The Climate Crisis: Pulling Back from the Brink

I am an environmental scientist who has been despairing about the state of our planet for many years.?My angst began with a graduate course that analyzed humanity’s impact on the environment from a societal perspective. In a nutshell, we came to the conclusion that we are on a treadmill and that no matter what we do, we are on a course of ever greater environmental destruction because of our insatiable need to produce and consume. That class left me so depressed that I almost quit graduate school. ?In the years since I graduated, I’ve worked primarily on issues related to climate change, fighting to hope that we will change things for the better before they become catastrophic. ?Instead, I’ve seen with my own eyes how quickly our planet is creeping towards the brink.?Summers are unbearably hotter, punctuated by torrential rains. In autumn, the leaves no longer provide a canopy of reds, oranges, and yellows. Instead, they fall to the ground in brown and brittle clusters. And where are the beautiful snowfalls that define winter?

I found myself skirting the abyss again till I discovered something that pulled me back. ?It’s a global climate model and simulation tool called En-ROADS. Climate models generally describe how things will worsen over the coming century as global temperatures rise.?Why then would a climate model give me hope? Instead of simply simulating climate change, En-ROADS is a climate change solutions simulator. Created by MIT and Climate Interactive, the model focuses on how changes in our energy, economic, and public policy systems could affect greenhouse gas emissions and?climate?outcomes.?

The model allows users to manipulate a host of variables, including fossil fuel consumption, development of new energy technologies, diet, energy efficiency, ?land use, and population growth.?With the click of a button, En-ROADS computes thousands of equations and instantly simulates the impact our actions will have in the coming decades. Most importantly, it shows that if we act now in a concerted, unified way, we will absolutely be able to limit the increase in global temperature and pull ourselves from the brink of catastrophic change. Another positive aspect of the En-ROADS model is that, because it's based on systems dynamics, it illuminates interdependencies and points to areas where an action in one sector can have positive benefits in another sector. For example, because every decision to protect the climate has ramifications on equity and justice, we can build a society that improves upon past inequitable systems.

We have a finite window. ?I believe that we have the ability and responsibility to inform others about what we can still do to protect our planet.?The key lies in educating enough people not only about the destructive impact of our actions, but also, how we can avoid a catastrophic future if we act now.?

The challenge lies in reaching a critical mass of people who will not only change their own behavior, but demand change in societal policies and practices.?Policies that keep fossil fuels in the ground, promote afforestation, increase energy efficiency and use of public transport, decrease red meat consumption, subsidize green technologies, and durably sequester carbon.?That’s what the research tells us.?However, research also shows that simply showing the results of research does not work. The key lies in fostering others to think for themselves and in engaging their emotions through dialogue and a drama that invites them to explore the impact of various types of decisions.?It’s about giving them a tool that helps them to think differently. ?That is what En-ROADS can help do.

I invite you to try the model, and share it with your friends. The website is https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/en-roads/ .