The Snowball Effect
Photo Courtesy of Robin Paone.
By Robin Paone. This story was collected as part of a 2023 open call for submissions. It is one of 17 stories that were selected to be published.
Busy weeks left me yearning to get outdoors to take advantage of the amazing October weather we’d been having. I headed up Big Mountain early. The air was cold and damp and the sun had barely risen.
The upward trail was slow going but I made steady progress. Trudging along I stared up at what I had left to climb – such a long steep hike!
When I paused and took in the scenery behind me - what I had accomplished so far - it was beautiful. The huckleberry leaves bright red. The larch fluffy yellow. Gold brush against the backdrop of the dark green pines. Whitefish Lake reflecting like a mirror. This made me think of our transition to clean energy.
We’ve been climbing up a mountain towards a clean energy economy. We look forward and see a steep uphill climb. But, when we pause and take a look around, we notice beautiful accomplishments. We have an explosion of clean energy products; electric snow blowers, electric school buses, even electric forklifts.
I kept stepping upward along the quiet path. No resting at The Bench. I didn’t want to chance changing my mind of reaching the top.
The last little strip of the hike paralleling the Ant Hill was steep. I was out of breath and had to slow down. I could see the top of the mountain was close and I was able to glance some spectacular views off to the side.
We have technology today to largely stop emitting climate pollution. Scientists tell us it will be the last few years of our uphill climb that will be most difficult. This is why we should rapidly build affordable clean energy now. At the same time, invest in research to solve the trickiest problems.
I made it to the top of Big Mountain! Not much to see except the motionless ski lifts and Summit House in a ghostly damp fog. But, stepping back onto the trail for the hike down - wow! The view of the valley stretched out to Flathead Lake. Trekking downward was a breeze.
We’ll experience the same excitement once we’ve gotten up the mountain of abundant clean energy. Our momentum will be strong. It will be an easy downhill glide to keep going and complete our transition away from pollution. Things will snowball!
Soon I reached the trailhead where I started. And speaking of snowballs, just then it started to sprinkle. The next morning the mountain was covered in snow.
Let’s not just stare at the daunting heights still to go our clean energy transition. Stop to take in the amazing views. Then, be inspired to keep going!
What is your next step? Paul Hawken said “From the earth’s point of view there’s no difference between a climate denier and someone who understands the problem but actually doesn’t do anything.”
Why not join an organization devoted to building political will for climate solutions? Let’s create an avalanche of voices that cannot be ignored.