Photo by Ken Jones | Creative Commons
By Fernando Gaxiola, PA Chapter Political Intern
President-elect Joe Biden is on his way to the White House and with him, he brings a decisively different approach towards the crisis of the environment than his predecessor, Donald Trump. This change of leadership provides an opportunity for the country not only to become truly sustainable, but to remake itself, to secure a safe, livable future for generations to come, and to lead the world in this effort. But the past year has shown that there are serious fractures running through American society that threaten to dismantle any attempt at tackling important issues at home, and even more so on a global scale. Such profound division, if overcome, in the face of a challenge like no other in human history, is an essential step in rising to seriously address climate change, and therefore a step towards proving what has been for so long chanted; that America is a great, united nation.
Once inaugurated, Biden will set out to tackle a dangerously overdue challenge that demands the unified ambition and drive of the entire country if it is to be met with the required decisiveness. He is determined to have the U.S. reach net-zero emissions and have a 100% clean energy economy by no later than 2050. While Executive power will finally be pushing for this vital goal, it will take not only every level and branch of the federal government to turn the country in the right direction as fast as is needed, but also the effort of corporations and individuals. Without a broad, cohesive effort, the U.S. will, at best, fall behind while other countries become the powerhouses of a new era, and it will weaken humanity’s efforts to live in a healthy and sustainable planet. Currently, that cohesive effort is nonexistent. Both the newly-elected Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court show no signs of being anywhere near ready to support Biden in this gargantuan effort, and the country can no longer wait for the federal government to act. Change needs to happen at every level and in any way it can. Whether it be through clean energy companies combating the narratives of polluters, organizations like Sierra Club communicating that tackling the climate crisis should be an urgent bipartisan issue, or communities pioneering and setting sustainable living examples, Joe Biden cannot move this country alone.
In the face of what is at stake, it is critical to recognize the epic effort required to shift the U.S. in the right direction. But amid the historical divide in the country, it begs the question: can America do something as great as come together to fight the universal threat of climate change? Was it greatness that pulled the U.S. out of a Great Depression to fight against anti-semitism? Was it greatness that rocketed American astronauts to the moon and back? Was it greatness that sparked the fight for freedom, justice, and equality, starting with the words “We hold these truths to be self evident…”? Perhaps. But there has never been a better opportunity to prove that the U.S. is great than by fighting against something that affects not just all people living in the U.S., but humanity as a whole. The massive effort that fighting the climate crisis demands is actually an opportunity to come together and move forward -- to overcome this challenge and any that come after.
This blog was included as part of the 2021 Winter Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!