Let's be honest — Earth Day has never been about the Earth. It has always been about people, about what we believe will make the world livable and prosperous for ourselves and our children. Most importantly it has always been about recognizing that environmental conditions affect everyone, and that individuals cannot solve environmental problems alone. We must work together.
And we do. From recycling our trash to restoring our parks, our environmental cooperation takes countless forms within civil society. Environmental problems, however, call for political action as well. Citizens and leaders in the early 1970s, when the first Earth Day took place, understood this. Political cooperation produced powerful bipartisan environmental legislation that eased the era's problems. The stringent Clean Air Act of 1970, for example, passed the Senate without a single nay vote. In his own pragmatic way, President Richard Nixon also saw environmental issues as a way to bring Americans together, and he left an admirable record of environmental achievements.
Today, such effective environmental politics seem like something from another Earth, particularly for today's most encompassing issue — climate change. It's easy to understand why politicians and corporations directly tied to fossil-fuel interests might fight climate action, but the resistance runs deeper than that. Most serious are fears that the issue is too big to solve or that it can't be solved within a free-market system. Have we lost confidence that we can work together to achieve a common goal?
It's easy to be discouraged by the enormity of the problem. It's understandable to think, "Nothing I do can affect climate change." "Colorado can't make a significant impact by itself." "Even if the United States controls carbon, China emits so much."
I certainly have these thoughts. But then I think of the millions of citizens making low-carbon choices. I think of the renewable energy standards enacted by Colorado and 28 other states as well as the national policy options and the grass-roots groups fighting for them. I think of the Paris climate accord, which, though imperfect, offers an unprecedented international framework for progress. These are the types of steps that our democracy, in partnership with other sovereign countries, must take to solve a problem too large to solve alone — the responsibilities that come with our liberties. At the same time, they are limited partnerships. As individuals, states, and nations, we agree on a cooperative framework, but we retain full freedom to make our own choices within that framework. We work together without losing who we are.
In the United States, the free market is a big part of who we are. Fortunately, environmental problems can be solved with market-based approaches. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, spearheaded by President George H.W. Bush, pioneered market mechanisms for pollution control. The resulting cap-and-trade system slashed sulfur oxide emissions from power plants while driving down compliance costs, saving ratepayers billions of dollars, and protecting our health. This success inspired market-based approaches for other pollutants and regions, and studies show these strategies are as effective as traditional regulatory approaches but save money and spur innovation. The European Union, California, and the northeastern United States now have carbon cap-and-trade systems. British Columbia's revenue-neutral carbon tax, which is offset by cuts to income and corporate taxes, has garnered attention for its effectiveness and popularity. Today, market-based strategies are a default option for environmental policy — yet another innovative American export.
So what does Earth Day mean today? It could be a way to bridge our political divides, as it did in the 1970s. It could be a call to recognize our common ground and cooperate to protect it. It might encompass global issues, along with those in our backyard. It could draw out our unique strengths and values as individuals, as Coloradans, as Americans: freedom and responsibility, markets and innovation, concern and action. In the end, Earth Day will be what we make it. Let's make it together.
Jarett Zuboy lives in Golden.