A website called Euronews knows there are many worries about climate and nature, but warns we must not lose hope because hopelessness breeds apathy. In a February Euronews article, Angela Symons said it’s important for the media to not downplay or greenwash the situation, “but it is also our job to show that there is hope.”
Following her lead, here are some points of progress on the planet.
• Wind and solar grew to an all-time high in the first half of 2024. In the European Union (EU), wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels for the first time.
• In Colombia, deforestation fell by 36% last year. The Amazon, sometimes called “the lungs of the world,” is the world’s largest rainforest and one-third of it is in Colombia. Indigenous activists successfully campaigned to reduce the tree-cutting.
• Pope Francis wants the Vatican to run on solar power. Solar panels to be installed on Catholic Church-owned property could power all of Vatican City’s energy needs.
• A California utility is backing the largest new geothermal development in the U.S. – 400 megawatts of clean electricity from the Earth’s underground heat, enough to power 400,000 homes.
• The EU’s Nature Restoration Law has been approved. Its goal is to restore at least 20% of EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 to boost biodiversity.
• Bacteria batteries could soon provide nearly free sustainable energy. Huh??!! Yeah, really. A UK startup called Bactery uses electrons produced by bacteria in soil for rechargeable power on farms and could be used worldwide. Should be dirt cheap.
• On April 9, the European Court of Human Rights recognized the climate crisis as an existential threat to us all and said our leaders must protect people from harm caused by the crisis. The ruling could help compel governments to reduce emissions.
• President Joe Biden announced $7 billion in grants for residential solar projects, serving nearly one million low-income and middle-income areas.
• The U.S. has placed the first-ever federal limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The toxins will be reduced for 100 million people, assuming the Supreme Court doesn’t strip away its enforcement.
• Bans of plastic bags in five U.S. states and cities totaling 12 million people have cut single-use plastic bags by 6 billion per year. It could be trillions of bags not added to the garbage stream if the bans went worldwide.
• Global electric vehicle sales reached almost 14 million in 2023 and they will continue to spike. Battery tech is rapidly improving. The charge range will soon improve by hundreds of miles using common components, instead of rare-Earth minerals, and will no longer be a deterrent to buying an EV.
• Climate and other environmental issues have steadily risen in importance to people all over the world. A 2024 survey of almost 60,000 people in 63 countries, reported by Science Advances, found that at least 73% of participants in every country think climate change is a serious threat and humans have caused it.
Oddly, many people around the globe think that many others don’t care about the climate issue. But the survey shows the concern is widespread. With that kind of support, coalitions can be forged to get things done.
Wishful thinking is no use. But there is real hope to reverse the terracide because we know billions of people want it to happen. Let’s elect leaders who will work for world solutions. Now is the time to turn hope into action.
Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.” Email: lingofrank@gmail.com. See his website: Greenbeat.world
From The Progressive Populist, September 1, 2024
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