Energy experts discuss sustainable action at USC's Earth Day Climate Forward Conference
While California is considered a trailblazer in the world of green energy, experts said there is still a lot of room for growth.
Climate change, wildfires, air pollution, it all seems to get worse every year.
"To me, California feels like the United States, but 30 years into the future," Joe Arvai, director of the Wrigley Institute of Environmental Studies said.
Arvi was also the moderator of this year's University of Southern California's Earth Day Climate Forward Conference, a place where industry experts dialogue and commit to sustainable actions.
"I've been obsessed with sustainability for as long as I can remember," Mary Powell, the CEO of Sunrun, said.
Sunrun is the largest solar installer in the United States. Powell shared the stage with Patricia Poppe, CEO of the utility company Pacific Gas and Energy. While the two of them might seem to be on opposite ends of the energy spectrum, they stated that they had the same goals.
"There's not a she-win, we-win program," Poppe said. "There's an all of us win when we save the planet and we're not doing it fast enough."
PG&E has vowed to go green and bury powerlines to reduce fire risk. Alternative energy companies have committed to better accessibility.
Whether it's energy, water or any other resource consumption, experts said we must be the catalyst to change.
"A customers lead a customer led revolution to EV's, right? A customer lead revolution to solar in storage, a customer led revolution toward sustainability and sustainable choices, I really feel that is way quicker than politicians," Powell said.
