Earth Day Sunday: The Why and Why Now Behind Climate Change

Recently, I have been asked why I am encouraging members of the professional cleaning industry to start planning their Earth Day activities now. To answer the question, I urge them to read a book by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.?The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need.

Released in 2021, the book quickly became a New York Times best-seller. According to the Times:

Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disasters. I

In this book, he explains why we must work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases and details what we must do to achieve this profoundly important goal.

There are several other takeaways from this book. Those that caught my eye are the following:

1. Poorer Countries Will be Hit the Hardest

This is already happening. Due to climate change, extreme weather events such as floods, drought, and heat, along with natural disasters, millions of people around the world have lost their homes and livelihoods, with most of this occurring in poorer regions of the world. They will be impacted the most in the coming years because they lack the resources to help those affected and sufficient resources to adapt to climate change.

Gates writes, "The climate is changing in ways that will be problematic for relatively well-off farmers in America and Europe but potentially deadly for low-income ones in Africa and Asia."

2. Viewing Massive Investments as an Economic Opportunity

One of the daunting challenges about climate change is that while it can be addressed, helping to mitigate its impact, it will require investments on a scale rarely seen. Because of the staggering costs, wealthy countries will shy away from making these investments, and investors are concerned it will take too long to see a payoff. Nonetheless, Gates sees this challenge as an economic opportunity.

"The countries that build great zero-carbon companies and industries will be the ones leading the global economy in the coming decades," Gates writes. “Whoever makes big energy breakthroughs and shows they can work on a global scale and be affordable will find many willing customers in emerging economies."

3. It Starts with Government Policies

While private companies may take the lead on innovations to address climate change, the impetus to undertake the challenges starts with governments worldwide. Gates uses deforestation as one example where governments worldwide can join forces and slow deforestation, benefiting the entire planet.

"People cut down trees when the incentives to cut down trees are stronger than the incentives to leave them alone," he writes. "So, we need political and economic solutions to maintain forests, enforcing rules designed to protect certain areas, and making sure rural communities have new economic opportunities so they don't have to extract natural resources just to survive."

4. Viewing Change as Life Itself

Most of us realize that we will need to make lifestyle changes to address climate change. Examples include:

• Reducing our use of fossil fuels.
• Eating less meat.
• Pursuing vegetarian diets.
• Considering the environment and sustainability when performing our daily tasks.

"It's not realistic to say that people are going to change their lifestyle [now] because of concerns about climate. However, someday, change will be accepted as life itself."

5. Bad Today, Worse Tomorrow

Gates suggests that we prioritize climate change worldwide, realizing that we are only now seeing some of its impacts. We can expect far more significant negative effects in the future.

"The earth is warming, and it's warming because of human activity. The impact is bad and will get much worse. We have every reason to believe that the impact will be catastrophic at some point," Gates writes. “Will that be in 30 years? 50 years? We don't know precisely. But given how hard the problem will be to solve, even if the worst case is 50 years away, we must act now."

Bill Gates' call to "act now" resonates deeply. This is why I am urging our industry to start planning for Earth Day, which will allow us to showcase our ongoing efforts in protecting the planet.

While challenges remain, I remain optimistic. We must acknowledge the considerable progress our industry, alongside many others, has made towards sustainability. Through continued collaboration, we can overcome many hurdles and achieve a brighter future.

Steve Ashkin is president of the Ashkin Group, a consulting firm specializing in Green Cleaning and sustainability. Steve is recognized as one of the one hundred most important contributors to the professional cleaning industry in ISSA’s 100-year history.

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