The surface of our planet is approximately 197 million square miles, and on it is a  population of about 8.2 billion people. Within that space, according to a recent report by Climate Trace, the cities with the most emissions are Tokyo, New York, Houston, and Seoul. New York City, the largest city in the United States in terms of population, has over 8 million people and about 300 square miles of land.

 

Contrastingly, Traverse City is about 8 square miles of land, with a population of a little under 16 thousand people according to the 2023 US Census. The city has made several efforts to reduce their carbon footprint over the years, including a 2016 resolution to switch all municipal operations to clean energy sources by 2020, which they succeeded in doing.  However, in the worldwide fight to combat climate change and change to cleaner energy, how much do Traverse City’s efforts help? What is gained by focusing efforts on this area?[1] 

 

To explore these questions, I spoke to a member of SEEDs[2]  and a member of Traverse City Light and Power (TCL&P). Sarna Salzman, executive director of SEEDS Ecology and Education Centers, told the White Pine Press what she believes to be the case with smaller communities.

 

“I think everyone is relevant,” she explains, saying that everyone “uses an oversized quantity of planetary resources.”

 

“Every community on the planet is just a very small dot on the planet,” Salzman continued, “You need a lot of dots to add up to planetary change.”

 

Traverse City Light & Power’s Sustainability and Climate Initiative Analyst, Colin Hites, explained to the White Pine Press how the actions of the individual in any area are just as important as the bigger players.

 

“Decarbonization and climate change are such massive and important problems, it is easy to feel paralyzed by their size and to, falsely, believe that you as an individual or a small community don’t have the ability to affect change,” he expressed, “Communities, neighborhoods, and individuals have a vital responsibility in the fight as well.”

 

“When you break down the total emissions profile of the country, this becomes abundantly clear. 42 percent of the United States’ total emissions come from our homes and vehicles,” Hites explained, citing a statistic from Electrify: An Optimist’s Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future by Saul Griffith, “The cars we drive, how we heat and cool our homes, heat our water, wash and dry our clothes, and cook our food account for nearly half of the country’s emissions! These are all things that we can directly control as individuals and impact as community members.”

 

Hites made clear that regardless of the size of Traverse, the city plays a critical role in the large-scale effort to decarbonize.

 

“Traverse City has the potential to have an outsized impact on climate action by way of climate leadership,” he described, “Communities all around the country rely on one another to prove the viability of innovative, effective, and equitable decarbonization efforts. By being willing to be early designers and adopters of new and creative solutions, we can continue to lead the way towards decarbonization for other communities like us throughout the country.”

 

TCL&P is working on numerous projects regarding clean energy, including their climate action plan and their newly unveiled My Clean Choice program.

 

We are continuing working towards decarbonizing the utility operations while protecting grid resiliency as outlined in our Climate Action Plan. Renewable energy sources make up roughly 40% of the utility's energy mix currently, with daily work going into reaching our stated goal of 100% renewable by 2040,” Hites explained, “My Clean Choice includes things like our rebate programs, on-bill financing, education and outreach efforts, renewable energy portfolio, net billing program, and our EV charging network.”

 

He then explained how their rebate programs have modernized to reward decarbonization efforts, “Customers now are eligible for a wide range of electrification incentives… We feel that by incentivizing decarbonization efforts, we can play a role in helping the community make their homes and businesses healthier, safer, and more comfortable while lowering their carbon footprint.”

 

SEEDS has also taken clean energy steps, such as installing more solar energy.

 

“SEEDS has done a lot in education and action planning around energy efficiency and renewable energy, especially with facilities management over the years,” Salzman shared.

 

As for NMC students, Hites provided several ways that TCL&P can help students take initiative.

“If there are any student groups or individuals who may have ideas for ways in which TCLP can better aid the community in their decarbonization efforts, we would love to hear from [them],” he said, “if there are any NMC students or student groups who would be interested in an ongoing collaborative sustainability effort, we would be more than happy to play a part in supporting that initiative … I think there could be significant community benefit to an electrification advocacy program within NMC where students provide general information, raise awareness, and share success stories throughout the community.”

 

SEEDS offers many ways for NMC students to get involved, such as volunteering, jobs, donating and more, all of which you can find information for on their website. On occasion, they also offer apprenticeships and internships.

 

Tbh, I can't tell if I love or hate this intro. my goal was to put it into perspective, like explain why I'm asking the question I'm asking

What is SEEDs?