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We seem to be at a tipping point in our stance on global warming. That means that a lot is happening at every level, from the international to the local.
Many of us are taking an “all hands on deck” stance to this crisis, as evidenced by the formation of Oak Park Climate Action Network (Oak Park CAN), an ad hoc group which has nudged the Oak Park Village Board and staff toward formulating a climate action plan. We’ve also seen other local governmental bodies, most notably the Park District of Oak Park, moving ahead with ambitious projects to both conserve energy and produce it through solar installations.
This brings me to ElectrifyBy Saul Griffith. I don’t normally write book reviews, but this book has made quite a splash in the environmental community, and for good reason.
Appropriately subtitled “An Optimist’s Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future,” Griffith simultaneously lays out the case that climate change is an emergency like no other while assuring us that following his game plan could result in an incredibly revitalized economy and a much more pleasant place to live, while averting a worldwide climate crisis.
An engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and MacArthur Fellow, Griffith draws on his extensive experience in measuring our country’s energy use for the U.S. Department of Energy. ElectrifyMIT Press released it in October. It is currently available at the Oak Park Public Library’s main branch. My copy was ordered through The Book Table. Despite the fact the book is full of graphs, tables and tables, the writing style is actually quite simple and understandable for lay (nonengineer) readers.
Griffith’s basic position is that time has run out and we have to focus on the largest sources of carbon emissions if we are to have a realistic chance of getting the problem under control. He says that the largest source of carbon dioxide (about 75%) is the combustion of fossil fuels. Other sources of carbon dioxide, such as livestock, fertilizer manure and cement, pale in comparison.
It is refreshing that he cuts through a lot of side issues and provides a broad perspective of our current situation, making the case that we have to set aside 1970s’ notions of regarding energy conservation and recycling in order to focus on the task at hand. Don’t sweat the small stuff, he is saying, because the task at hand is big and needs our attention.
The good news is that technology exists to make electricity generation systems that are not dependent on carbon-producing means possible. While prices for solar and wind generation and batteries are falling, they have gained market share quickly. We now have greatly improved electric vehicles and heat pumps technology that can be converted to electric clothes dryers and hot water heaters. Even better, electrifying every part of the economy can help to revitalize it in a manner similar with what happened during World War II when the country had to increase its manufacturing.
Griffith reminds us, without being too optimistic about the doomsday scenario. He cites the many ways the climate crisis is getting worse. These include rising sea levels and extreme weather events. He convincingly argues, however, that even though our technology is in the right direction it will not be enough to solve the problem.
Griffith presents a detailed plan of actions that includes a lot of information about the electrical system and how it can be improved. Even though making our energy system 100% electric will require a vast increase in our generation of electricity it will actually reduce energy use by less than half, Griffith claims. His argument is exhaustive and sometimes exhausting. He covers topics such as overhauling the grid, financing, zoning and other policy decisions that will need to be made by political leaders.
Finance will be crucial as the changes need to be made at all income levels in order to reduce carbon emissions sufficiently. He likens the need for low-interest financing — for the acquisition of rooftop solar, cars and heating systems — to the low-interest financing provided during the Great Depression to avoid foreclosure on millions of homes. This could be a boon for low-income households who tend to spend a greater percentage of their incomes on energy.
He ignores considerations like the possibility for a dramatic breakthrough on carbon capture or free market solutions like carbon taxes and carbon trading, claiming that they are either too slow or untested.
He draws on the lessons learned from other crises to support his argument that we can prevent a severe climate crisis. It is clear that we can probably achieve a similar large-scale economic overhaul as the war machine was able to do during wartime. One wonders, however, if we need an enemy to make today’s crisis real in the minds of our countrymen. Perhaps we could just make it a race with Russians and Chinese to see whose smokestacks they can remove the fastest, echoing the race to the Moon.
Nick Bridge was formerly the Oak Park Energy and Environment Commission’s chair and is currently a member on the Oak Park Plan Commission.
