A Small Step

Climate change denial still exists, but only on the fringes, especially after a couple of years of wildfires, melting glaciers and powerful storm events have driven home the message that not only are its effects coming, they’re already here. Still, that’s progress, if only incremental: The debate has moved from whether or not we need to act, to simply how, and how quickly.

And it can be a challenge. A towering problem feels like it requires towering solutions, sweeping changes all at once. Those measures are often unwieldy. They don’t get done, and it feels like human beings are simply failing to address what likely will be the greatest dilemma of the 21st century.

But, in fact, just as the human race brought the planet to this place with a series of small choices, driven mostly by some combination of money, convenience and laziness, over generations, the damage can be repaired in similar fashion. It’s late to start, probably too late to avoid crisis altogether, but the steps can be small as long as they’re cumulative.

Ground was broken in September for a series of electric vehicle charging stations in Southampton Village. That said, it’s not a groundbreaking step: There are EV charging stations throughout the South Fork. Most went in without ceremony.

Village officials, though, deserve a nod for pronouncing, loudly, this step toward “going green.” The three stations are part of the Village Board’s strategy after declaring a “climate emergency” in a resolution earlier this summer, and they’ll charge a variety of electric vehicles. Demonstrating that green projects easily can be pro-business investments, these charging stations will attract electric vehicle drivers to the village, where they can plug in, shop and eat, and be fully charged at the end of a visit.

It’s a small step. Electric vehicles are demonstrably better for the environment, but fossil fuels remain the dominant infrastructure; creating a convenient system for using EVs is necessary to make them more than a novelty. The more convenient they become, the more they’ll begin to chip away at the mountain of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Southampton Village’s EV stations won’t solve anything alone. But it’s a small step toward a green future — and a tangible way for municipalities to do something more than just give lip service to the need to address climate change. Here’s hoping other towns and villages are paying close attention.