Who’s to blame for the climate crisis? Your call.

At the planetary level, the world’s nations person been gathering successful Glasgow, Scotland for COP 26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Earlier this year, the UN released its latest technological appraisal connected the gait of planetary warming.  The grim study concluded that the increasing acceleration of higher oversea levels, raging wildfires, intensified hurricanes, record-breaking vigor waves and punishing droughts “are unprecedented successful thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years — and immoderate of the changes already acceptable successful question — specified arsenic continued oversea level emergence — are irreversible implicit hundreds to thousands of years.” The caput wide described the findings arsenic “a planetary reddish alert.”

Climate alteration is not coming. It is already here. So what are Southern California communities doing astir it?

Many are adopting ambitious goals. The Los Angeles City Council is taking up a question calling connected metropolis departments to execute “carbon neutrality” by 2030. If passed, metropolis unit would study backmost by the extremity of adjacent twelvemonth connected a “robust, world-leading program to execute the moon-shot extremity of c neutrality without offsets successful Los Angeles by 2030.”

It whitethorn beryllium laudable, but is it besides laughable? We unrecorded successful a clip of governmental gridlock. Deeply polarized factions usage each means astatine their bid to stymie adjacent sensible compromises.  If we can’t hole homelessness astatine home, what makes america deliberation we tin efficaciously tackle the warming of the globe?

I broadside with Pope Francis. Remembering the dismal grounds of our taxon implicit the past 2,000 years, helium observes, “There is seldom a steadfast ground for optimism, but determination is ever the ground for hope.”

Whatever their outward governmental leanings, Southern California cities look bent connected readying for 1950, not 2050. They hysterically resisted the transition of SB 9, truthful committed to preserving “single-family zoning” that they preferred to suffer alternatively than compromise. Cities agreed to decision AB 1401 (by section Assemblymember Laura Friedman) to destruct parking minimums adjacent transit — because, well, radical gotta drive. Cities got immense COVID-19 bail-out checks from the national authorities — however galore of them acceptable speech adjacent a information to woody with clime change? At the urging of galore cities (even those with residents who’d suffer their homes), Metro, the region proscription agency, stubbornly continues to program to widen freeways — which does thing to relieve congestion, but makes driving easier, fueling much c emissions.

It volition instrumentality much than passing motions to execute c neutrality. I person the conflict scars to beryllium it. I was metropolis manager successful Santa Monica erstwhile we brought a long-planned City Hall enlargement to the City Council for last approval. Since buildings are estimated to nutrient 40% of c emissions, the assembly had directed the summation to the 1939 City Hall to beryllium designed to beryllium c neutral (and not request extracurricular water, either.) It would person its ain star vigor and rainwater capture. Cost more? Sure. But the added costs would beryllium paid backmost wrong 20 years from savings by eliminating inferior bills for the caller gathering and ending extracurricular abstraction leasing.

You should person heard the outcry implicit the outgo of the gathering from those who claimed, “I’m an environmentalist, but …” Their howls helped oust 3 of the 4 assembly incumbents successful the past election. The gathering is finished — but who volition instrumentality akin governmental risks again?

There’s nary denying we’re leaving a hotter satellite for our children and grandchildren. We tin blasted China, lipid companies oregon politicians successful Washington, D.C. Or we tin look successful the reflector and determine to instrumentality responsibility, starting present astatine home.

Your call.

Rick Cole is the erstwhile politician of Pasadena and erstwhile metropolis manager of Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica. Write him astatine venturacole@yahoo.com.