Welcome to Friends of the Climate
A project of the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition!
We want to offer information about climate change and climate action for people who are new to the subject, students, individuals and families who want to know more and participate in solutions. It’s hard to talk about climate change because its complicated and the effects are frightening. You may want to read some of the articles listed on this website and listen to some of the podcasts to learn more. It’s good to talk with your family and friends about what you’ve heard and read and how it makes you feel. When we let ourselves grieve our losses, and voice our fears, then we can clear the way for new resolve to find solutions and actions we can take. Even small acts are of value. By thinking about how our actions affect the planet, we are taking a step in the right direction. As we all take more actions, we believe we can build a future that is sustainable and allows us all to live well.
EU paves the way for greater biodiversity and climate action with the Nature Restoration LawThe European Parliament approved last week a comprehensive nature restoration law, aiming to revitalize ecosystems, habitats, and species across EU land and sea areas.
The overarching goal is to promote the recovery of diverse and resilient nature, while also contributing to the EU’s climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
The law combines a general objective of restoring nature with specific targets for certain habitats and species. By 2030, measures under this law should cover at least one-fifth of the EU’s land and sea areas, with the ultimate goal of restoring all ecosystems in need by 2050.
Specific targets are set in the legislation for various habitats, including wetlands, forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, heaths, scrubs, rocky habitats, and dunes.
It also outlines objectives for pollinating insects, forest ecosystems, urban ecosystems, agricultural ecosystems, marine ecosystems, and river connectivity. For example, the law aims to reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030, ensure no net loss of green urban spaces by the same year, and restore 25,000 km of rivers to a free-flowing state.
The new law represents a significant step in the EU’s commitment to safeguarding biodiversity and combating climate change.
Even if you're not in the EU, you can take action by spreading awareness about the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem restoration in your community.
More information is available here.
This month’s Healthy Climate Tips:
When it’s time to replace my car, I’m definitely going to check out a hybrid or an electric vehicle. They are getting cheaper. I know two families who have electric vehicles and they really like them. I think there are used ones for sale now, so not so spendy.
Solar is getting cheaper. A couple of my friends have put solar panels on their houses and set it up so they have electricity even when there is a power outage. And I’ve heard there are tax credits for installing solar. Sounds like a win win.
We heard we can do an energy audit to evaluate our home’s current energy use. There are some ways to do-it-yourself online. Once we determine what improvements we want to make, Energy Trust can help with cash incentives.
Turning down my thermostat saves me energy. I just put on a sweatshirt and my slippers. Less energy used, less climate warming pollution.
Previous Tips
What do we mean by climate warming pollution or carbon pollution and why does it matter?
A lot of the things we do involve using energy from burning gas, coal and oil. These are called fossil fuels because they come from very old deposits in the earth. Burning them releases carbon dioxide (CO2). This is what they mean by carbon emissions and carbon pollution. When it gets in the atmosphere, it blocks the escape of heat, like a greenhouse. CO2 and other greenhouse gases are causing the atmosphere around the earth to get warmer, and especially the Arctic and Antarctic areas. This destabilizes the climate patterns and causes all the crazy extreme weather we’ve been having over the last few years. The warming of the land, sea and ice is affecting the animals and their food sources. So more are going extinct. It’s also affecting our health - more pollution means more asthma, more warmth means mosquitos moving north and bringing their diseases, more heat means less moisture in the soil and forests and greater wildfire risks. People who work outdoors like agricultural workers and those who live near highways and factories are more impacted. Warmer oceans are more acidic and can’t support the balance of animal and plant life they used to. And it is getting worse so we need to stop making so much CO2 and other greenhouse gases and find ways to store more CO2. Trees and plants do that and so does the soil. It’s complicated but there are a number of things we can do to slow the damaging processes and increase the beneficial processes. This is called reducing your carbon footprint. Thank you for doing your part. We will keep asking our governments and companies to step up and do their part too. It is serious and it is urgent. We need to look at what is best for the planet and our future generations and act to transition to a sustainable way of life that supports all of us and the earth in balance.
A project of the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition!
We want to offer information about climate change and climate action for people who are new to the subject, students, individuals and families who want to know more and participate in solutions. It’s hard to talk about climate change because its complicated and the effects are frightening. You may want to read some of the articles listed on this website and listen to some of the podcasts to learn more. It’s good to talk with your family and friends about what you’ve heard and read and how it makes you feel. When we let ourselves grieve our losses, and voice our fears, then we can clear the way for new resolve to find solutions and actions we can take. Even small acts are of value. By thinking about how our actions affect the planet, we are taking a step in the right direction. As we all take more actions, we believe we can build a future that is sustainable and allows us all to live well.
EU paves the way for greater biodiversity and climate action with the Nature Restoration LawThe European Parliament approved last week a comprehensive nature restoration law, aiming to revitalize ecosystems, habitats, and species across EU land and sea areas.
The overarching goal is to promote the recovery of diverse and resilient nature, while also contributing to the EU’s climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
The law combines a general objective of restoring nature with specific targets for certain habitats and species. By 2030, measures under this law should cover at least one-fifth of the EU’s land and sea areas, with the ultimate goal of restoring all ecosystems in need by 2050.
Specific targets are set in the legislation for various habitats, including wetlands, forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, heaths, scrubs, rocky habitats, and dunes.
It also outlines objectives for pollinating insects, forest ecosystems, urban ecosystems, agricultural ecosystems, marine ecosystems, and river connectivity. For example, the law aims to reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030, ensure no net loss of green urban spaces by the same year, and restore 25,000 km of rivers to a free-flowing state.
The new law represents a significant step in the EU’s commitment to safeguarding biodiversity and combating climate change.
Even if you're not in the EU, you can take action by spreading awareness about the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem restoration in your community.
More information is available here.
This month’s Healthy Climate Tips:
When it’s time to replace my car, I’m definitely going to check out a hybrid or an electric vehicle. They are getting cheaper. I know two families who have electric vehicles and they really like them. I think there are used ones for sale now, so not so spendy.
Solar is getting cheaper. A couple of my friends have put solar panels on their houses and set it up so they have electricity even when there is a power outage. And I’ve heard there are tax credits for installing solar. Sounds like a win win.
We heard we can do an energy audit to evaluate our home’s current energy use. There are some ways to do-it-yourself online. Once we determine what improvements we want to make, Energy Trust can help with cash incentives.
Turning down my thermostat saves me energy. I just put on a sweatshirt and my slippers. Less energy used, less climate warming pollution.
Previous Tips
What do we mean by climate warming pollution or carbon pollution and why does it matter?
A lot of the things we do involve using energy from burning gas, coal and oil. These are called fossil fuels because they come from very old deposits in the earth. Burning them releases carbon dioxide (CO2). This is what they mean by carbon emissions and carbon pollution. When it gets in the atmosphere, it blocks the escape of heat, like a greenhouse. CO2 and other greenhouse gases are causing the atmosphere around the earth to get warmer, and especially the Arctic and Antarctic areas. This destabilizes the climate patterns and causes all the crazy extreme weather we’ve been having over the last few years. The warming of the land, sea and ice is affecting the animals and their food sources. So more are going extinct. It’s also affecting our health - more pollution means more asthma, more warmth means mosquitos moving north and bringing their diseases, more heat means less moisture in the soil and forests and greater wildfire risks. People who work outdoors like agricultural workers and those who live near highways and factories are more impacted. Warmer oceans are more acidic and can’t support the balance of animal and plant life they used to. And it is getting worse so we need to stop making so much CO2 and other greenhouse gases and find ways to store more CO2. Trees and plants do that and so does the soil. It’s complicated but there are a number of things we can do to slow the damaging processes and increase the beneficial processes. This is called reducing your carbon footprint. Thank you for doing your part. We will keep asking our governments and companies to step up and do their part too. It is serious and it is urgent. We need to look at what is best for the planet and our future generations and act to transition to a sustainable way of life that supports all of us and the earth in balance.
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The following letter was reprinted from Sierra Club Magazine
A Love Letter From the Clean Energy Future Here's a glimpse of how we can transition entirely to renewable energy sources Mary Anne Hitt | Dec 22 2020 Last fall, I gave a Zoom lecture to a class of undergraduate students at the University of Puget Sound about the path forward on energy and climate justice. I always go into these presentations with some trepidation, because I know that many young people are overwhelmed by despair about climate change, and I want to be clear about what's at stake without adding to their anxiety. After I finished, one of the students offered a simple appreciation that lifted a weight off my shoulders: "Honestly, this presentation has been a relief. I feel so much better. Thank you." I could relate to that student's desperate need for a ray of hope. After a grinding year of climate disasters, racial injustice, and relentless threats to our democracy, it has been easy to lose sight of the better world that we are still, even now, building. I'm full of hope because, against all odds, a just and sustainable energy future is being born. Yet I'm full of hope because, against all odds, a just and sustainable energy future is being born. We at the Sierra Club are in the middle of building that future. From stopping the fracked-gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline to reaching the milestone of having 60 percent of US coal-fired power plants on their way to retirement, the progress in 2020 has been remarkable. The United States is on track to get more electricity from renewable energy than from coal sometime in the next few years. But even as we make progress in hard times, we know that just covering the world with solar panels and electric vehicles isn't enough. So what would it look like, 10 years from now, if we did this energy transition right—if we prevented runaway climate change, created millions of jobs, and rectified the harms of decades of environmental injustice in communities of color? Imagine it is 2030 and we're looking back over a pivotal decade in human history. Allow me to paint a picture for you of the energy transformation that's possible. Think of it as a love letter from the future. My friends, It takes my breath away to write these words, but we did it. Rooted in our deep love for this planet and one another, we stepped back from the cliff of irreversible climate change. Families around the globe, including mine and yours, no longer face the specter of fleeing their homes because of ever-worsening climate-driven disasters. The fossil fuel industry no longer controls the levers of power to corrupt democracy. And we're building a world where everyone has clean air and clean water and access to nature. As we rolled up our sleeves to prevent a climate emergency, our solutions prioritized investments in those communities most harmed by fossil fuels and pollution and those long excluded from economic opportunity. We needed to build so much clean energy infrastructure to avoid a climate apocalypse, and we didn't just build it; we built it with family-sustaining jobs and with an eye toward restitution and reparations. Thanks to you, our kids will be raising their sons and daughters in vibrant, resilient communities full of opportunity. This is how we arrived here: First, we powered the country with 100 percent clean energy. An electric grid powered by clean energy was the foundation for turning the corner on climate, and the dirty power plants that were the worst contributors to environmental injustice were the first to go. Building on a decade of grassroots advocacy, President Biden introduced and Congress finally passed a national 100 percent clean energy standard that put us well on our way to phasing out coal and gas by 2035 while ensuring that vulnerable communities experienced the benefits of the transition. Big states such as California and New York then set even more aggressive goals, making it clear that a clean energy transition of speed and scale was possible. And since decisions about how we produce electricity are largely made by states, we continued our 50-state energy-transformation push for a decade. To support communities with economic ties to fossil fuels, Congress included a robust economic transition for fossil fuel workers and community-led economic development. Congress also passed innovative measures like a moratorium on utility shutoffs for households and support for energy-saving home improvements for families spending a high percentage of their income on electricity bills (known as a high energy burden). Renewable energy kept getting cheaper, and that allowed the Department of Energy to accelerate local clean energy solutions like microgrids—which are reliable during climate-driven extreme-weather events—in vulnerable and underserved places like the Navajo Nation and Puerto Rico. We finally harnessed the power of offshore wind along the Atlantic coast and solar across the Southeast and Southwest, while scaling up new energy-storage technologies to make clean energy available when it's needed most. Altogether, we made a quantum leap in the scale and scope of the energy transition, produced millions of jobs, and sparked the creation of thousands of new businesses. Second, we got well on our way toward electrifying everything. Here in 2030, one of the best parts of the energy transition is that it has made our lives healthier. After social media icons spread the word about how gas stoves create indoor air pollution linked to asthma in kids, families rushed to their local home-improvement stores to replace gas ranges with electric induction stovetops. Local governments passed thousands of ordinances calling for all-electric construction in new buildings, which created enough pressure for national standards. New businesses started popping up to help homeowners save money while pulling polluting gas appliances out of their homes. And the Department of Energy created programs to ensure that low-income families could make the switch affordably. Meanwhile, on the transportation front, states such as California and New Jersey set a 2035 target date for phasing out internal-combustion-engine cars, and national standards followed. States also put in place standards requiring that buses and large trucks go all-electric, which dramatically reduced air pollution in communities of color and big port and shipping centers including California's Inland Empire, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. After COVID-19 made Americans realize the importance of walkable cities and accessible public transportation, Congress included funding in infrastructure bills for clean and affordable public transit, biking, and walking options. The number of family-sustaining jobs skyrocketed as Americans were put to work building electric cars, trucks, and buses as well as transit and charging-station infrastructure. Third, we stopped attempts to expand drilling while we reclaimed abandoned wells, mines, and drilling sites. The oil and gas industry was in a precarious place as 2020 came to a close. It was struggling to compete with renewable energy, facing the wrath of communities angry about drilling and pipelines, and grappling with dwindling returns from fracking, which made the industry's finances look more like a pyramid scheme. Through on-the-ground organizing, we prevented the fossil fuel industry's last-gasp attempt to establish new markets for its products. We blocked the construction of more than a dozen proposed fracked-gas export terminals and halted the creation of a new "Cancer Alley" of chemical and plastics plants in the Ohio River valley. We forced the industry to stop drilling next to homes, schools, and communities. And we secured protection from drilling on Indigenous lands, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Bears Ears National Monument. Meanwhile, we created jobs for thousands of oil, gas, and coal workers. We put 120,000 people to work plugging over 2 million abandoned oil and gas wells and addressing methane leaks that were roasting our planet. Congress also passed the RECLAIM (Revitalizing the Economy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities and Investing More) Act to fund reclamation projects and community-led economic development in Appalachia. Finally, we engaged millions of people in the work for climate justice. Let's be clear: None of this was easy. As we sit here in 2030, the clean and just energy future that we've built together has been the result of millions of people stepping up in their own states and communities. I know all this seemed impossible back in 2020, when it felt as if everything was falling apart and our climate might be doomed. But everything we did mattered. All of it. We now know that we're going to keep global temperature rise below the dangerous tipping points that climate scientists warned us about a decade ago. We can look our kids in the eye and tell them that we didn't let them down. Now we can watch their dreams unfold. As all our great spiritual traditions have taught us, new beginnings are often born during our most difficult days. We created something beautiful out of those hard days in 2020. Of course we have more work to do. But we're doing that work from a foundation we built together. I can't wait to see what we'll do next. This article appeared in the January/February edition with the headline "A Love Letter From the Clean Energy Future." MORE BRIGHT FUTURES: AUTHORS AND ACTIVISTS IMAGINE BUILDING A BETTER WORLD |
A list of Podcasts about climate change:
How to Save a Planet (by Johnson and Blumberg) Temperature Check (from Grist) 52 Hertz (focus on oceans) A Matter of Degrees (women and BIPOC) Inherited (youth climate activists) (some adult language) How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Livia Albeck-Ripka from The NY Times, A Year of Living Better The 35 Easiest Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Renee Cho from the Series Sustainable Living blogs.ei.columbia.edu Carbon Footprint Calculator - several available to search Click on the Green America link and search for 'fossil free investing" Green America For energy saving opportunities and resources click on the Energy Trust link Energy Trust of Oregon To see certified energy saving products click on the Energy Star link Energy Star |