Carbondale could use a change order

Anybody ever heard of a guy by the name of Bill Gates? I don’t curse him every time my computer goes weird—anymore.

I mention his name because he just came out with a new book called “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need.” He has been on the tube talking about it. What he says is that not only are we facing an imminent disaster, but it will mean the end of humans. This century.

Bill also says that there is a very big problem with how people have a really hard time trying to envision the future. We live in the present. But he says he talks to farmers all over the world and they tell him things are changing. Not in a good way. The migrations away from the equator are happening already.

Bill is spending tens of billions of dollars on many things that might make a difference. He reads about all the science and innovation all the time. We are going to need the new stuff, but we also have to come to grips with what we are doing.

Carbondale passed a climate action plan in 2006. We updated it in 2017. The first big milestone is in 2030 and that is to have cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 50%. That is a really big ask. In fact, these climate plans are all over towns, states, and countries. But nobody is on track to meet their deadlines.

The problem is simply that the plans are really just aspirational suggestions. Nothing is mandatory. There are no timelines for any specific projects. There are no budgets. There is no accountability. Additionally, Carbondale is in a building boom and every one of the new buildings will add to the greenhouse gas emissions that we said we would cut.

Folks, don’t you think we ought to make a few changes?

Patrick Hunter

Carbondale