INTERVIEW WITH JOHN OPPERMANN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EARTH DAY INITIATIVE
What can people expect at this year’s Earth Day Festival?
Our annual festival is a perfect way to connect with what you can do in your own life to move things in a positive direction on climate, to green your lifestyle, or start volunteering with a great environmental group in your community. The festival features dozens of environmental organizations, climate campaigns, sustainable businesses, and green living experts. We try to represent the full spectrum of what’s happening under the umbrella of sustainability so whether you are interested in food, fashion, science, finance, technology, or really any other subject there will be something that resonates with you. In addition to all of these great organizations and experts, we have live entertainment, a series of live DJ sets, kids’ activities, a workshop space, and an art installation. There’s something for everyone.
What is Earth Day Initiative hoping attendees take away from this year’s event?
We’re at an interesting moment in our relationship with the environment and climate. We have made some progress in tackling climate change and our other environmental challenges. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act was a big positive step for climate action. It really is the biggest climate legislation in world history just given the scale of the US’s influence and power to move things in one direction or another. Yet we’re still so far from avoiding the worst effects of climate change. World leaders need to make an explicit commitment to transition off of fossil fuels if we want to avoid the climate chaos, extreme weather events, refugee crises, and other challenges that will come from a global increase in temperatures like we’ve never seen. So we have reason to hope but we have reason to be very anxious. We should combine those emotions to create action.
What can people do to take climate action in their own lives?
That’s a good question as we find that that’s really what people are clamoring for. People want to move things in a positive direction but they don’t know how. The challenges are overwhelming and potential solutions can be confusing. But there are so many things that people can do to make an impact and thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, you can save thousands of dollars on things like home energy-efficiency upgrades, buying an electric car, or installing renewable energy at your home. You can even get money for installing an electric car charging station. All of the tax credits coming out of the Inflation Reduction Act empower people to be part of the solution. You can improve your own life with these improvements to your home and heavily reduce your own climate footprint at the same time. It’s a win-win-win for climate action, for your lifestyle, and for your wallet. We just launched a Climate Action Guide on our website that walks you through all of these incentives and tax credits and connects you to resources to get going.
Do you find that people are really motivated by climate change? People want to make changes in their lives as a result of climate change?
I think there are a lot of motivations for people to take actions that will minimize their climate footprint. One is because people are concerned about the looming climate crisis. People don’t want to be part of the problem. If we can create systems, like the tax credits and incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, for people to be part of the solution then they will take the actions they need to take to make positive changes to their lives. Another factor is a personal concern about how they will handle the climat crisis. If we have renewable energy at h and more energy-efficient homes, o will be less disrupted in the face of weather events and other climat interruptions. And then peop viously motivated by the bi you can take advanta tax credits in the Inf duction Act can sav up to thousands of d per year and then ma the climate-friendly grades you can ma such as energy-effi ciency upgrades or in stallation of renewab energy at home will s you money indefinite after year going for
Where can people learn more about how to get involved?
Folks who want to attend our events or find out what they can do in their own lives can check us out on Instagram at @earth day initiative or at earth day initiative. org. You can check out our full Climate Action Guide on our website, including a personal calculator created by Rewiring America that will tell you just how much money you could save in the form of tax credits for your own electric car purchase or home energy upgrades.