It’s time for the ACS blog! These will be a mix of explaining the connection between climate and disability, telling stories of what’s happening with ACS, and sharing info from our partners and collaborators. Guest blogs are always welcome, so reach out if you have an idea.
Now that the blog page is up, it’s time for an introduction.
I’m Alex Ghenis, the founder of Accessible Climate Strategies (ACS). I came to establish ACS partly from personal experience, partly for intellectual curiosity, and largely from wanting to make the world a more inclusive and safer place for people with disabilities. I’ve been working on climate and disability issues for my whole career, largely in the nonprofit sphere, and decided during the uncertain year of 2020 that direct consulting could help numerous partners and organizations. I’m excited for the opportunity to work with partners and make positive change in everything connected to climate and disability – and, as projects grow, expand ACS as a change-making entity.
Although I have a couple disabilities, my disability experience started before those came about. Throughout my childhood, I had family and friends with chronic health disabilities and, at one point, lived with a double amputee (my father’s then-girlfriend) who used a power wheelchair. I even watched a ramp being built into my family home before I knew ramps would become a central part of my independence.
At age 16, my affinity for extreme sports caught up to me when I broke my neck in a cycling accident, leaving me with no control of my legs and limited control of my torso and arms. I didn’t truly understand the gravity of privilege at the time, but I was quite lucky to have access to quality medical care and a supportive family environment. In less than a year, I felt comfortable in my new situation and was back at school with more focus, especially considering I wasn’t as distracted with riding bikes down mountains (or jumping bikes off buildings… and yes, I did that once).
One year after I returned home from the hospital, I was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley. I participated in their unique Disabled Students Residence Program (DSRP) alongside a dozen other students with disabilities. The program, which was funded both by the state and the University, provided personal attendant care and independent living training as we applied for social services and hired our own staff of attendants. I was taught to manage hiring, scheduling, a boatload of government paperwork, and my own personal finances so I wouldn’t lose healthcare and other benefits. “Adulting” can be hard for anyone, but there were extra hoops for me and my DSRP-peers just to stay healthy and independent. What we learned is that, with enough focus and effort, it’s plenty possible for us to live a happy and successful life. (That is, as Americans with access to social services and the wherewithal to put in that effort – another point of privilege I hadn’t yet fully digested.)
Once living in Berkeley, I was involved in disability rights activism throughout college. But what caught my academic interest was climate change. I explored climate change through the geography department, with a focus on human geography – how humans interact with each other, the built environment, and the national environment (and how the natural and built environments impact humans). The end of college involved a sobering revelation as I learned about methane in thawing permafrost: although we can try to reduce emissions, the “positive feedback loops” of climate change means the earth will continue to warm. It was clear to me that we can’t just reduce emissions – must also adapt. (Additionally, I looked into limited natural resources and had another revelation: as we adapt, we must do so in the right ways so we don’t run out of the resources we need to build a better world.)
My next step was grad school for public policy. Through connections and internships, I honed on energy storage as a career focus. We clearly needed renewables to reduce emissions and avoid running out of natural gas (which would devastate the electric grid) – but solar panels can’t produce stable energy on a partly cloudy day, and certainly not at night. Energy storage (basically huge batteries for the electric grid) could help even out that “intermittent” energy and turn daytime sunlight into nighttime electricity. It’s just as important for other forms of renewable energy, such as wind power. With that in mind, my first job was at the California Energy Storage Alliance, working on regulatory issues related to storage and the grid.
Soon into that work, I had an epiphany. “I charge my wheelchair at night, and storage is a must-have if we want stable 24-hour electricity. This isn’t just a climate issue. It’s a disability rights and independence issue.” With that in mind, I began a blog on the connections between climate, limited resources and disability. That project, titled “New Earth Disability,” eventually got picked up by the World Institute on Disability – where I began working and managed the NED initiative for 6 years. The work expanded to focus on everything from disaster readiness to transportation infrastructure to financial empowerment (because financial stability helps weather the uncertainties of climate change). My time at WID was fulfilling and I’m grateful for the partners and collaborators I met on the way, including amazing experts in the disability and climate worlds.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I decided to pursue consulting as a more dynamic opportunity to work with partners on climate adaptation and mitigation. Creating Accessible Climate Strategies and building a business has been an exciting journey. I mentioned that financial empowerment is an important part of climate resilience – and the experience of starting and managing consulting work has been enlightening around the economic strategies that people with disabilities can use to pave their own path while paying the bills.
ACS is already supporting individuals and organizations on disability rights in disaster readiness, transportation, housing and financial empowerment. Feel free to reach out if you are interested in working together, to make the world a better place.
Thank you for your interest in Accessible Climate Strategies. Looking forward to sharing more in future blogs!