By Katie Davis
It is easy to get discouraged by environmental news these days. The Trump administration is working hard to dismantle climate policy, deleting scientific reports, telling polluters not to report their pollution, and even seeking to destroy satellites that monitor pollution. This head-in-the-sand approach comes at a time when climate impacts, such as massive fires, are becoming all the more in-your-face.
Don’t be discouraged. The truth is that we have come so far over the past decade that there is no going back. The transition away from fossil fuels can be slowed but not stopped, and every day our air is getting cleaner, and lives are being saved.
Let’s consider the progress locally. Just ten to fifteen years ago, there were no local climate action plans, let alone global climate consensus or goals.
The default for electricity was building polluting gas plants; electric cars were primitive and made up just a fraction of a percent of new car sales. Santa Barbara County had never denied an oil project. Our buses were diesel. Our homes burned gas, and there weren’t good alternatives.
In 2015 the Paris Climate Agreement established global climate goals and every country on earth signed on. The actions of the Trump administration to opt out won’t stop other countries from rushing to be leaders of the transition to clean energy. It is foolhardy to cede key aspects of the emerging clean energy economy to China, but it is better for the climate that they are selling cheap electric cars and solar panels to the world than fossil fuels.
Here in California, by itself the fourth largest economy in the world, there is much we can do to remain a part of the global transition away from oil, gas and coal. A quarter of new car sales in our state are now electric. Gasoline use has been on the decline for the past twenty years, peaking back in 2004, leading to a 65% decrease in deadly fine particle pollution from vehicles since 2000.
We can work to continue making electric vehicles the affordable and convenient option by building out charging infrastructure for long-distance travel and for multi-unit properties.
The Santa Barbara MTD is swapping out its diesel buses for electric buses, with twenty-three on hand and another sixteen on order. New bike paths have been added or approved in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Oxnard and between Ventura and Santa Barbara.
And Metrolink Commuter Service from Ventura County to Santa Barbara and Goleta is planned, though delayed until next year.
In our Chapter, we have local Climate Action Plans, and they are getting stronger than ever before. Over the past decade, Ventura County strengthened its General Plan regulations for oil drilling, and Santa Barbara County has rejected oil projects that would have increased our emissions and threatened our water supplies.
This year, in a bold move, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted to follow the lead of Los Angeles County and phase out oil drilling. You can support this plan by sending an email to:
clerk@countyofsb.org
Llet our supervisors know you support phasing out oil drilling, which they will consider at their October 21 meeting. We can also fight the Trump administration’s efforts to increase fossil fuels and extractive practices on our public lands and in our ocean.
In 2017 Santa Barbara was the 30th city in the country to set a goal of 100% renewable energy. Since then California and twenty-four other states have set 100% renewable or zero carbon energy goals, covering the majority of the U.S. population.
In 2018 the proposed gas-fired Puente Power Plant in Oxnard was withdrawn and replaced with battery storage projects. And over the past decade, nearly all jurisdictions in our Chapter have joined community choice energy programs like the Clean Power Alliance and Central Coast Community Energy that provide a way to achieve our clean energy goals and millions of dollars in programs and incentives for electrifying homes, transportation and businesses.
We have better solutions now for home electrification that we can implement in our own homes and new developments. Induction cooktops offer better cooking control than gas stoves and eliminate the pollution that causes childhood asthma and other health impacts. Heat pumps for water and space heating can both heat and cool, and don’t pollute our homes and neighborhoods.
Climate change is a reality we can’t wish away, but embracing climate action will lead to a stronger economy, cleaner air and water, and a more habitable planet in the long term. The good news is that we are on the right path. Our efforts and advocacy have paid off in many local victories, and there is much we can do to maintain and build on our tremendous progress.