Local Economist Likes Carbon Fee
MY NAME is Betsy Fadali. I was born in Reno and have lived here most of my life, getting two of my three degrees at UNR. I work as an economist at the Nevada Housing Division and am married to an Egyptian electrical engineer. Together, we have a son and daughter, and a two-year-old granddaughter.
The tepid Reno winter of 2015 focused my attention on climate—and I say “winter” with some exaggeration. I had started hiking periodically with a Meet-up Group, and as our treks went from fall into winter the weather just kept staying warm! So, we kept hiking. It was great, but it seemed weird as December turned to January. Then, in the new year, I went skiing up at Alpine Meadows on a little hamster-run-type loop of manmade snow. But there was no snow to the right or to the left of this little run, just bare granite. Turned out, that year the snowpack hit a 500-year low that was very scary for me to experience. I knew about climate change but suddenly I felt I was living it here and now. Then I’d think about my son saying he wanted to have children. Between that and the forlorn “winter” of 2015, I felt heartsick.
One day after a discussion with my friend Kyle, who had embraced a radical lifestyle, living without electricity and a car and devoting his life to environmental and neighborhood activism, I came home thinking, Kyle’s completely revolutionized his life. So, what am I doing to fight climate change?
It is a relief and a joy to have fellow travelers who understand the urgency of climate change.
Since my Ph.D. is in Resource Economics, placing a price on carbon was uppermost in my mind when thinking about how best to get quickly off fossil fuels. Is there any group supporting a carbon price, I wondered? With the magic of Google, it was a matter of a few seconds until I found Citizens’ Climate Lobby. As I read about the group, I found my Quaker values reflected in CCL’s respectful, nonpartisan approach. I immediately decided to join the local chapter. But there wasn’t a Reno group. I hoped someone would magically appear to lead one since I knew I didn’t have time for that! But climate change was not waiting, so I decided to step forward and get the Reno Chapter of CCL group up and running.
I’ve had a rewarding time volunteering for CCL. The volunteers have been some of the smartest, most talented, and most self-motivated people I’ve ever been involved with. It is a relief and a joy to have fellow travelers who understand the urgency of climate change. Each time anyone of the group makes a step forward by holding a citizen lobby meeting with our members of congress, publishing a letter to the editor, getting sign-ups tabling at Earth Day, putting on events at UNR, or getting a businessman’s endorsement of the Energy Innovation Act, I feel we are making our voices heard, and helping to tip the balance towards solutions that meet the magnitude of the problem. In that, I have found hope that I can make a difference.