“We are the luckiest generation,” says Washington governor, “to have something that is so meaningful to fight for.”
And it is not just the weather that is affected. Coral reefs are bleaching and dying, leading to a depletion of sea life. Forests are drying out and burning. Rivers are drying up and aquifers are being pumped dry. Wildlife species are dying and going extinct, never to return. Likewise, communal despair leads to political paralysis as good people cede the political arena to selfishness and greed.
Any action will do, “blogging, tweeting, talking to your neighbor, voting, anything,” said the governor. “Any action you take is good for you and your mental health.”Rather than seeing our time as the worst possible days, Inslee, like Winston Churchill during World War II, thinks the opposite. Like the “Greatest Generation,” which responded to the challenge of fascism, those living today are called to respond to the challenges of climate change. If we do it, history will extol us. If we fail, future generations will curse us for ushering in a new dark age.
“Volts” describes itself as a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. It is unflinching in its realism in the face of climate change, yet it is also hopeful in its examination of the technological innovations that can help us reduce our carbon footprint.