Things That Work / The Big Picture

 

Chris Leboutillier

Power Bills to Pop

Eversource and United Illuminating announced eye popping increases starting in January. Connecticut’s two biggest electric utilities requested a massive rate increase Thursday. The proposal could raise the average electric bill for residential customers of Eversource and United Illuminating by about $80 each month and would take effect Jan. 1. (CT Public 11/17/2022)  Then regulators rubbed salt in the wound by stating they can't do much about it.

According to the article, the people who regulate this stuff, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), says they can't do anything.  The agency said Connecticut’s decision to deregulate energy markets more than two decades ago made it so “PURA does not have the authority to reject or modify the standard service rates.”

Eversource said in a statement: “As has been widely reported, energy costs continue to rise globally, with regional electric supply prices reaching all-time highs this year due to increased global demand for and the high cost of natural gas, world events, extreme weather, and other issues.” (CT Public 11/17/2022) 

 Immediate Relief?

The gist of the article from CT Public suggests no quick fixes. There are some things that can be done in the short term. They offer temporary relief at best. 

• Release more oil and gas from the reserves.
• Cut taxes on fossil fuels.
• Offer heating assistance.
• Improve oversight of Connecticut's utilities.

These solutions offer no relief from increased demand and dwindling supplies. A situation made worse by the war in Ukraine. 

What works? 

A broader perspective. Dependence on fossil fuels and radical change to our environment caused by carbon emissions will continue to worsen the global crisis. "The UN says, Limited natural resources, such as drinking water, are becoming even scarcer in many parts of the world that host refugees. Crops and livestock struggle to survive where conditions become too hot and dry, or too cold and wet, threatening livelihoods."

An article in Zurich.com offers the grim prediction of 1.2 billion climate refugees by 2050. "Climate change does not just pose a threat by causing immediate harm to people and infrastructure, it is also a long-term danger that can slowly destabilize societies and economies, making them more vulnerable to other threats. Take for instance sea-level rise. Over the past 30 years, the number of people living in coastal areas at high risk of rising sea levels has increased from 160 million to 260 million, 90 percent of whom are from poor developing countries and small island states."

The Big Picture

The Union of Concerned Scientists has come up with Climate Solutions listed below. These are not immediate fixes. We cannot wave a magic wand and make everything better. the changes are incremental, but they offer an improvement on the direction we're headed right now.

Cut Emissions 

Carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are the main drivers of global warming. While climate change cannot be stopped, it can be slowed.To avoid the worst consequences of climate change, we’ll need to reach “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. Net zero means that, on balance, no more carbon is dumped into the atmosphere than is taken out. The scale of these changes will require significant federal policy that puts a price on carbon. It also requires international cooperation.

Remove Carbon Dioxide

To reach net zero emissions, we need to do more than just reduce our emissions: we need to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or offset its effects.The easiest way to do this is by planting new forests (afforestation) or restoring old ones (reforestation). Other enhanced land management practices can help, as can new technologies that suck CO2 out of the air (“direct air capture”), or prevent it from leaving smokestacks (“carbon capture and storage”).

Fight Disinformation

For years, media pundits, partisan think tanks, and special interest groups funded by fossil fuel companies have raised doubts about the truth of global warming.These contrarians downplay and distort the evidence of climate change, lobby for policies that reward polluters, and attempt to undercut existing pollution standards.

Prepare and Adapt

No matter how quickly we reduce emissions, the reality is that certain climate impacts are inevitable. The seas are rising. Temperatures break records every year. Droughts, floods, and extreme weather are damaging communities today. Cutting carbon is the only long-term solution for avoiding climate impacts. In the short-term, we need to adapt.

Act

Speak up. Organize. Demand change. Promote alternatives to fossil fuels. Hold those who stand in the way accountable. Vote for politicians who understand and are willing to do something to make this a better place. 

Positive News recently posted Seven Solutions to Climate Change That Need to Happen Now. 

Embrace Renewables - The cost is coming down. Way down.

Electrify Transport - Their batteries can play a key role in the renewables revolution by acting as mini power plants, trickling energy to and from the grid when not in use.

Retrofit Houses - Most homes can be warmed by ground- or air-source electric heat pumps.

Reduce Waste - One third of all food produced never gets eaten – either because it spoils between being harvested and hitting the shops, or because it’s thrown away by the purchaser. For farmers in the global south, a combination of agricultural market reforms and provision of refrigerated storage can drastically cut wastage and boost their income.

Restore Carbon Sinks - Plant trees. Beyond trees, we need to farm in a way that locks carbon in the soil, rather than releasing it, using low- and zero-till methods, rewilding land where appropriate, and boosting agroforestry and other sustainably intensive approaches. The seas matter too: we need to adopt fishing methods that conserve marine carbon sinks and encourage habitats like mangroves and seagrass, which captures carbon up to 35 times faster than rainforests.

Reduce Consumption - Cutting resource consumption is key to many climate solutions. The rise of the circular economy, as celebrated by the Green Alley Awards, is helping break the link between quality of life and quantity of stuff.

Shift the System - It means putting a high enough price on carbon that industry is incentivised to move away from it – and reflecting that in fiscal policies that shift the burden from labour to resource use. In other words, tax what we don’t want (planet-warming activities), and not what we do (jobs).

Stepping back and taking the time to look at the broader perspective for increases in utility bills led to a greater understanding of the reasons why and some ideas of what can be done to overcome the problems.