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August 29, 2019
The latest U.N. climate report, Climate Change and Land, warns us that climate change is increasing pressures on the global food supply, threatening millions with hunger and potentially raising food prices for all. It reminds us that we need to take serious action on climate now—this is why combating climate change now is EESI’s priority!
The report details the impacts of climate change on land use and agriculture, makes future projections, and recommends solutions. Each chapter of the report focuses on a different concern—desertification, land degradation, and food security—and goes into detail about possible adaptations to each.
EESI also takes a solutions-oriented approach to climate change, and just last month launched a new email newsletter, Climate Change Solutions. (If you’re not yet receiving it, go to eesi.org/signup to sign up for Solutions to be delivered to your inbox every other Tuesday.) Providing additional traction to key reports—such as Climate Change and Land—is another way that EESI informs the policy discussion and works toward solutions.
Sustainable land management is one of the primary methods for combating land degradation and desertification. Our existing agricultural systems have resulted in reduced land productivity and soil quality. EESI has prioritized engaging with policymakers to show the benefits of conservation and energy programs in the Farm Bill, which can help address some of these issues and make soils healthier and farms more productive and economically sound.
Solutions that can help improve land quality include crop rotation, cover crops, better soil management, harvesting rainwater, managing grazing and fire, controlling erosion, and more. These actions can help keep and return land to productivity, which helps reduce poverty and improve food security. They also sequester carbon, which is so important to improving soil health and mitigating climate change!
Cover crops, often planted after the main crop is harvested, help prevent soil erosion and preserve soil fertility (Courtesy: Mark Liebig, Agricultural Research Service)
In addition to sustainable land management, the report highlights many other solutions. The sustainable consumption and production of food is another sector in which improvements are needed to mitigate climate change and address food insecurity. Reducing food waste along production and supply chains—and at the individual consumption level—is key.
Sadly, almost a third of food in the United States is wasted, while many go hungry. On a personal level, composting food and yard scraps, curbing meat consumption, and sourcing food from sustainable sources are ways that you, too, can be part of the solution!
Other solutions addressed in the report include reducing trade restrictions, making it easier for farmers in developing countries to access credit, strengthening property rights, managing urban sprawl, addressing inequalities, and improving disaster risk management.
We must take swift action to reduce emissions and improve resilience to climate impacts. Thank you for making climate solutions a priority!
Energy efficiency jobs are the largest source of clean energy jobs in the United States, a major economic stimulator, and the most effective and quickest way of reducing carbon emissions. Yet, more needs to be done to ensure equitable access to these jobs and to the retrofits the sector is providing.
More Americans—2.32 million—work in the energy efficiency sector than in any other type of ‘green job.’ That’s why it was a priority for EESI to highlight energy efficiency to policymakers, so they know how much it drives job creation. We partnered with Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA), which is striving to grow this sector in an equitable way by providing retrofits for low-income families and making energy efficiency jobs accessible to all.
We held a Congressional briefing in July, highlighting a new Energy Efficiency for All report: Job Potential in Retrofitting Affordable Multifamily Housing. The briefing emphasized the large, untapped job creation potential in the residential retrofit market, particularly for efficiency upgrades to affordable housing. Our speakers also highlighted the importance of addressing disparities in access to those energy efficiency jobs. Women and people of color are under-represented in the efficiency sector; it’s important to break down employment barriers in this sector.
Donors can help us spread the word about such jobs by funding the writing, researching, and distributing of factsheets. Our ‘green jobs’ factsheet is one of our most popular; we update it every couple of years! Our latest factsheet on jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy added a section on ‘resilience’ jobs. It showcases the clean energy industry’s growth. Taken together, energy efficiency and renewable energy account for more than 3.6 million jobs in the United States, compared to just 86,202 for coal!
Danielle Calacino (pictured), recaps her experience as an intern:
Working for EESI has been life-changing. I came to EESI with excitement to learn more about environmental issues and what happens behind the scenes of a successful nonprofit. I am leaving with so many new ideas, friends, and a greater responsibility to better the planet. I had the opportunity to contribute to grant proposals and reports, attend our briefings and our 2019 Clean Energy EXPO on Capitol Hill, and contact donors.
My first day was unlike any other, but in the best way! I was immediately greeted with the utmost kindness, and was able to attend one of our briefings. I was so excited to jump right in! A favorite moment from that day was how the speakers at the briefing acknowledged my hard work, and were surprised when I mentioned it was my first day. My confidence in myself grew that day, and I have continued to learn more about myself and my abilities this summer.
Another favorite moment from this summer was discovering we have a monthly donor from my hometown in Utah! I reached out and wrote to this donor and, happily, I received an excited response. This donor was amazed to hear that someone from his hometown was at EESI. Making those connections and showing that EESI is an organization run by people who are dedicated to furthering climate solutions has been so fulfilling.
Thank you to all of our amazing donors who help make these experiences happen! I will always cherish the time I spent at EESI. Your giving is crucial in making our work possible, and to keep policymakers informed on environmental and energy solutions.
When you give, you make such a powerful impact in combating climate change!
You help speed up the adoption of clean energy and help make our communities more resilient to weather disasters.
You have made an impact already, but there is so much more we all can do!
Paul Haven, an EESI volunteer until his passing two years ago, made training the next generation of climate leaders part of his legacy.
His wife and college sweetheart, Jackie Haven, has fulfilled Paul’s desire to help pay EESI interns. Jackie has given EESI a gift of $7,000 to help fund EESI’s fall 2019 interns. Jackie told us, “Paul saw the value of EESI’s interns and he wanted to help fund them, so I am planning on making gifts from his estate to fund EESI’s interns for the next several years—as long as I can.”
As a result of this gift, and the generosity of people like YOU who give unrestricted gifts to EESI in larger numbers than ever, three interns will receive funding for the first time this fall! EESI is hoping to provide support to our interns in future semesters as well, if sufficient funding can be secured.
This generosity is a continuation of how Paul lived his life. After retiring from Verizon, Paul joined EESI as a development “intern” himself. He quickly became EESI’s transportation policy fellow while also managing and improving EESI’s database!
Passionate about climate change solutions, Paul wanted to make sure that he did all he could to address the existential threat of climate—for his own children and other youths. He was an invaluable contributor to EESI’s work for six years, and also a donor.
While unpaid interns are common in Washington, DC, EESI’s staff has been trying to find sufficient funding to pay our interns as part of our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and basic fairness—an overriding concern of Paul’s. We are so happy that Jackie and Paul’s gift—along with the gifts of so many of you—is making this possible for the first time. Paul would be thrilled to see intern funding become a reality. If you would like to join Paul and Jackie and other donors to EESI in making intern funding a reality going forward, please make a gift today!
Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO), a rural electric cooperative (co-op) serving the San Juan Islands in Washington state, recently worked with EESI to launch “Switch It Up,” a clean energy financing program. The program offers low-interest rate financing for energy upgrades that directly reduce fossil fuel use to any customer with good bill-pay history. Promoting the adoption of clean energy and efficiency in an equitable way is a big priority for EESI as a way to address climate change—and help consumers!
With EESI’s assistance, OPALCO was able to start a program to finance electrification upgrades for their members’ homes and businesses. For now, upgrades are focused on replacing propane-powered (fossil fuel) heating equipment with efficient ductless heat pumps and heat pump hot water heaters. The program also finances electric vehicle fast charging stations. The program has more than 60 projects in the pipeline after just four months.
Participants repay the cost of their upgrades over time through a fee on their energy bills. In most cases, participants immediately save money as the efficiency savings exceed the cost recovery fee. EESI recommended qualifying program participants based on their utility on-time payment history rather than their credit scores, to enhance the program’s equity and accessibility. To fund the project, OPALCO secured a $6 million zero-interest loan from the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy Savings Program.
In addition to OPALCO, EESI is assisting many other electric co-ops and municipal utilities around the country. Our goal is to improve energy efficiency for co-op members and stimulate local and equitable economic development! Donors make all of this possible, so thank you so much for your philanthropy.
And a special thanks to our Summer 2019 interns—all future leaders!
Mel Barnard
Danielle Calacino
Marco de Laforcade
Heather Luedke
Chloe Rogers
Katie Schneer
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute is an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus dedicated to finding innovative environmental and energy solutions.
You are needed now more than ever—show your commitment with a tax-deductible gift today and feel good knowing that EESI has again achieved the highest rating from Charity Navigator and been named a Top-Rated Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits!
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Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity