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 It's being called the “New Normal” – around
the world the grim consequences of climate change are being felt in multiple
ways. The risk of wild fires in California is now year-round.
Hurricane Harvey produced the most costly rainfall event ever in the
United States. Record heat and droughts in Africa bring hunger and
starvation to millions. Sea level rise in Bangladesh drives families and
farmers into crowded refugee camps. These calamities affect cities and people,
rich and poor.
GENI focuses on developing interconnected renewable
energy resources around the world. That’s sustainable, but it’s not
sufficient in our New Normal world. Cities need to mitigate and adapt now to
the increased dangers of climate change, by preparing and building with resilient
strategies. Cities must be able to withstand a catastrophe and recover as
quickly as possible.
As shown in the diagram, the intersection
of Sustainability and Resilience is a better planning model. While this structure
is designed for cities, you can ask yourself how this applies to your home and
family? To survive a calamity we first must secure the essentials of food,
water and electricity. Clean electricity provides us refrigeration, lighting,
communication and fresh water. That’s being Resilient. The
Rockefeller Foundation has funded 100 Resilient Cities to help us
prepare for this New Normal.
Clean energy is a core solution going forward. We are at an inflection point. Could you support us again this year with a leading contribution? …or
even better: a monthly pledge of support?
In Partnership for the Planet, |
