Let's Treat Climate Change Like A Pandemic

Because when pandemics happen, we do something.

By Peak Design

April 22^nd, 2020

This pandemic sucks.

It is bad, dumb, stupid, and dissatisfactory. Used a thesaurus for that last one.

But dare we say it has produced something...refreshing? Cue the somber piano music.

We're all in this together.

It's the battle cry driving everything right now: our behavior, our public policy, and our lame TV commercials. Sleep well tonight knowing that Hyundai, FitBit, and Taco Cabana are here for you in these uncertain and unprecedented times. We're all in this together, and don't forget that "we" includes Budweiser.

It's cliché, but has an undeniable ring to it. It's almost as if it's not just an emotional tagline...but also an objective truth. Like we are all physically in the same realm. Like we are all being gravitationally forced to coexist on the surface of a spherical rock floating in the vacuum of space and our existence absolutely depends on us working together to solve the existential problems we face.

But we're not just saying things.

We're actually putting aside our differences and doing things.

Look at the US Congress. They generated bipartisan support to pass a mind-boggling $2 trillion relief package for individuals and businesses. That story again: American policymakers agreed on a goal, quickly made compromises, and enacted a thing. It's happening at all levels of government right now, in an imperfect, under-coordinated, and maybe inadequate manner. But it's happening: policymakers finding common ground and enacting science-based solutions to a big, scary problem.

They're not the only ones. Look at all of us citizens! Wearing our masks, patiently keeping our distance at grocery stores, googling how to make disinfectant from household items, and rallying to support the people and institutions on the front line of fighting this virus. We are educating ourselves, changing our behaviors, and making sacrifices on a scale that most have never seen in their lifetimes.

So what if...humor us for just a sec...we started fighting climate change with the same level of urgency and resolve that we're putting towards this pandemic?

Let's Treat Climate Change Like A Pandemic

You know, climate change. The other thing that scientists have been warning us about for decades. The other thing that is acutely affecting millions of people. The other thing that has become politicized to the disadvantage of everyone. Climate Change: The Other Global Crisis™.

Okay, we established the parallel. Before we go ham on it, it worth noting: coronavirus and climate change aren't the same. There's a lot about our coronavirus response we should not emulate with climate change. But it does show us that when scientists identify a problem and politicians agree it's important, massive things can happen.

Treating climate change like a pandemic means acknowledging it's the most important problem to fix, listening to scientists, and doing things to fix it.

It means getting over your entrenched distaste for the other side of the aisle and/or the other side of your own political party, and acting under the premise that the survival of our species is more important.

It also means not waiting for a slow-moving-by-design government to solve all the problems. In the last month businesses large and small have pivoted their supply chains to manufacture medical supplies and funneled resources to the people on the front line of coronavirus response. We know where the money needs to go, and we're voluntarily putting it there.

Businesses: do the same for climate change. Consumers: support businesses who do it.

In 2019, we co-founded Climate Neutral to help businesses measure, reduce, and offset their entire carbon footprint in a scientifically verifiable manner. Today, Climate Neutral’s freshman class of 102 businesses officially earn their certification. Hundreds more are on their way.

Learn which companies are Climate Neutral Certified, and support them. Applaud the fact that they are taking responsibility for their greenhouse gases right now and not a decade from now. And if you know a brand you'd love to become Climate Neutral, tweet at them.

Businesses and consumers can make headway. But we can't do everything.

Government: put a price on carbon emissions. Unlike this pandemic, climate change hopefully won't require grotesque emergency bailouts that our children will have to figure out how to pay for. Not if everybody pays a little bit right now to invest in the low-carbon future we so desperately need.

Regulate pollution. Stop dismantling the bureaus designed to do so. Amidst the chaos of pandemic, the Trump administration has quietly loosened clean air regulations, rolled back auto emission rules, and weakened toxic metal controls. Using economic crunch as an excuse to deregulate is robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Unite your citizens around science. Shout it from the White House rooftop: like this pandemic, climate change is real and we need to do something about it now. Unlike this pandemic, climate change is better understood and has more dire consequences.

And for the love of God, stop polarizing us.

Both sides of the aisle do it. The President thrives on it. And they do it because it gets them elected, and re-elected. Screw that. We're all in this together. If there's one thing cancerous to our union, it is a government run by people who are happy to drive a wedge through their electorate to ensure their own job security. There is a shitload of common ground out there, including and not limited to the planet that we're standing on.

Hey, that's where we come in again!

There's an election coming up. Register to vote now, or check your voter registration status.

We must elect politicians who listen to scientists, put forth science-based policy, and build coalitions to execute them. Like this pandemic, science is telling us where climate change is coming from, how it will get worse, and what we must do to adapt and survive it.

Vote for politicians who listen to scientists and bring people together to solve problems.

And even if your favorite horse isn't in the race in November, vote. Even if you're having a hard time deciding which candidate you like less, vote.

Hold your nose, suck it up, and vote.

Humans are resilient and ingenuitive. We can predict, plan for, and adapt to all manners of threats, as long as we let experts shape our decision-making. When we all agree on a problem, we can solve it.