New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for “urgent, daring action” to help deliver on his pledge to reduce New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The Mayor asked us all to think about “the reckless way in which we live.”

Unfortunately, many of us will have to continue to live recklessly because much of how we operate on a daily basis is already set in place: Once the buildings and highways are constructed, for instance, options for reducing our energy consumptions narrow considerably.

While our individual choices can affect energy use, the decisions our city, state, and nation make on infrastructure such as heating, cooling, lighting and transportation have a dramatically larger impact, an impact that will easily persist for many decades.

Continue reading on The Daily Climate.