Ann Arbor Council: Fund Climate Action Now
Hi Council & Mayor Taylor,
“You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes. Until you start focusing on what needs to be done rather than what is politically possible, there is no hope. We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis.” — Greta Thunberg, 16
Among the hard conversations parents must have with their children is helping them understand the realities of climate change and what is likely to mean for their own futures. We’ve recently started having this talk with our nearly 6-year-old daughter as she has grown more inquisitive about status of the planet and the environment. This is a hard conversation to have. Even the best case scenarios are dire* and our leaders have been failing us for decades in doing the work to prevent even worse outcomes. You are now among those leaders. If we do not start now to make fundamental transformations in how we live, we are condemning the futures of our living children to literally unimaginable consequences for all of humanity and other species on Earth.
I’ve heard some of you suggest that every City department needs to make changes to serve our climate goals and that we do not need to hire dedicated staff to help guide and lead these changes. Do you also believe we can do without a City IT Department because each department can buy its own computers and install its own network? Do we not need a City Attorney’s office because each City department can hire its own legal advice? While every department does indeed have unique needs and roles to play, having expert guidance to ensure we’re tracking best practices, experimenting effectively and capturing the value of standardization is critical, especially on a constantly changing technical & environmental landscape.
We have a climate action plan and a commitment of money to fund it. We can always improve as we go, but at this point, rejecting these plans and refusing to get started is simply denial. We need to develop new expertise. We’re already in a crisis. We gain nothing from delay. We need to start now.
This is a crisis. We don’t have time to wait for the right president and right congress to get elected. We need all hands on deck. We’re not going to fix this by asking people to eat less meat and drive less and say “oh well, we tried.’’ We need change at every level, including municipal government. We have an incredible amount of privilege in this City. We’re one of the most educated communities on the planet and home to a world class research University. We have the highest taxable value of property per capita in the state. If anyone is well placed to take the lead as a City it is us. We can’t afford not to. It is going to cost money, it is going to take risks, and learning and mistakes, but we have to get started now. Delay is denial. Be the leaders we need. We don’t have time to wait.
Scott Trudeau
Ward 1
* — If you don’t already feel this in your bones, you are deeply uninformed on this topic. I will be happy to provide references based on our best science if you’d like to learn more.
