Big government environmental policies are failing the planet. It’s time to think small | Opinion

Undermined by divisive politics and the failure to make progress of some of our most difficult challenges, environmental policy at the state and national level is a mess.

Much of our current environmental and energy policy is focused on big government programs – tax-funded subsidies for solar, mandates to buy electric vehicles, taxes on CO2 emissions. Now Governor Jay Inslee has announced he will override local objections to building more wind turbines and solar farms across Eastern Washington.

The problem is that many of those top-down policies are ineffective, and as Washington state consistently fails to meet its own CO2-reduction targets, the reflexive response of politicians is to adopt more restrictive and costly policies. Rather than acknowledging failure, they double down.

Rather than giving politicians more power, it is time to empower individuals to help the environment where government has failed. Rather than turning to big government, it is time to think small.

The opportunity that small, personal technologies now offer to help people save energy and reduce CO2 emissions while saving money is truly remarkable.

Smart thermostats are in many homes and hold the promise to significantly reduce energy use. A company called Ohm Connect uses smart thermostats to reward homeowners for using less electricity when prices are high. Using artificial intelligence, thermostats help keep homes comfortable by using energy when prices are low, allowing a home’s insulation to keep the home at the correct temperature when prices are high.

This also reduces CO2 emissions. Electricity prices are highest in the early evening when natural gas or coal plants are turned on for short periods of time to meet peak demand. These “peaker plants” are not only the most expensive to operate, they are also carbon-intensive. In Washington we have clean hydro power that can satisfy much of this peak demand, but we are still part of a larger grid and our costs and carbon-intensity increase during peak hours. Reducing electricity demand in the early evening not only saves money, it cuts CO2 emissions.

Ohm Connect estimates that smart thermostats could reduce electricity demand the equivalent of 30 Grand Coulee dams. While some people want to tear down dams, something as simple as smart thermostats could reduce the emissions from dozens of dams-worth of electricity.

Smart thermostats aren’t the only option. In my home, I have a box that measures the electricity to my house more than one million times a second to determine what appliances I am using and where I can save energy. The Sense monitor connects to my phone so I can see instantly how much electricity I am using (my dryer is using 5,200 watts as I write this) and then take steps to conserve energy.

As amazing as these new technologies are, some worry that they may be misused. The Pacific NW National Lab (PNNL) in the Tri-Cities has an excellent program designed to ensure that these in-home tools are not undermined by hackers. The Internet of Things Common Operating Environment at PNNL creates a platform to test connected technologies, help detect hackers, and reduce cybersecurity risks. Our ability to use devices that save us money and leave the planet better for future generations shouldn’t be destroyed by hackers. PNNL is helping make sure that doesn’t happen.

Energy and climate are not the only areas where small technologies can improve our stewardship of the planet. As I outline in my book Time to Think Small, small, personal technologies are helping reduce plastic in the ocean, protect threatened species, and prevent deforestation. Too often our impulse is to look to big government for solutions. But as we see in Washington state, government programs aren’t solving the most pressing problems. To make progress on the most difficult environmental problems we face today, it is time to think small.

This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 2:22 PM.