Investing in Renewables Can Relieve Our Planet--While Reviving Our Economy
Carbon reduction alone cannot solve our climate crisis, because it is continuously fed by our economic crisis. But renewables can be a critical driver in building a healthier economic system, free of the fossil fuel industry.
This article is presented as part of New Economy Week, five days of conversation around building an economy that works for everyone. Today's theme is Combating Climate Change Without Leaving Anyone Behind."
In Columbia, South Carolina, Black landowners and farmers asked, "Can we create a solar or wind farm to generate clean energy that can help build our wealth and keep our land?"
In Buffalo, New York, low-income residents of color pushed for energy-efficiency investments to cut energy bills and create jobs.
And, in Richmond, California, Asian communities demanded that Chevron stop polluting their air and that the government invest in community-owned solar projects.
These stories are part of a common and resounding theme of strategies and solutions that communities of color have been advocating for over the years--we must invest in community-owned renewable energy if we want to build our local economy, cut our energy costs, and create cleaner environments for our kids.
This is a simple, yet far-reaching solution. And it's not new.
For decades, indigenous communities and communities of color have been demanding environmental justice, healthy communities, and economic opportunities that can benefit all of us.
Yet, our policies and advocacy efforts have been slow to catch up. These efforts have prioritized status quo solutions that invest in top-down, large-scale approaches, rather than ground-up, community-based responses.
For example, New York State is undergoing potentially transformative energy reforms, yet public agencies propose placing control and ownership of renewables in utility hands without real accountability or participation by community. The reason: Let the market achieve the deepest cuts in carbon emissions as quickly as possible.
Carbon reduction alone cannot solve our climate crisis, because our climate crisis is continuously fed by our economic one. And, the market all too often fails to work for many of us, particularly communities of color--the fastest growing population in our country.
Too many communities bear the burden of utility pollution, pay increased energy bills that benefit outside investors, and have lost their jobs (and worse, lives) working for an energy industry that solely values the bottom line. Switching to large-scale renewables will not necessarily erase these burdens or return to communities what they have been deprived of--a healthy, vibrant, and economically sustaining community.
Thus, renewables alone are not the answer. Look at it this way: The plantation system was powered by renewables. Wind powered the ships; the sun powered the crops. Without a fundamental change in the relationship between people and our economy, the promise of renewables will fail people.
Yet, renewables can be a critical driver in building locally sustainable and healthy economies. Renewables are abundant, cleaner, and more accessible than our status-quo energy system.
To harness them and address climate change effectively, we need to invest renewable solutions in the very communities that are suffering from inequity. Energy Investment Districts (EIDs) can be a way to enable communities, particularly communities of color, to develop local renewable energy generation and energy efficiency programs that are accountable to the community, produce healthier neighborhoods, reduce energy costs, create good jobs, build the local economy, and combat climate change.
We can do better. Our planet and communities depend on it.
This post was written for the New Economy Coalition's second annual New Economy Week, an event exploring what it will take to build an economy that works for people, place, and planet. To learn more, visit New Economy Week.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This article is presented as part of New Economy Week, five days of conversation around building an economy that works for everyone. Today's theme is Combating Climate Change Without Leaving Anyone Behind."
In Columbia, South Carolina, Black landowners and farmers asked, "Can we create a solar or wind farm to generate clean energy that can help build our wealth and keep our land?"
In Buffalo, New York, low-income residents of color pushed for energy-efficiency investments to cut energy bills and create jobs.
And, in Richmond, California, Asian communities demanded that Chevron stop polluting their air and that the government invest in community-owned solar projects.
These stories are part of a common and resounding theme of strategies and solutions that communities of color have been advocating for over the years--we must invest in community-owned renewable energy if we want to build our local economy, cut our energy costs, and create cleaner environments for our kids.
This is a simple, yet far-reaching solution. And it's not new.
For decades, indigenous communities and communities of color have been demanding environmental justice, healthy communities, and economic opportunities that can benefit all of us.
Yet, our policies and advocacy efforts have been slow to catch up. These efforts have prioritized status quo solutions that invest in top-down, large-scale approaches, rather than ground-up, community-based responses.
For example, New York State is undergoing potentially transformative energy reforms, yet public agencies propose placing control and ownership of renewables in utility hands without real accountability or participation by community. The reason: Let the market achieve the deepest cuts in carbon emissions as quickly as possible.
Carbon reduction alone cannot solve our climate crisis, because our climate crisis is continuously fed by our economic one. And, the market all too often fails to work for many of us, particularly communities of color--the fastest growing population in our country.
Too many communities bear the burden of utility pollution, pay increased energy bills that benefit outside investors, and have lost their jobs (and worse, lives) working for an energy industry that solely values the bottom line. Switching to large-scale renewables will not necessarily erase these burdens or return to communities what they have been deprived of--a healthy, vibrant, and economically sustaining community.
Thus, renewables alone are not the answer. Look at it this way: The plantation system was powered by renewables. Wind powered the ships; the sun powered the crops. Without a fundamental change in the relationship between people and our economy, the promise of renewables will fail people.
Yet, renewables can be a critical driver in building locally sustainable and healthy economies. Renewables are abundant, cleaner, and more accessible than our status-quo energy system.
To harness them and address climate change effectively, we need to invest renewable solutions in the very communities that are suffering from inequity. Energy Investment Districts (EIDs) can be a way to enable communities, particularly communities of color, to develop local renewable energy generation and energy efficiency programs that are accountable to the community, produce healthier neighborhoods, reduce energy costs, create good jobs, build the local economy, and combat climate change.
We can do better. Our planet and communities depend on it.
This post was written for the New Economy Coalition's second annual New Economy Week, an event exploring what it will take to build an economy that works for people, place, and planet. To learn more, visit New Economy Week.
This article is presented as part of New Economy Week, five days of conversation around building an economy that works for everyone. Today's theme is Combating Climate Change Without Leaving Anyone Behind."
In Columbia, South Carolina, Black landowners and farmers asked, "Can we create a solar or wind farm to generate clean energy that can help build our wealth and keep our land?"
In Buffalo, New York, low-income residents of color pushed for energy-efficiency investments to cut energy bills and create jobs.
And, in Richmond, California, Asian communities demanded that Chevron stop polluting their air and that the government invest in community-owned solar projects.
These stories are part of a common and resounding theme of strategies and solutions that communities of color have been advocating for over the years--we must invest in community-owned renewable energy if we want to build our local economy, cut our energy costs, and create cleaner environments for our kids.
This is a simple, yet far-reaching solution. And it's not new.
For decades, indigenous communities and communities of color have been demanding environmental justice, healthy communities, and economic opportunities that can benefit all of us.
Yet, our policies and advocacy efforts have been slow to catch up. These efforts have prioritized status quo solutions that invest in top-down, large-scale approaches, rather than ground-up, community-based responses.
For example, New York State is undergoing potentially transformative energy reforms, yet public agencies propose placing control and ownership of renewables in utility hands without real accountability or participation by community. The reason: Let the market achieve the deepest cuts in carbon emissions as quickly as possible.
Carbon reduction alone cannot solve our climate crisis, because our climate crisis is continuously fed by our economic one. And, the market all too often fails to work for many of us, particularly communities of color--the fastest growing population in our country.
Too many communities bear the burden of utility pollution, pay increased energy bills that benefit outside investors, and have lost their jobs (and worse, lives) working for an energy industry that solely values the bottom line. Switching to large-scale renewables will not necessarily erase these burdens or return to communities what they have been deprived of--a healthy, vibrant, and economically sustaining community.
Thus, renewables alone are not the answer. Look at it this way: The plantation system was powered by renewables. Wind powered the ships; the sun powered the crops. Without a fundamental change in the relationship between people and our economy, the promise of renewables will fail people.
Yet, renewables can be a critical driver in building locally sustainable and healthy economies. Renewables are abundant, cleaner, and more accessible than our status-quo energy system.
To harness them and address climate change effectively, we need to invest renewable solutions in the very communities that are suffering from inequity. Energy Investment Districts (EIDs) can be a way to enable communities, particularly communities of color, to develop local renewable energy generation and energy efficiency programs that are accountable to the community, produce healthier neighborhoods, reduce energy costs, create good jobs, build the local economy, and combat climate change.
We can do better. Our planet and communities depend on it.
This post was written for the New Economy Coalition's second annual New Economy Week, an event exploring what it will take to build an economy that works for people, place, and planet. To learn more, visit New Economy Week.