Hi Green Commons,
It’s been eerily quiet here since Tuesday night. I’ve been quiet mostly because I just didn’t know what to say. The election results are certainly a blow to pretty much everything we’ve been working for. There is so much we don’t know about things might play out, but I’m feeling a range of emotions ranging from discouraged to downright terrified.
I think we need to reckon with the fact that the Biden-Harris administration took real action to address climate change—a first!—and got punished for it at the polls. I don’t know that many people were reacting specifically against that investment, but they certainly didn’t value it.
It’s not surprising, I guess, that people’s immediate, day-to-day concerns took precedence over the slow-moving climate disaster. I don’t know how we can break through that inherent headwind.
None of this changes the fact that our work on sustainability in the built environment is critical, and that we’ve been making progress (albeit not fast enough). Whatever the government does or doesn’t do, there will be a need for well-informed advocacy. And where the public sector falters, the private sector often steps in.
So yes, it’s discouraging. But it’s not a time to ease up. Most importantly, it’s a time when we can lean into and support each other as we feel all the feelings and try to figure out our next steps.
So, thank you all for being here, and doing what you’re doing. As always, let me know how I can help (and I’ll do the same back to you, as soon as I figure that out!).
Yours, Nadav
