Like most of you (I hope), my wife and I are hunkered down doing the social isolation thing. All of us are figuring out how to ride through this, and it is so surreal - and, it seems like there is no way to know when it will end, nor what things will look like on the other side.
In my professional life, i am helping hospitals around the country to develop and manage their physical infrastructure. Part of that, of course, is to help them manage their environmental footprint towards carbon neutral, just like the rest of us must do. I was talking to one of my colleagues this week, and she said "how can I worry about 2030, when I don't even know if we will make it till 2021?"
I think this kind of total focus on the coronavirus is where many of might be these days. But, of course, this too will pass.
For those of us concerned about the climate, we got a reminder. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said , “It is important that all the attention that needs to be given to fight this disease does not distract us from the need to defeat climate change.”
Yes.
Even as we work together to get through the virus, let’s use the discipline, the determination, and the community we are building to tackle other daunting common challenges.
I think public health threats and the climate are different manifestations of a similar need. In both cases, taking early action can make the problem much easier to manage down the road. In both cases, NOT taking early action WILL mean catastrophic results. We are showing ourselves now that we can do it; we can see a looming threat and come together to act collectively, even in ways that are not 100% fun, to prevent something worse.
We can do it. Let's remember that, and let's do it again, this time, for the even bigger issue. We can do it.
In my professional life, i am helping hospitals around the country to develop and manage their physical infrastructure. Part of that, of course, is to help them manage their environmental footprint towards carbon neutral, just like the rest of us must do. I was talking to one of my colleagues this week, and she said "how can I worry about 2030, when I don't even know if we will make it till 2021?"
I think this kind of total focus on the coronavirus is where many of might be these days. But, of course, this too will pass.
For those of us concerned about the climate, we got a reminder. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said , “It is important that all the attention that needs to be given to fight this disease does not distract us from the need to defeat climate change.”
Yes.
Even as we work together to get through the virus, let’s use the discipline, the determination, and the community we are building to tackle other daunting common challenges.
I think public health threats and the climate are different manifestations of a similar need. In both cases, taking early action can make the problem much easier to manage down the road. In both cases, NOT taking early action WILL mean catastrophic results. We are showing ourselves now that we can do it; we can see a looming threat and come together to act collectively, even in ways that are not 100% fun, to prevent something worse.
We can do it. Let's remember that, and let's do it again, this time, for the even bigger issue. We can do it.
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