Going solar has always seemed like a wise thing to do. Why not take advantage of an endless power source (sure, it’s gonna burn out someday, but long after we as a species have disappeared)?
We had pretty much decided that the whole solar-on-the-roof process wasn’t going to be for us, out of fear of some pesky financial burden. But the numbers we got from the local rep came in favorably enough, and after a conversation I had yesterday with someone who for some time has been producing more electricity than he’s needed, we’ve been tempted to revisit our initial reluctance– not only because of the relative cost parity with what we’re paying now, but also for equally, if not more important reasons.
In our visit yesterday, the homeowner who’s had the panels on the roof for twelve years said he’s glad he did it and won’t ever look back. It was the right thing to do, in his mind—for planetary ecosystems, for keeping fossil fuels in the ground, and for his children’s and grandchildren’s quality of life.
Committing to renewable energy is becoming less of a symbolic gesture than it once was. Of course, logistics and cost and politics are still real roadblocks—wholesale commitment to the technology on the part of power companies and fossil fuel behemoths remains somewhat of a pipe dream. But this doesn’t mean individual citizens and forward-looking developers and municipal governments can’t peck away at this slow-to-adapt, profit-hungry machinery.
The economic stakes are of course high for anyone who still thinks climate change is a hoax and “drill, baby, drill” is the mantra. But they’re just as high for the rest of us who can envision a world of increasing competition for “friendly” climate zones and faltering agricultural production and weather gone rogue and insurance companies who leave town because they can’t provide the coverages that people have paid for and expected. Among many other consequences.
In good capitalist fashion, it seems as though the challenge is to monetize the transition, to make the commitment to renewable energy financially attractive and robust enough to satisfy everyone involved AND heal the planetary systems that have kept us alive for millennia and ages.
Accelerated climate change is happening, whether people believe this or not, and it’s not a question of brain power or creativity when it comes to fighting it. It’s a question of will. And we don’t have all day anymore.
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