People of all stripes whether green-living gurus or thrifty penny pinchers, conservatives or liberals want to use less energy. Now, technology and behavioral science are giving them the tools to do it.<\/p>\n
On the first Earth Day in 1970, environmental sentiment was proudly worn and fiercely optimistic. It tapped into a deep concern for our future shared by young and old; rich and poor; left, right, and center. Now, as the world faces an accelerating global climate crisis, political will has faded and divided. Grand bargains are far from view. And failure to find common ground and cut carbon pollution could tank the biosphere in ways we cant imagine. <\/p>\n
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And yet, today, Im hopeful. <\/p>\n
Even though almost all climate scientists agree that human activity is warming the planet, climate change remains politically divisive. But the same can no longer be said of climate solutions. A growing body of evidence suggests that people everywhere, of every political stripe, want to use less energy derived from fossil fuels. And now, technology, economics, and science are aligning behind them. <\/p>\n
If the public and private sectors can work together and seize this moment, millions of Americans will soon have powerful new tools to reduce their energy consumption and curb our carbon emissions. The four big ideas below outline the space where consumers and companies, government and industry, left and right find that their common interests saving energy and money align to help save the planet. <\/p>\n
On April 23, 1970, The New York Times wrote of the original Earth Day: Conservatives were for it. Liberals were for it. Democrats, Republicans, and independents were for it. So were the ins, the outs, the executive and legislative branches of Government. <\/p>\n
Today, Im not sure you could write the same sentence. But you could about energy efficiency. Our behavior as energy consumers is nearly universal; we dont like waste. We dont like throwing money out the window. We want to be good neighbors and good citizens. As it turns out, these things mean as much to people in red states as they do to people in blue states. <\/p>\n
Theres plenty of data to prove it, but its easier to look at our statehouses. Even at a time of profound political division, energy efficiency laws have quietly swept across more than half the union from North Carolina to Texas to California. Everyone agrees we shouldnt be wasting energy, and nearly everyone agrees we should be doing something about it. <\/p>\n
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Visit link: People of all stripes whether green-living gurus or thrifty penny pinchers, conservatives or liberals want to use less energy. Now, technology and behavioral science are giving them the tools to do it. On the first Earth Day in 1970, environmental sentiment was proudly worn and fiercely optimistic. Continue reading
\nClimate change is divisive. Climate solutions are not.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"