The Climate Optimist

By Marcy Franck

When I tell people that I write about climate optimism for a living, sometimes they scoff and tell me we’re all doomed, so what could I possibly write about? I get it. It’s awful watching climate catastrophes, like Hurricane Ian, wreak havoc all over the world. But I’m still here to tell you there are compelling reasons to be optimistic about our future.


Climate optimism isn’t about denying what we can see with our own eyes, or ignoring our grief for what we've lost. It’s understanding that we know how to prevent things from getting worse and that the progress we’ve made gets lost in all the climate doom headlines. 


So when The Weather Channel asked if I would appear live on national television to talk about climate optimism, I said, “Absolutely not, I’d rather chew tinfoil, but thanks for asking.” I’m much smoother in writing than in person; just ask my husband, who’s witnessed a lifetime of inappropriate dinner party conversations. A flub on live TV might send us both into fits from which we’d never recover.


But after I told some friends about the invitation, I remembered how many people are quietly carrying intense climate anxiety. “I need you to talk me off the edge of the melting iceberg,” said one friend. “I told my kids not to have children because I don’t want them swimming in floods and fighting for food,” said another. “Do I even need to keep buying bamboo toilet paper? It feels pointless, and that stuff is expensive,” said yet another.


So I put on my big girl pants and went on TV, because we need more voices (and there are a rising number of us!) making the case for climate optimism, and sometimes taking climate action means venturing outside our comfort zone. 


Besides, the hosts wanted to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act—a very boring name for an extremely sexy turning point for our planet—and it’s my new favorite thing to talk about. I’m like the Dr. Ruth of the IRA.


So let’s see how things are going one month into our spicy new climate legislation, shall we?

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TOP 4 REASONS THE IRA IS SO SEXY

It's so strong, yet so complex.

"Hey baby, let's decarbonize."

1) It’s also America’s biggest-ever investment in green energy, and nothing says, “Hey baby, let’s decarbonize” like bolstering the domestic supply chain to swiftly build wind and solar farms, batteries for when it’s not windy or sunny, and transmission lines to carry the energy from where it’s produced to where it’s needed.

Man proposes with a solar panel

2) Industry loves certainty, and the IRA's long-term commitment will spark a projected $1.2T investment in renewables between now and 2035, when 67% of our energy could come from zero-carbon sources. We’re already seeing a boom in American manufacturing. If moving this fast is wrong, then I don’t want to be right!

Restaurant table

3) Backing our promises with legislation will help us entice other countries into taking bold climate action. The IRA will increase our energy independence, lower our energy costs, and radically cut pollution. What’s not to love? It could very well make other countries say, “We’ll have what they’re having,” When-Harry-Met-Sally style.

No pollution

4) It’s a significant investment in environmental justice, allocating $60B to help communities on the fence lines of pollution and the frontlines of climate change by reducing pollution, building climate resilience, connecting communities divided by highways, and more. This week EPA announced a new office to work on these issues. 

A LOVE STORY ABOUT

PERSISTENT CLIMATE ACTION

If Gaia and Athena had a baby, we’d get Gina McCarthy.

Gaia, Athena, and Gina

Last week world leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly, and the U.S. delivered the message that we’re on our way to cutting emissions in half by 2030 and nixing them entirely by 2050. Literally one month ago we didn’t think this was possible. 


To understand how we got from a climate future that looked bleak in 2020 to where we are today, check out “What I Saw as the Country’s First National Climate Advisor,” by our former director Gina McCarthy, who was essential to bringing the IRA to life.

WE NEED TO BUILD RESILIENCE

FOR ROCKY TIMES

Climate adaptation is our new love language.

Watching the IRA unfold will probably feel like this guy watching a domino maze unfurl—sometimes satisfying, other times frustrating. But momentum will carry us forward if we focus on resilience and adaptation.

Umbrella offers protection

Hurricanes can disrupt health care through power outages, supply shortages, and limited access due to closed hospitals and flooded roads. Our study, released today, is the first to investigate flooding risk to hospitals on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from hurricanes made worse by climate change, much like Hurricane Ian facing Florida. We should prepare now by learning from health systems that have gone through similar storms.

Small town

Learn the future climate conditions for your zip code, and fortify your home before climate disasters strike with tips from our Student Ambassador Adele Houghton. If you’re looking to upgrade your home, calculate how much money you could get from the IRA and learn which tax credits are available now and which come online next year. 

RAPID FIRE GOOD NEWS

Like speed dating the facts of your dreams.

A pickup artist using smooth new lines
  • “So far this year, 24% of our electricity has come from renewable sources, up from 21% this time last year,” is the best pickup line of 2022, according to me.


  • “The Senate ratified the Kigali Amendment, a global treaty to cut the extremely potent planet-warming chemicals in air conditioning and refrigeration,” comes in second.



  • "Chicago’s city operations will run on clean energy by 2025San Diego and DC banned or set limits on fossil fuels in buildings, Seattle banned gas-powered leaf blowers, and California just passed 40 climate measures,” should not be used in any picking-up situation whatsoever, but I thought you should know.


⚠️ VOTE TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING ⚠️

And to avoid rolling back the policy rollbacks we just rolled back.

Vote.org has everything you need to vote:

Check your registration status, register to vote, learn your state’s rules and deadlines, request an absentee ballot, and find your polling place.

LET'S GO VOTE!
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