Saratoga Springs’ CFL Community Challenge

Posted September 2, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Carbon Management, Climate, Climate Science, Community Action, Energy Efficiency, Fundraising, Global Warming, Planning, Research and Development, Solutions
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By Wylie Brown
Guest Blogger
Clean Air-Cool Planet 

CCF

The Community CFL Challenge in Saratoga Springs, NY, was a multi-tiered campaign that sought to build community-wide engagement around the procurement of more energy efficient lighting. Our goal was to market a win-win proposition for all stakeholders that participate–local commerce benefits, individuals save money, we lessen our individual and collective environmental footprint, and perhaps most importantly, we would act together as neighbors towards a common good.

The campaign was spearheaded by the Local Living Guide, which is eager to share the benefits and responsibilities with business, non-profit, volunteer groups and individuals. The campaign would not have been successful if not for Allerdice Hardware, the Sustainability Challenge Working Committee at Skidmore, and a number of individuals who put forth their time and energy to make this campaign successful.

Saratoga Springs business card

Saratoga Springs' business card!

 Our approach was to engage local residents as inspired by the organizing models developed by David Gershon. Our strategy was a block by block strategy that leverages a basic need of humans: to connect with our neighbors. We armed what we called “block leaders” with the tools to powerfully engage their neighbors with minimal effort and maximum success. This method of communicating was successful because it allowed neighbors to get to know one another while doing good for their community. The biggest challenge we ran into was finding individuals willing to take up the role of block leader. The 24 individuals who gave up their time for this campaign were friends and community members that we knew to be active members in the local environmental movement.

Throughout this campaign we engaged 23 Block Leaders. There were 93 orders at Allerdice and 47 bulb orders online. That’s a total savings for the residential community of $9,437.12 and a total reduction in C02 footprint of 90,327 lbs (40.97 tons!). Although we haven’t reached our primary goals for this campaign, with the door hangers left we plan to continue reaching out to block leaders and distributing light bulbs into this fall.

Although our campaign has not yet reached its original goals for carbon reduction, we have established a strong network for future success. As a pilot program the Community CFL Challenge leaves us with CCFopportunities to refine our strategies and continue reaching out to our community. With the money provided to us by Clean Air-Cool Planet, we now have the resources to continue searching for block leaders and greater success. We are very grateful for the opportunity that CA-CP has given us and we will continue working hard to create a better, cleaner, and more sustainable community in Saratoga Springs.

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A New Class of Leaders

Posted August 27, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Campus Climate Action, Carbon Management, Climate Science, Community Action, Research and Development, climate education, green jobs, student climate action, sustainability
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By Claire Roby
Carbon Accounting Coordinator,
Clean Air-Cool Planet

Claire Roby

Last week we held the closing reception for our third year of the Clean Air-Cool Planet Summer Climate Fellowship program. We had great projects and Fellows in 2008 and 2009, but I think something truly special happened with this year’s six fellows.       

As always at the conclusion of a summer’s Fellowship program, the staff at CA-CP and invited guests heard the results of each fellow’s project, from analyzing life cycle data for CA-CP’s CHEFS project to working with our partner VHB to research how innovative carbon management solutions can be transferred from one sector to another. You can read more about each of their projects here.       

Like their predecessors in “classes” past, this year’s Fellows – in addition to the valuable on-site job experience – also received several different opportunities for professional development, from presentations by CA-CP’s Brooks Yeager on short-lived climate forcers to a discussion led by CA-CP’s Dr. Anne Stephenson and former climate fellow Dovev Levine on how to choose a graduate program.

Anne with the 2010 Fellows

But the most fulfilling part for me, as a former Fellow and a current CA-CP staff member, was coming back three months after meeting the summer fellows to witness their transformation into a team of six committed climate professionals. At the closing reception in Portsmouth’s 100 Club, the six of them presented our office with a beautiful potted plant—autographed in sharpie! They thanked CA-CP for the mentorship and support they had received over the summer, and the next morning most of them launched an impromptu trip to Boston to hang out with each other for the weekend.

Perhaps it was the camp-like initiation they underwent back in June at Laudholm Farm in Wells, Maine; maybe it was the smaller “class” size; maybe it was that five of the six worked on projects close to Portsmouth and so got to know and spend time with each other. Whatever the case, this group “clicked” in a way that truly made their work and experience “larger than the sum of its parts.”

The Fellows with CA-CP staff

This is not, of course, to take away in anyway from the amazing work of our past fellows – several of whom joined us on the 19th for the soiree send off for this year’s group. We still cite the work of our Fellows past – and enjoy hearing of their continued successes, which only serves to confirm Clean Air-Cool Planet’s good fortune in having found, year after year, talented, bright and energetic young people for our Climate Fellows program.  

I think I can speak for our whole office when I say that we were delighted to send this year’s Fellows off as a new class of trained, inspired young climate professionals. While each of the CA-CP and partner programs are delivering solutions to global warming, contributing to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, what is even more important is leveraging these programs to create a cadre of the experienced professionals necessary to implement the economy-wide reductions and adaptations we so vitally need.

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Community Catalyst Fund helps Groton student garden expand and grow

Posted August 18, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Campus Climate Action, Community Action, Food, Fundraising, Gardening/horticulture, Recycling, Solutions, climate education, composting, environment, garden-based education, growing season, organic food, student climate action, sustainability, waste
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Community Catalyst FundBy Chad Devoe
Guest Blogger
Groton Central School, Groton, NY   

    

Groton Central School is a rural district in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, with an enrollment of about 1,000 students. 2010 represented the third growing season for the GCS “Student Farm”. A year prior to its inception, we started a school-wide composting program (“Rot-in-Groton”) and composted on-site behind the school.

People started asking what would be done with the finished compost and a school garden seemed like the logical answer so students could see and take part in the complete recycling loop. We started with a 25’ x 25’ plot of grass that was roto-tilled into a decent garden. It was a rough and weedy start but it paved the way for future improvements. The garden attracted many volunteers since this was (and still is) the only community garden in Groton. 

 
“Rot-in-Groton” Composting Video (dated back a few years)

Teachers and students volunteered their time as well as the Groton Girl Scout Troop, Rotary Club, and Youth Department to improve this valuable asset. Some produce was (and still is) used at the student-run Groton Farmer’s Market. Most produce, however, is planned so that harvest occurs in spring and fall so as much food as possible is used in the school cafeteria, offering students fresh and local organic produce at no additional charge to them. This year we are providing lettuce, spinach, garlic, melons, string beans, peas, winter/summer squash, beets, corn, potatoes, peppers, onions, and tomatoes to the cafeteria. Our food service director is very supportive and appreciative of our efforts since he is a gardener himself. Some preparation will be done by study hall students this year to minimize any extra work for the food service workers. This is a great learning experience in itself.   

After two successful growing seasons, it was time for an expansion of the garden so that we could make a larger impact on cafeteria food choices. Clean Air-Cool Planet’s  Community Catalyst Fund helped bring about major improvements this year including a 20’ hoop house so we could extend our growing season by at least two months, a garden expansion to 45’ x 45’ with 23 raised beds, a new fence and gate, and the beginning of a fruit orchard. Additionally, the high school has added a 1/2 year science/health elective titled “Food, Land, and You”.   

Raised Garden Bed

Learn more about raised garden beds from Earth Easy

 This spring-semester class will focus on gardening and our food supply through the lens of sustainability. Funding will go towards purchasing supplies for this hands-on class including canning materials, fresh produce and ingredients for healthy cooking recipes, and seeds. These improvements would not have been possible without this funding! Future plans are to expand the fruit orchard, establish a bed of asparagus, and further integrate garden-based education into the curriculum.

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Think of the Children! How I explained global warming to kids.

Posted August 13, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Carbon Management, Climate, Climate Science, Community Action, Global Warming, Planning, Solutions, climate education, fossil fuels, sustainability, weather
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Harry AlperBy Harry Alper
Climate Fellow,
Clean Air-Cool Planet
 
 
 
  

Harry Alper is earning an undergraduate degree in anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is involved in environmental justice efforts and “grateful for every chance to ride bikes with friends and to serve dinner on my front porch.”  He will be working this summer on The Seacoast Science Center’s Carbon Challenge – helping the Center to make the Challenge part of their climate education offerings. He will evaluate and assist in the successful cultivation of Northeast Science Center Collaborative.   

  

 My work as Clean Air – Cool Planet Climate Fellow this summer has taken place in and around the bustling, unpredictable, and always fun Seacoast Science Center. 

I had the opportunity to discuss global warming with dozens of curious young visitors. That opportunity was a serious responsibility, and, in explaining global warming, I found I had to balance certain goals. For their own sake, these children need to understand that global warming is serious and that immense efforts are needed to prevent the worst effects. On the other hand, I would not be helping if I sent a child away to suffer from global warming nightmares:

Heatwaves and DroughtSea-level rise and floods 

 My goals were to keep it simple, and to give the children the tools they need to identify sources of global warming and solutions to global warming, all while maintaining optimism. Let me share the explanation offered at the front of a global warming activity booklet I wrote for that audience.  

All over the world, weather that used to act ordinary is starting to act strange. In general, temperatures are getting warmer. This is called global warming and it is bad news. We need ordinary weather patterns and a healthy environment in order to live safely and happily.   

The good news it that we can help stop global warming. One reason that global warming is happening is that people like you and me are putting too much carbon into the air.   

Vostok Graph

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are higher today than they have been over the last half-million years or longer

Carbon is an element and it is everywhere on earth – it’s in oceans, rocks, the air, and more. Carbon in the air acts like a blanket for the earth, it captures heat from the sun and holds it in. Some carbon in the air is natural and important, but having too much carbon in the air is like sleeping under a big blanket on a hot night – it’s uncomfortable.   

We put carbon into the air when we take oil, coal, and natural gas out of the ground and burn them for energy, putting their carbon into the air. Oil, coal, and natural gas are all made of carbon and they are called “fossil fuels.”   

Carbon is safe if it stays in the ground. But it can be dangerous when there is too much in the air, because it makes the globe too warm. Burning carbon fossil fuels takes carbon out of the ground and puts it in the air. That’s why we need to burn less carbon fossil fuel.   

Using electricity can also put carbon in the air because most electricity comes from power plants that burn carbon fossil fuels. We use electricity all the time, in light bulbs, computers, and refrigerators… everywhere!   

The best way to help stop global warming is to use less carbon fossil fuel and less electricity. That means putting less carbon into the air, and keeping our planet safe and healthy.   

Still confused? Try watching this quick, yet informative video about the science of global warming. This link will direct you to CA-CP’s YouTube Video Box application, where you can view the clip.   

How would you explain global warming to a 10-year-old person?   

Now you have find a 10-year-old person and try. Use roughly the same explanation I use, or use your own.   

Really. Find a young person and have a conversation about global warming. Report back in the comments.   

I can’t wait to hear from you.

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It’s hard to take a vacation from climate change…

Posted August 9, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Advocacy, Arctic, Climate, Climate Change Skeptics, Climate Science, Fuel Efficiency, Global Warming, Recycling, climate education, environment, fossil fuels, sustainability, travel, waste
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Ben LakeBy Ben Lake
Climate Fellow,
Clean Air-Cool Planet

 
 
 

Ben Lake,  a recent graduate of Bowdoin College and a resident of Portland, Maine, is a Clean Air-Cool Planet Climate Fellow this summer.  He is working on Municipal Energy Efficiency and Cooperative Purchasing Planning with municipalities in the Greater Portland Council of Governments to help them identify and reduce their energy use and emissions.  A biology major at Bowdoin, involved in campus energy and sustainability issues, he is interested in addressing climate change and environmental sustainability by conserving resources through waste reduction and energy efficiency improvements.


Most people go on vacation to forget about work.   However, for many folks in the environmental field, the wide-reaching connections to climate change aren’t easily left at the office.  I recently departed Maine for a week of backpacking in California, and three experiences during the trip reminded me how much climate change is intertwined with so many aspects of our lives.

The first hit me while traveling across the country.  Over the course of my trip I took a bus to the airport, three planes to California, a rental car with four occupants to the mountains, and a packed shuttle bus to the hiking trailhead (then repeated all of it on the way back). 

Fossil fuel-based transportation is responsible for nearly thirty percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions, so I knew this trip would have a sizeable “footprint,” and I figured the planes would mostly be to blame.  As it turns out, driving in an average car by yourself actually has a bigger long-term climate impact than covering the same distance in a jetliner.   Luckily, traveling by carpool, bus or train are still much better options than either planes or single-occupancy vehicles – so, interestingly, driving with my party and our gear in that little rental SUV was probably less emissions-intensive per person per mile than the airline trip out.  

Unfortunately, even with public transit and alternative transportation, it’s really hard to move yourself and your things quickly over great distances without putting carbon into the air.  Breaking news, I know – but it’s an especially cruel pill to swallow when you’re heading to a remote, beautiful outdoor location that’s threatened by climate change, and your travel is contributing to it.

Which brings me to my second climate change connection –the snowfields of the High Sierra.  We were headed to the Minaret region of the California Sierras (map), and given the depressingly-regular news about receding arctic sea ice and worldwide glacial melting, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  As it turns out, this year’s snowpack was about forty-percent greater than average, and the snowfields were big.  Bigger, in fact, than 16 years ago, when my father and uncle were hiking through the same area:

Banner/Ritter Valley – July 1994

Banner/Ritter Valley – July 1994

Snowfall and snowpack are highly variable on year to year basis – snow patterns in Donner Pass in the northern Sierras over the last century illustrate this nicely, and help to remind us that weather is not the same as climate.  For me, this was a good reminder of the following: just as you can’t use a below average snow year to prove that climate change is occurring, you also can’t use a single above average snow year to claim that climate change isn’t happening.

Banner/Ritter Valley – July 2010

Banner/Ritter Valley – July 2010

Finally, while killing time between flights in H-J Atlanta International airport during my return, I went looking for a recycling bin for the little #5 plastic water cup I’d received on the incoming flight.  Given recent research showing that the life-cycle emissions of what we buy and dispose of may account for over forty percent of total US emissions, I wanted to do my part to reduce them.  So, I became a little frustrated when all I could find were large trash compacting bins interspersed throughout the terminal.

It turned out these are for both trash and recycling.  The airport’s collection service separates the recyclable material from the waste, and sends them each on their respective way.  It sounds like it has the potential to decrease the portion of the airport’s refuse sent to landfill by 70%, which is great.  I’m not sure if I’m a convert yet (apparently contamination of recyclables by waste is a challenge) but it’s an intriguing idea, and hopefully may help spur innovation to reduce the waste we produce, and its contribution to climate change.    

In conclusion: 1) Yes, climate change has connections to many parts of our lives; and 2) no, thinking about them didn’t ruin my trip.  Ultimately, I hope that being aware of these connections helps us all to be a little more mindful about our own daily choices and their impact, and make better choices in the future.  That’s a kind of change I’m happy to support.

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Another “Inconvenient Truth”: Partisan Positions on Climate Change

Posted August 4, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Advocacy, Carbon Management, Climate, Climate Change Skeptics, Climate Science, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, Policy, Research and Development, Solutions, government planning, sustainability
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Corey JohnsonBy Corey Johnson
Climate Fellow,
Clean Air-Cool Planet

  

  

Corey Johnson is going into his senior year at UNH as a business administration major with a minor in sustainable living. He has collaborated with CA-CP in the past on the development and implementation of the Small Town Carbon Calculator (STOCC). Most recently, he has been involved with research for a business sustainability textbook, and he will be helping local businesses that are member of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce reduce their environmental impact.

The recent decision to abandon Senate conversations on the climate bill brought heartbreak to the proponents of federal climate legislation in the US. At long last, the US Senate was prepared to discuss major legislation to cap carbon emissions, a would-be milestone in the battle to reduce the threat of global warming. Of course, the only thing standing in the way: lack of Republican support.

It’s not news that the GOP is, by and large, against the current version of cap and trade legislation. Despite my disappointment with the Senate’s decision, I find it hard to express too much frustration with the party’s propensity to stick together on the issue. After all, that’s what a party does, right? If its members didn’t generally feel the same about the majority of policy issues, it wouldn’t be much of a party at all.

However, we must draw a distinction between a party’s stances on policy issues versus scientific issues. The GOP’s skepticism of cap and trade is VERY different (and quite honestly, more justifiable) than its tendency to discredit climate change science. Does it even make sense for a political party to have a unified position on a science-based claim? I certainly don’t think so, but a recent survey suggests that politics may be blurring the line between science and opinion.

Politics and Science

 

It’s nice to see that the majority of each party recognizes the existence of climate change. What’s troubling is the discrepancy between Democrats and Republicans regarding its cause. When scientific consensus points to fossil fuel use as the main driver of global warming, how is it that most Republicans oppose the idea of anthropogenic climate change and Democrats do not? Even more puzzling is the fact that Democrats and Republicans perceive different levels of agreement in the scientific community. Aren’t we talking about the same scientists here?

It seems all too clear that American politics has fallen victim to the confirmation bias. According to a recent Yale “Climategate” publication, politicians (both Democrats and Republicans alike) “are often inclined to accept data and interpretations that appear to validate their prior views …. By contrast, people tend to view with suspicion data that contradict their preferences and beliefs.” One thing is clear: This line of thinking will get us nowhere, fast.

Unfortunately, our political system fuels a “herded sheep” mentality that encourages our political leaders to run with the pack. But can we blame them? When there’s so much at stake and so much to lose, can we expect them to challenge the status quo of their party and encourage a critical (and scientifically justified) shift in the way our country operates?

Well, yes.

You know, it wasn’t too long ago that science guided Congress towards a cap and trade approach to reducing air pollution. No, not Waxman-Markey. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments called for a market-based cap on SO2 in what the Economist called “the greatest green success story of the past decade.”

EDF - Cap and Trade Success Graph

The Acid Rain Experience: Unprecedented Environmental Protection at Unmatched Cost Efficiency

Science called for action, Congress responded, and it worked! Weird, huh?

In order for the US to address the very real consequences of climate change, we must learn to evaluate issues independently from how we’re expected to think. It’s one thing to formulate policy stances based on political affiliations. However, science should not (and can not) follow party lines. Plain and simple.

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The Future of Carbon “Food-Printing” Begins with Beer!

Posted August 2, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Advocacy, Carbon Management, Climate Science, Energy Efficiency, Food, Global Warming, Media, Research and Development, green jobs, sustainability
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Julie MunroBy Julie Munro
Climate Fellow,
Clean Air-Cool Planet

 


Julie Munro is working with Claire Roby in Oklahoma on Charting Emissions from Food Services (CHEFS) and Greening Tulsa. A new graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., she was “very active in campaigning for campus sustainability and I helped to establish a community garden, farmers’ market, and Clean Energy Revolving Fund on campus.

In my last post, I encouraged readers to start considering and making consumption choices based on the lifetime environmental impacts of their diets.

Now, a confession: In today’s world, where nearly everything on the grocery store shelf seems to be five times removed from what it once was, it can be a struggle just to figure out what is in our food, let alone where these components originated. Plus, have you ever tried to ask a company to divulge this information?  Good luck… you would think you were demanding classified government secrets!

So, my apologies … I always was a trickster! But don’t fret yet- there is good news in the environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) world and I’m happy to report that it begins with two of my favorite beverages- Tropicana Orange Juice and Fat Tire beer!

Am I saying that drinking beer will make you a more credible environmentalist? Potentially. In the past year, both Pepsi Co. and New Belgium Brewery (the makers of Tropicana and Fat Tire, respectively) have released certified carbon footprint data for the products. Both of these companies have paid private consulting firms to do the actual nitty-gritty environmental calculating. While Pepsi Co. chose to work with the UK-based Carbon Trust, the New Belgium Brewery enlisted the help of The Climate Conservancy, a California non-profit with the objective of creating a “consumer driven and market-based mechanism that promotes consumption of products with low GHG intensity.”

While the carbon footprint data for Tropicana and Fat Tire has been among the first released, this information for other products seems imminent. You’ve probably heard rumblings of Walmart’s July 2009 announcement that it would require its suppliers to provide carbon emissions information that could be communicated to customers through a label much like the nutrition labels on food products. If you’re like me, you heard about this initiative, were pleasantly shocked by and maybe a little suspicious of Walmart’s desire to make a green statement, and then disappointed by the lack of any visible change a year later.

After working this summer with LCA data and talking to the people who are helping corporations like Walmart make this goal a reality, a (small) piece of my heart goes out to the retail behemoth. A supply chain –which Walmart claims is responsible for more than 90 percent of its products emissions – cannot be made instantly transparent. On the other hand, if Walmart can’t succeed in this undertaking, how can we expect smaller businesses with fewer resources to accomplish this feat?

Wal-Mart Pledges to Cut Supply Chain Emissions 20M Metric Tons by 2015

In truth, it’s not really the specific numbers from the Tropicana and Fat Tire LCA studies that are of utmost importance (but then again, would a company really want to release information that would earn them bad press for horrible environmental behavior?). Instead, the completion of these reports demonstrates that companies that want to determine and report on their carbon emissions have new benchmark standards.

In its carbon footprint report for Fat Tire, The Climate Conservancy cited the “inevitable transition to a low carbon economy.” Well, yes, the transition is inevitable, but the timeline is up to us. Both the consulting expertise and corporate willingness are evident. As consumers, we can make that transition faster by continually asking questions and demanding answers.  After all, carbon footprint data shouldn’t be as hard to uncover as those government secrets!

In the mean time (as you’re reminding corporations and store managers how important carbon footprint data is to you), don’t forget to show your appreciation to the companies who are on the forefront of this movement. That’s right, you have my permission – go find some Fat Tire!!

Comments: 8 Comments

We’re talking to you. About money.

Posted July 26, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Advocacy, Carbon Management, Climate, Community Action, Fundraising, Global Warming, Planning, Solutions, climate education, environment, local energy
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By Bill Burtis
Manager, Communications and Special Projects,
Clean Air-Cool Planet


It doesn’t often happen that when you offer people money, they don’t show up.  But that’s exactly the position we at Clean Air-Cool Planet find ourselves in, and we’re not going to take it anymore.

So, you are going to hear from us.  If you are someone who knows people, people in small towns, people working on sustainability programs, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, local climate initiatives, we’re going to ask you to help us spread some good news:

We have funds for local energy, climate, and sustainability efforts

Through a generous grant from the Overbrook Foundation, we set up some 4 months ago the Community Catalyst Fund to distribute grants – $250, $500, $1000, $2000 – to local groups in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.  The idea was that a little bit of money could make a big difference, spring boarding the work of an organization to a new level.

Community Toolkit
What are communities doing to reduce their contribution to climate change? What can your community do? Try out our green toolkit!

  Read the rest of this post »

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Don’t Mention It

Posted July 16, 2010 by coolplaneteditor
Categories: Advocacy, BP, Carbon Management, Climate Change Skeptics, Climate Science, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, Gulf Coast, Policy, Research and Development, environment, fossil fuels, government planning, oil spill, sustainability
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By Steve Erario,
Climate Fellow
Clean Air-Cool Planet

 
 
 

Steve Erario, is a Clean Air-Cool Planet Climate Fellow working with Greater Portland Council of Governments and CA-CP staff and to help produce a Maine Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Handbook for communities. A graduate in the Environmental Policy major at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, he has worked to study and improve sustainability in local Maine governments, notably leading to the creation of the Sustain Mid-Maine Coalition. Recently he helped design and write a grant that won $170,000 for an initiative to reduce energy costs in homes and apartments in Waterville and Winslow, Maine.   

I was flying to Sydney in 2008 when the ‘Aussie’ next to me shared a story I’ll never forget.  As he told it, a man in Sydney had just been murdered while watering his lawn with a garden hose during a period of tight water restrictions.

My new buddy continued that the murder didn’t come as a surprise to him.  In his country, tempers often flared between neighbors over water use.  People were so highly emotional because their lifestyles and livelihoods were directly impacted by long-term water scarcity. 

It turns out that Aussies trying to understand the long and unusual lack of rain found their answer in climate change.  In fact, some argue that the previous two Prime Minister elections were decided by voters upset with incumbents’ disbelief in climate change and failure to act seriously enough.

The loggers are moving in on the Tamar valley. Photograph: Julian Glover

Fast forward time and rewind progress to the US, where 41% of Americans currently think global warming claims are ‘exaggerated’—a larger percentage of the public than any time since polling started.  In this country, it seems, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change science and Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth haven’t done the trick.

Increased Number Think Global Warming Is “Exaggerated”

 

 

 

So, what can America learn from the land Down Under?

First, we can realize that just as Australians relate to droughts, Americans can relate to energy on a very personal level.  Our dependence on fossil fuel energy affects you and me in emotionally provoking ways: it funds al Qaeda terrorism, worsens asthma symptoms for poor little Jimmy, dampens our job markets, and creates devastating oil spills. 

Second, we can see that, in Australia and other countries, climate change is already causing serious and prolonged impacts.  It’s like we’re watching a movie preview telling of climate change impacts to come.  Unless we want to face the gruesome Rated R consequences, emissions need to be reduced NOW and AGGRESSIVELY.  But given the loud chorus of climate change science denialists, Americans’ beliefs likely won’t change quickly enough.

Let’s learn our lessons from the Australians and turn the sad fact that fossil fuel generates 80% of US climate-changing emissions to our advantage.  We need to immediately separate powerful energy issues from misunderstood climate issues in national policy debates.  By doing so, we’ll gain the full support of Americans for immediate and aggressive energy efficiency and renewable energy policy.  This energy policy will have a greater and more immediate impact than a weak or delayed climate policy.

As time passes, we will eventually all clearly see the truth in climate science playing out in everyday life.  And, by the time we get there, we’ll already be on our way to addressing the problem—without even mentioning a word.

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Science calls for solving problems for ourselves and others

Posted July 12, 2010 by billburtis
Categories: Arctic, Climate, Climate Science, Global Warming, Policy, Sea-level Rise
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By Bill Burtis
Manager, Communications and Special Projects, Clean Air-Cool Planet

I was struck by a recent story about islanders from Panama who are being forced off their traditional homelands by rising sea levels.  They are moving ashore – and deliberately seeking higher ground in the foothills of their nation’s jungles – to make sure they are safe from the water.

That’s extreme adaptation to climate change. 

One might say that when we go indoors where the air conditioning will keep us safe from the 100-degree heat, we are practicing a form of adaptation, as well. The irony is not lost that our adaptation is another’s problem made worse – as our cooler air comes at the cost of huge energy use.  And, of course, it would be foolhardy to presume that our heat wave is “caused by” global warming.  It’s just weather that happens to be consistent with predictions for what our climate will be like in a warmer world. 

We’ll have to wait decades to see if this is a significant trend.

 But increasingly, the science of today and the plight of people like the Panamanian islanders tells us that we cannot wait to see if that trend will be borne out.  We have to act, now, on the facts we have at hand.  And the latest facts from NASA and NOAA are bad news.

In the faraway Arctic, sea ice extent reached the lowest June level ever recorded.  Though it’s showing signs of rebounding in July, the melting so far puts 2010 ice-loss in a race for worst-ever with 2007 – a race we don’t want to win.

But it seems likely, based on the temperature record, that we might make it.  The first six months of 2010 posted the hottest January-through-June global average temperature recorded in the dataset of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with four of the months the warmest so far. 

Unfortunately, this is a trend that is hard to ignore, as Rafe Pomerance pointed out for Juliet Eilperin.

So, what are we to do?  Summon the courage to pass meaningful federal climate legislation in the Senate before the summer recess.  There exist, spread across a number of bills, the right measures to accomplish significant reductions in greenhouse gases by putting a price on carbon without harming our fragile economy. 

The benefits of doing so are not just in the long-term climate and the welfare of distant, indigenous people.  They are in the economic and geopolitical security of the United States, in weaning ourselves from oil purchased from our adversaries, in protecting our environment, and in joining the international community in combating the greatest single threat to human welfare we’ve ever known.

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