Responding to the West Virginia vs EPA Supreme Court Decision

Supreme Court photograph by Joe Ravi

How should I respond to the US Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia versus US EPA? What can I do to meaningfully change our greenhouse gas emissions? These are appropriate questions and I believe the basic response is to control the actions in our lives we have the ability to control.  Don’t wait for other people to change our lives for us (e.g. Congress, the current Administration, businesses, or the Supreme Court).  Instead, accept personal responsibility for our actions and for our emissions. 

It is as simple as that. And it is as complicated as that.

This approach requires that I consider the emissions I cause across many diverse actions I take - just as I consider the impact my actions have on my bank account, or on my health. The amount of emissions I will cause will be a factor in choosing my actions.

It’s appropriate to ask, “Why should I commit to reduce my greenhouse gas emissions?” Our country needs systemic changes to shift our economy away from a reliance on greenhouse gas emissions.  My contribution is minor, especially compared to global emissions, and any change I make will not be worth the significant effort it takes for me to cut my emissions. 

I believe this reasoning deflects attention from the actions I have control over. I flip this script to focus on what can happen in the United States if the people alarmed or concerned about climate change would join me in accepting responsibility for the emissions we cause.

In America, we have the freedom to make our own decisions and with that we have the responsibility to choose well. We have the efficacy to foster change through our actions. I believe the critical question is, “Why should I expect members of Congress to write a law requiring that I change behaviors I am unwilling to change on my own?” 

Reducing our national emissions does require that we change our behavior. The car companies sell us the cars we choose to buy. The oil companies sell us the gasoline we choose to put in our internal combustion engine cars. The natural gas companies and utilities distribute and sell the methane we choose to burn to heat our houses and our water. The airlines fly us to the destinations we choose when we buy our tickets. 

Why would I expect my member of Congress to write a law making it more difficult for me to get to work, to heat my home, to wash my dishes or to visit my family. These actions involve choices I need to accept responsibility for. 

Until people that vote in elections accept the personal responsibility to reduce their emissions - and visibly shift away from emitting greenhouse gases - Congress will not pass legislation that forces these emissions cuts. Until enough of us commit to act, I expect that Congress will simply pass incremental legislation for small changes that are not designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% but that poll well among voters in their next primary - small changes that do not ask too much of us, their voters. 

To drive my emissions down, it requires that I consider the emissions I cause. I will consider the options I have to impact large reductions in my emissions, like when I buy an automobile, or replace a hot water heater. And I will also consider emissions when I make smaller but more frequent decisions around what I eat for lunch, how warm my shower is and whether I can combine two trips into a single driving loop. 

I can also reevaluate my goals and desires - like my desire to visit the Sawtooth National Wildlife Area in Idaho when I live close to other amazing, interesting and beautiful vacation options in the Appalachian mountains and southeastern coast of the United States (more on that another day). These changes are personal. And I commit to considering the impact on my emissions right along with the impact on my budget when I set my eye on a dream or a goal.  

To reduce emissions of the United States of America by 50% by 2030 and then continue down to near net zero emissions by 2050, it will require that people in the United States commit to reducing their own emissions. Yes, it is as simple as that. And it is as complicated as that.

co2mmit is a new gathering space that will host a dialogue about how that happens. What have real people’s experiences been as they work to reduce their emissions? How can we understand our emissions living in an economy so intertwined with the availability of energy sources that emit carbon dioxide and leak methane? How have people succeeded and failed along this journey?

And, yes, this discussion includes talking to our elected officials and asking for their help - help to reach our personal goals of reducing our personal emissions and our national emissions through legislation and sound policy decisions.

Through these discussions, this site will strive to rely on sound sources and meaningful analyses of the real impact of our decisions.  This is difficult in a world where anyone can post an opinion on social media - those informed, those less informed, and those intending to divert attention or even to deceive. It takes an effort to find and use sources of information that are reliable and grounded back to sound analyses and actual data about a topic. 

Please accept this challenge and commit to reducing your greenhouse gas emissions at https://www.co2mmit.org/commit.

And I invite you to follow along on this blog and join in the conversation on Facebook @co2mmit and on twitter @co2mmit.