Growing the ‘Low Hanging Fruit’

Each quarter, a group of students, faculty, and staff at WWU convene an environmental justice reading group to read and discuss recent texts. This quarter (Winter 2020) the group is reading Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything. The following entry reflects one of our group discussions.

Growing the ‘Low Hanging Fruit’

By: Sarah Parker, Mikaela Keator and Katie Ramirez

 

In Chapter 6 of Naomi Klein’s “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate”, Klein refers to the theory of “low-hanging fruit” as it applies to climate change. This theory holds that it’s often wiser and more effective to focus on easily attainable goals and leave the tougher fights for later or not address them at all (Klein, 2014). Although there are surely many valid arguments against this theory and examples of ways it’s been misused, it can be a very strategic and effective method in making change. In the climate change discussion, we must focus on turning more issues into “low-hanging fruit” by re-framing the way that we talk about policies relating to climate change. Rather than expending tremendous effort trying to convince each and every person that climate change is happening and that taking action against it is a priority, we must talk about issues in a way that resonates with the values of more people, which might mean not talking about climate change at all.

 

Texas is a great example of a community that has successfully re-framed an issue in a way that resonates with the different values and interests of its public. The state, which historically has been known for its booming oil and gas industry, now has a well-established wind power industry (Drouin, 2015; Dart & Milman, 2017). Last year, the state saw wind power infrastructure produce more of its electricity than coal, according to a recent CNN article (Prior, 2019). This shift to support for wind power did not happen because Texas residents reached a consensus over a need to shift to renewable energy or an agreement over the need to address climate change. In fact, the issue of climate change is rarely mentioned in conversations about wind energy in Texas. Rather, the push for renewable energy has been framed as an opportunity for economic gains and energy independence (Drouin, 2015). The industry has the support of both liberal and conservative politicians in the state, and the government has introduced new policies and incentives to improve and increase wind energy infrastructure (Drouin, 2015). In an interview with the Guardian, a Texas resident, Greg Wortham, said “’You don’t stand up around here and say, ‘yee haw, I’m green!.. If you’re for environmental you talk about energy security, national security, good business. What we all know and can sort of secret handshake to each other, the ‘we save the earth’ kind of stuff—we can’t say out loud because it defeats the whole thing” (Dart & Milman, 2017). By being strategic in the way we frame climate change policies, we can make great strides in addressing climate change while not necessarily talking about climate change at all.

 

I hope that the city of Bellingham, WA looks to Texas as an example of success as the city moves forward in its Climate Protection Action Plan. This plan charts a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 2050. As our local decision-makers move forward with creating new policies, they must try to understand the diverse values and interests held by the Bellingham public and try to shape policies in a way that resonates with multiple perspectives. By doing this, we might find that the fruit are hanging lower and lower…

 

Hyperlink: https://www.cob.org/services/environment/climate/Pages/program.aspx

 

 

Bibliography

Dart, T., & Milman, O. (2017, February 20). “The wild west of wind”: Republicans push Texas as unlikely green energy leader. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/20/texas-wind-energy-green-turbines-repbublicans-environment

Drouin, R. (2015, April 9). How Conservative Texas Took The Lead in U.S. Wind Power. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from Yale Environment 360 website: https://e360.yale.edu/features/how_conservative_texas_took_the_lead_in_us_wind_power

Klein, N. (2014). This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. The Climate. Simon and Schuster.

Prior, R. (2019, July 25). “Wind Is Outpacing Coal as a Power Source in Texas for the First Time”. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/us/texas-wind-energy-trnd/index.html.