time To Offer My Gratitude–To You
What a coincidence. One fine morning last week I sat down to write a Thanksgiving post when I checked my email, saw that I had received the message below from billionaire eco-philanthropist Tom Steyer, and laughed when I realized that I was just about to write essentially these exact words. Thank you, for doing what you did to make 2015 a watershed event in the history of humankind.
In particular, this year marked the point at which a huge majority of people saw the handwriting on the wall with respect to fossil fuels, climate change, and environmental damage more generally. In the U.S., this was occasioned by President Obama rejecting the Keystone XL Pipeline, simultaneously saying, on behalf of the American people, that we will no longer be pawns in the oil companies’ game.
ExxonMobil finds itself on the wrong end of criminal charges from the Justice Department actions for its conspiracy to conceal and lie about the relationship between fossil fuel consumption and climate disruption.
We’re very close to overturning the catastrophic U.S. Supreme Court decision “Citizens United” which grants corporations unlimited power to control our elections.
On the front of social justice, this has been a year that marked a clear divide between what I called “humanitarians and haters.” Perhaps the issues with the Syrian refugees is that the forefront of all this. When we see, for instance, Scotland’s three response to those fleeing from their war-torn homelands (“Welcome to Scotland!”), or Sweden’s insistence that the refugees bring their entire families along, and issue them free bus passes so they won’t feel isolated, so many of us here in the U.S. are wondering why we can act as decently.
None of this happened by accident; rather it happened because of your actions. Thank you.
From: Tom Steyer [mailto:feedback@nextgenclimate.org]
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2015 9:08 AM
To: Craig Shields
Subject: Thank You
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The tide is indeed turning on renewable energy because of people like you and Tom.
With an agreement reached in Paris it is now time to buckle down to the real work on climate change.
Since I wrote my first talk on green building back in 2007 I have been stressing the importance of improving the energy efficiency of all buildings, new and existing.
Because of building codes newer buildings are more efficient, but I see new buildings all the time that leak like a sieve because of incompetent air sealing and insulation.
Of all the investments we can make to combat climate change the one with the best Return on Investment is energy efficiency improvements to buildings.
To show how important buildings are in our efforts to combat climate change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s Fifth Assessment report (AR5), focused on buildings. This is because buildings account for a 40% share of the global energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
So it was appropriate that a whole day in Paris was devoted to energy use of buildings.
If you own a building and have not had an audit and acted on its recommendations then the time is now.
Energy efficiency legislation is stalled in Congress, raise hell and let them know to pass aggressive energy efficiency measures.
The energy we do not use does not pollute at all!
Well said Bruce ! In the grand clash of ideologies, grandiose rhetoric and political grandstanding, less glamorous but more practical policies are often forgotten.
I’m afraid the grand talkfest in Paris achieved very little, a great deal of expensive rhetoric and grand agreements, but without any real enforceable outcomes. Paris is the ultimate political compromise, vague enough so that one side can claim it as a ‘moral’ victory, and a prelude for things to come, but loose and vague, with enough ‘wriggle room’ for enough for the participants to ignore or dilute in times of political expediency.
It’s with the implementation of a myriad of smaller, but practical and economically beneficial way that we can not only help the environment, but prove to the general public that good environmental practice is not disruptive, but actually economically beneficial.
We in Brazil are passing through a very critical moment for our society’s future. In the last 13 year, Labor Party (PT) has for the first time in our history, placed the poor on the top of the national agenda. As Brazil is a conservative society, this has been a painful process. This has made even worse by the action of the media! 70% of our traditional media is controlled by less than 10 families.
On a daily basis, a massive barrage of lies is force into the brains of the population.
This kind of behavior is much more common than you may think. The more elaborate the society, the more elaborate the methods.
The OIL industry Globally has so much power that they can and do dictate what is said about their business. You could think this is just “the game” beeing played by the rules. It is true!
BUT at the end of the game, all players will be dead!
There is a miss information regarding life on Earth and Global Warming. There had been 5 massive extinctions events in the Earth history, the last one is probably the most famous one, DIANASOURS 65 million years ago!
What does this tell us?
It tells us that OUR Global Warming will change the conditions for HUMANS to live on Earth!! Surely, a lot of other species will suffer and go extinct with us, humans!
BUT LIFE on Earth will go on!
So it is up to us, humans, to change ourselves! The change has to be fast, bold and aggressive! 2015 showed that it is possible when in 2014 I did think so! I hope that 2016 confirms and re-enforce this feeling!
The hardest part is that the changes are ours so as our gran-gran children will have a chance of life!
Happy 2016!
Thank you, Craig, for all that you’ve done, for the conversations you’ve facilitated, and for disseminating your courage, intellect, and compassion. You’re a friend to our species and to all life.
What a wonderfully kind thing to say. Thanks.
Graig,
Please accept my best wishes to you and your family for the Holiday Season. I also wish to join all those who thank you for your tireless work in helping to increase environmental awareness and promote debate about the sort of technologies societies need to face the challenges of the future.
Like Cameron, I wish to express my admiration for your work in promoting environmental discussion and conversations. It’s only with an exchange of views and opinions that we learn.
I wish a great holiday, and wish you the best of health to continue your good work for many years to come.