Help Make the Planet Greener by Getting Online

On November 1, President Biden joined world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland. Broadband also is a “green strategy” that can help lessen impacts on the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is a key linchpin, as is housing, for a triple bottom-line strategy to promote sustainability: prosperous economy, quality environment, and community equity. A 2021 State Survey on Broadband Adoption by the California Emerging Technology Fund in partnership with the University of Southern California shows post-pandemic, most employed respondents said they expected to continue with a reduced or no commute. The survey showed that this pattern of telecommuting could reduce 55 percent of vehicle trips relative to pre-pandemic levels. Lack of affordable broadband, however, is an impediment for far too many Californians do not have high-speed internet connectivity at home. These findings call out the need for strategic planning and investments. Major new state and federal spending initiatives designed to speed progress, mega-projects such as modernizing power grids and building middle-mile internet connections will not happen overnight. Smarter, future-proofed planning now calls for deploying the most efficient networks, affordable home internet programs, forward-thinking government-private sector collaborations and an evolving willingness by corporations to take on stewardship of environmental and other societal challenges. We must be in this together. If we ignore broadband as a key factor in maintaining environmental, social and economic progress in California and beyond, we do so at the peril of ourselves and our next generations.

[Martha Escutia is vice president of Government Relations and Special Counsel at the University of Southern California and a founding member of the board of the California Emerging Technology Fund. Sunne Wright McPeak is President and CEO of California Emerging Technology Fund.]