A Common New Year's Resolution
/By Don Varyu
Dec. 21, 2021
Many people have trouble making ends meet—it’s a paycheck-to-paycheck existence. Others with more money operate with a secondary plan, saving what they can for long range goals, like paying off a mortgage…putting kids through college…or managing to retire.
When we think about the society operating around us, we tend to focus first on the day-to-day. Who gets elected? What laws should be changed? Who deserves to succeed—or fail? Opinions will always vary on all this.
But there’s also a secondary, background issue, gnawing at our fears, poking our guilt. It’s this: what do we do about climate collapse? Moreover, how can I, a single individual, possibly make a difference? Even if the whole world and its governments were aligned and motivated, is there still enough time left? Does anyone have an actual plan?
John Doerr does. He’s probably the most legendary venture capitalist in America. He was there for the birth of Silicon Valley and was “in early” on ambitious start-ups like Amazon and Google. But 15 years ago, he narrowed his focus just to climate. He’s been digging in ever since, reading everything he could find, looking first-hand at experimental projects, and hearing pitches for new ones. He’s a data guy and believes in concrete goals. From all this, he’s written an actionable plan, which he’s laid out in his new book, Speed and Scale. (If you’re not prone to buy the book, you can hear him explain his plan for free, interviewed on the podcast, Hell and High Water.)
Doerr focuses on six clear areas—which should not be confused with assuming these goals will be close to easy to achieve. In descending order of importance, they are: (numbers in parentheses indicate the percentage of pollution each of these sectors currently produces)
Decarbonize the energy grid (41%)
Clean up industry (20%)
Fix food (15%)
Electrify transportation (14%)
Protect nature (10%)
Remove carbon
This may not sound earth-shaking—we’ve already heard about all this stuff. We already see the coming wave of electric vehicles. Many understand that natural energy sources (wind, solar, etc.) are far less expensive than they used to be. Others are altering their diets or changing farming methods to help “fix” food. Still, this whole thing can seem daunting. (Because it is.)
But the main question remains: what can we do? Doerr’s bottom line for individuals is to demand attention on all this, first from elected officials. Insist that climate collapse become the first or second issue they’re forced to talk about. Raise its profile. Ask what they’re proposing. And what they’re already doing. Let them know you’ll decide your vote based on their answers to these questions.
Write a letter. Make a phone call. Attend a candidate’s town hall meeting. Use social media to state and propel your case! This outreach doesn’t even have to include specific demands, or even a general focus on any one area. Simply forcing climate to be discussed will get the point across and generate a sense of urgency. After all, your children, your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews and every cute little kid in your neighborhood is depending on you.
This is not a huge ask. Speak up. It takes no money, and only a little bit of time and effort.
As such, I think this is the perfect common New Year’s resolution. It’s for you, for me—and for humanity.
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