On Wednesday, a Dutch court ruled that Royal Dutch Shell must slash carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 from 2019 levels, and a small, climate activist hedge fund stunned ExxonMobil by getting two of its candidates elected to the company's board of directors. The two major developments gave environmental consultant Deborah Brosnan of Deborah Brosnan & Associates cause for optimism regarding the fight against climate change. "This is a watershed event," she said. "I mean it was definitely a bad day for big oil, but it is part of a growing trend."