two cities just committed to 100% renewable energy

[Gurumurthy K]

Dear teachers,

Global warming / climate change is going to have very serious (fatal) impact on all life, and the end of all life / human life is a possibility over the next few decades(?).

One important cause of global warming is the use of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum) for energy that powers our homes, vehicles, industries .... and the consumption of fossil fuels is continuing to increase. The release of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and other gases due to combustion is causing air pollution and increasing temperatures, melting the arctic and antarctic ice continents .... Large coastal areas are expected to submerge as seas rise due to this. Changing weather/climate patterns including rainfall will cause chaos and ruin (imagine erratic or no rainfall in catchment areas and the fights for water between various groups, within a state and across states !!!).

Hence reducing our use of fossil fuels and moving towards renewable sources of energy is an important response to this crisis. In this context, it is heartening to read that many cities in USA are committing to move fully to renewable energy sources. Read  http://www.nationofchange.org/2017/02/16/victory-two-cities-just-committed-100-renewable-energy

"Pueblo, Colorado and Moab, Utah, this week became the 22nd and 23rd cities in the U.S. to commit to transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. The Pueblo City Council approved Monday a measure committing to power the community entirely with renewable sources of energy like wind and solar by 2035. The vote was immediately followed on Tuesday by the Moab City Council approving a resolution committing Moab to 100 percent renewable energy by 2032.

“No matter who is in the White House, cities and towns across the country will continue leading the transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said. “Pueblo and Moab join a growing movement of communities which are charting a course away from dirty fuels.”

Cities like Pueblo and Moab have long suffered the consequences of dirty energy and utility reliance on fossil fuels. Pueblo, for example, has a sizable low-income population that has been suffering from the high cost of electricity due to the local utilities’ decision to build new gas infrastructure and saddle the cost with ratepayers. More than 7,000 people in Pueblo have had their electricity shut off due to the high cost of electricity.

In Utah, Canyonlands National Park has been marred by haze pollution from two neighboring coal plants, which threatens the local Moab tourism industry – the economic lifeblood of the community. With this week’s announcements, both communities are poised to confront these threats by transitioning away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.

“The climate crisis is a global challenge, but many of our strongest leaders are at the local level,” Ken Berlin, CEO of The Climate Reality Project, said. “We have a lot of hard work ahead, but it is encouraging to see more and more communities, businesses and universities understand that renewable energy is not only the right moral choice, but also the right economic choice.”
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Can we discuss these issues with our students (science/social science/language/mathematics....any subject teacher), you can show them a 3 minute video from http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/101-videos/global-warming-101

Can we work together and create a pressure from teachers and students,  to reduce fossil fuel usage in our state/country .... suggestions, comments welcome.

regards,

Guru

IT for Change, Bengaluru

www.ITforChange.net