If someone told you that it was possible to fuel the world entirely with renewable energy, what would you say?

That’s the question that the founders of The Solutions Project were confronted with in 2011, when they realized that the only thing standing in the way of 100 percent renewable energy across the globe was politics.

In 2009, Stanford University environmental engineer Professor Mark Jacobson published peer-reviewed research in Scientific American showing that it was possible for the nation to transition to 100 percent renewable energy. Two years later, actor Mark Ruffalo and banker Marco Krapels, both of whom were highly opposed to fracking and looking for a sustainable, feasible alternative, discovered this research. The three men decided to start the Solutions Project in order to bring these theoretical possibilities closer to reality.

Jacobson and a team of scientists from Stanford, Cornell, and UC Davis created feasibility studies, not only for all fifty states via the “50 States 50 Plans” initiative but for 139 different countries, showing real ways that we can meet these goals by 2050.

The Project also began highlighting the reasons why this transition is so important. Not only would it create more employment and reduce energy costs, but it would also end the health hazards of dirty energy.

“Families are losing fathers or daughters as a result of dirty energy,” says Sarah Shanley Hope, executive director of the Solutions Project.

Now that it has become clear that 100 percent renewable energy worldwide is a possibility, these effects aren’t just dire, they’re inexcusable.

“We have a choice,” says Hope. “We can change our energy system, save lives, save money, and obviously save the climate.”

So what’s stopping us?

In Hope’s opinion, “it’s not economics, it’s not technology, it’s politics.”

“It’s our culture,” she says. “And that is, of course, both heartbreaking and also hugely inspiring, because this is a people problem, not a technology problem.”

In some circles, the “people problem” is on its way to being resolved: the Solutions Project applauds corporations like Google, Apple, and Walmart and entire states like Iowa who have taken strides towards 100 percent commitments, in some cases even achieving them. The small, conservative town of Georgetown, Texas, fulfilled its 100 percent goals just last month.

The inspiration of seeing what is possible will, in Hope’s opinion, bring more people toward this commitment, be it by driving solar electric vehicles or choosing solar power for their homes, either installing solar panels or investigating clean energy purchasing programs, which are often the same or very similar in price to traditional energy.

“From our perspective,” says Hope, “what we need to do is connect these dots, share those stories of success.”

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When it comes to green energy, it might be time we looked north for inspiration; in British Columbia, an increase in the production and use of clean, renewable energy has invigorated the local economy, not to mention the green energy industry.

British Columbia has long been a leader in the field, but it wasn’t until the Clean Energy Act was signed into law on June 3, 2010, that BC’s clean energy initiatives truly took the lead in North America.

The law detailed several goals for the province, including electric self-sufficiency by 2016, a clean and renewable energy target of 93 percent (the highest in North America), specific electricity exportation goals, and mandated reductions of greenhouse gases.

The progressive law is the product of the government’s long-standing commitment to clean energy, laying the foundation for what has now become the reality in BC: a renewable, green energy industry that is an economic, environmental, and socio-political driver in the province.

Green Energy Creates Jobs and Boosts the Economy

Clean Energy BC is a 25-year-old association that calls itself “the voice of British Columbia’s Clean Energy industry.” Executive director Paul Kariya claims that their operations are responsible for more than $8.6 billion in investments, as well as about 16,000 construction jobs across the province.

And those numbers are only increasing. The 160 members of Clean Energy BC currently produce 14 percent of BC Hydro’s energy supply via thermal, hydro, solar, and wind power, helping the province approach its alternative energy goals.

Green Energy Can Have Socio-Political Benefits

First Nations communities, suffering from the collapse of the oil market, have found a new niche in the BC green energy industry.

While oil producers and transporters continuously neglect to consult with First Nations people, for example with regards to the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline, intended to bring Alberta oil to the BC coast, renewable energy producers have sought to create an important bond with these communities.

“Over the course of a decade, clean power producers have forged deep relationships with indigenous leaders,” Kariya told CTV News.

The Clean Energy Act made the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund possible, not only promoting dialogue about this important issue but also increasing First Nations community participation in the sector.

The People of British Columbia Continue to Fight for Green Energy

But perhaps the biggest thing that we can learn from BC is that the fight is never over. Even with these laws in place, the people of BC never stop demanding for more: more awareness, more accountability, and more responsibility.

In May 2016, members of the Climate Leadership Team published a demand in the Times Colonist for BC to increase its efforts by bolstering its carbon tax and strengthening climate leadership. If these demands are met, BC could create a projected 270,000 new jobs within the next 10 years, all thanks to the green energy industry.

“If the provincial government heeds the advice of its own Climate Leadership Team, then we’re going to need plenty of clean electricity,” said Kariya. “We’re ready to deliver the goods.”

Although BC had been taking steps toward a cleaner, more progressive energy policy for years before the CEA was signed, having a true, complex piece of legislation, as opposed to a handful of regulations and good intentions, has helped to make British Columbia one of the most progressive clean energy locales in the world. The work being done by the people and government of the province are inspirational for states and provinces throughout North America.

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Wind turbines image via Shutterstock

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Climate control freaks?

Geoengineering is exactly what it says it is – engineering our geo. But here’s a cooler definition from the National Academy of Sciences:  “Options that would involve large-scale engineering of our environment in order to combat or counteract the effects of changes in atmospheric chemistry.” Consider this: when Mt. Pinatubo, in the Philippines erupted in 1991, its bad-ass belch of some 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide dropped world temperatures by an average of half a degree. Scientists now have the technology get the same job done without any help from the volcano gods; they can use airplanes to inject sulfur dioxide right into the stratosphere. One way to combat global warming? Maybe, but hey, maybe it’s a good idea to set up some rules here before we get all crazy, no?

Who’s upstairs?

There are lots of breakthroughs these days regarding our knowledge of what’s happening at the helm of our own personal wheelhouses. While we’re always going on about how we should all be thinking, buying and even voting green, how much control do we really have as to where our minds and dollars go? What we’re getting here is, do you know what the “neuromarkerters” are up to these daze? Do you know the role they played in this month’s election? Stay tuned in (if you can) for tales about who’s trying to take control of your controls.

Insides Out

While we’re looking at what’s under the hood, how about them stem cells? We’re all about sustainability here, right, and what could be more sustaining than potentially life-giving research opportunities? Well it depends on who you ask. What’s happening on the biotech ground – from university and corporate labs to the halls of the Hill – affect our current and future quality of life every day, and the latest rules and regs and funding issues are playing a major role in how we approach these issues as a society. Who are the players on these issues and what do they have cookin’ up in their petri dishes?

It’s in the air

Blown away by all the wind-generated energy hubbub? Swept up by the grand promises while suffering though the doldrums of slow-to-no progress? Well, we are too. With plans for massive “farming” projects everywhere from the Great Plains to off our coastlines, there are a lot of questions to explore about what’s the right way to go about an effective wind grabbing. What are the costs? What are the potential rewards? Who’s primed to make coin on these deals that could make large-scale engineering efforts like the Hoover Dam seem like specs in our collective rear view mirror? And as a nation, are we interested in taking the innovation lead?

What’s happening?

Save the date! Our global(ish) eco-social is coming up this month in sunny Cancun, Mexico, where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is guaranteed to entertain. And who better to cover the red carpet happenings than EcoSalon? The background from the UN is this: “Over a decade ago, most countries joined an international treaty – the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. More recently, a number of nations approved an addition to the treaty: the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) measures.” Here’s the subtext for this 16th meeting: Might a new binding treaty emerge? Don’t hold you breath – or maybe hold it. In any case, we’ll be covering the event! (In fact, we should send a reporter, right? Um, editor at ecosalon dot com. Tell her Scott sent you.)

OMG! It’s getting warmer in here!

If you thought we were going to leave Rep. Shimkus alone (note our shot across the bow last week), you’re mistaken. Not that we’re not saying there’s anything wrong with a Godly approach to life, but if he is speaking to us at all, he’s probably saying “knock it off with the greenhouse gases!” Anyway, it’s not just Shimkus we’re worried about. We’ll be keeping our eye on the climate control-busting shenanigans class of 2011. No quarter here. That’s a promise.

Duck and cover

Picking up on the Shimkus wave, we’re here to remind you that the War on Science is alive and well – and well-funded. Science denial seems to reaching a crescendo these days, whether deniers are taking on Einstein or climate change, the span between what science is telling us and what we believe seems to be growing. What are the facts on this issue? Does anyone care? Who wants you not to know better?

Is this thing (still) on?

Do I really need a new laptop already? It seems like I just bought one. Well, surprise, surprise, my breakdown might have been planned to go down well before my box was boxed. Planned obsolescence is a story not only about marketing and corporate greed, but about product footprints, waste and and throwaway culture. As our pal Brian Clark Howard recently said over at The Daily Green, “The issue has big environmental implications, because our insatiable appetite for stuff drives carbon emissions and pollution.” Quick, before the warranty expires, let’s take a look at this issues, and why it’s not necessarily an all-bad phenomenon.

Okay, so there’s a little EcoSalon skin. Hot huh? We missing anything? Thoughts? Ramblings? Send us a note at contact at ecosalon dot com.

Images: World Economic Forum, flydime, Liberal Democrats, James & Vilija, , phault
World Economic Forum, danielfoster437, woodleywonderworks, m.gifford

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