“I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.”
George Burns
Four years. A lot of change. A lot still to do.
This week marks the fourth anniversary of the very first Unheating blog post. It’s been an action-packed four years, both for me personally and in the world of climate change. Anniversaries are a good time to take stock, so I wanted to share a few reflections and a motivation to keep plugging.
Life stuff
On a personal note, my life has changed dramatically over the past four years. In additional to starting this blog, I have retired from full-time work, sent my youngest off to college, watched my eldest launch into adulting, joined a nonprofit board, traveled, enjoyed time with family and friends, and developed new hobbies. Despite the challenges all around us, I am excited to build on the positives and move forward in this next chapter of my life.
The hard truths
So what’s happened with climate change over the same period? A lot, and in many ways, it feels like we’re moving backward. To give you a sense of of what I mean:
- Three of the hottest years ever recorded have occurred in the last four. The final numbers for 2025 aren’t in, but it will likely rank as either the second- or third-warmest on record.
- There have been 96 (!!!) billion dollar weather disasters in the United States since this blog launched.
- Public investment in clean energy has been scaled back significantly, creating uncertainly for the private sector. One example: government roadblocks putting the brakes on what had been a promising offshore wind industry.
- Data centers are being built at a breakneck pace, driving an unprecedented escalation of energy demand.
- The U.S. joined only three other countries in the world (Iran, Libya, and Yemen) as non-participants in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Reasons to stay engaged
Sigh. With the daily barrage of grim climate news this year, it’s easy to feel discouraged and tempted to give up. And yet, if you look carefully, there are reasons for hope. My goal has been to set my sights there, so here are a few of the brighter developments from the past four years:
- More than 90% of new power generation worldwide now comes from renewable sources, and global investment in clean energy far exceeds spending on fossil fuels.
- European Union countries have signed a legally-binding agreement to a 90% reduction in heat-trapping emissions by 2040
- Adoption of heat pumps is growing in the U.S. and skyrocketing globally.
- Electric vehicles sales are booming worldwide, now accounting for over 25% of new cars sales.
- In the U.S., an increasing number of local and state governments are setting clean energy goals and hitting their targets.
- China, the world’s largest emitter of heat-trapping pollution, is investing heavily in electrification and clean energy. As a result, emissions have flattened and appear to be dropping.
These are real gains and they’re worth building on. Even though we are falling behind on decarbonization goals, every fraction of a degree in temperature matters to the delicate balance of our climate system, so we can’t fold our cards.
Marine biologist and climate leader Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, author of the brilliant book What If We Get It Right, captures this mindset perfectly: “Act as if you love the future. And be tenacious on behalf of life on Earth.” Yes, there are headwinds. But if we love the future, and want a livable world for ourselves and those who come next, we need to build on the positives and keep working on solutions.
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Talk about it. Help solve it.