How About Disaster Prevention?

To speak with integrity about disaster preparedness requires talking about the climate crisis.

Except for earthquakes and volcanoes, all natural disasters are weather-related. They have become and will continue to be more frequent and severe because of climate change. A warmer climate has more energy in it, which creates more frequent high-wind events. Higher temperatures also mean more moisture, leading to more frequent and severe flooding.

We can do more than get prepared for natural disasters. We can work to prevent disasters. If each of us – as individuals and as businesses – gets serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting carbon sequestration, we can turn the clock back to a time when multiple record-setting catastrophic weather events were not an annual occurrence.

There is so much you can do to make a difference. Here are a few ideas:

Eat less meat. Educate employees on the climate impact of their diet. Serve meat-free spreads at company events.
Advocate for policy change.

Californians can participate in demand response through OhmConnect. This company recruits utility customers who agree, on 24 hours’ notice, to reduce their energy consumption for a designated hour or two. These are hours when demand exceeds supply and utilities have to buy power from peaker plants, those super-dirty power plants that come on just during peak demand hours. OhmConnect contracts with utilities to reduce demand during those peak hours and the utilities pay them as much as it would pay to buy the power from the peaker plants.

OhmConnect then passes on 80% of the revenue from that contract to its members who reduce their consumption during the designated hours. OhmConnect tracks your usage during the hour through your utility’s usage information. Members accrue points based on how much energy they save. OhmConnect provides resources to show you how to reduce consumption. Points are redeemable for cash into your PayPal account or gift cards from Target or Amazon.

It’s this simple:

You sign up for Ohmconnect.
Ohmconnect sends you alerts about once a week asking you to reduce your power consumption during one or two particular hours of the next day.
You help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
You earn cash according to how much energy you save.

We have 11 years left to make a sharp turn toward sustainability. Do it for your kids, your grandkids, for everyone you care about. It’s the greatest form of love you can give. Make it your legacy.

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