Finally, an Earth Day with promise

For many years, it was a hollow joke. But this year, we're on the cusp of real progress.

from the April 20, 2007 edition

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None of this means change will come easily. The opponents – big energy companies chief among them – are some of the most powerful political players in the country. For 20 years, they've kept action on global warming at bay. But the science has grown too obvious, and the political demands too loud, for that shutout to continue. Instead, the special interests are trying to carve out the easiest deal they can.

After so many years of no progress at all, some environmentalists will find any deal hard to resist. But in fact, precisely because we've delayed action so long, we need to hold firm now for reductions in coal, oil, and gas use large enough to meet the minimum scientific requirements. Demanding an 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050 is not pie-in-the-sky; it's the kind of signal we need to send if we're going to affect investment decisions, subsidy policy, and every other part of our policy.

So this Earth Day (April 22), the talk shouldn't be sentimental or vague – or discouraged. It should come with a couple of numbers – 80 percent by 2050. And it should be hopeful. Because even though the transition to a green economy has yet to begin, we can finally see it looming on the horizon. It's as pretty a sight as spring wildflowers spreading across the meadows.

• Bill McKibben is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and the author of "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future."

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