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Paris is coming up—Now!
Due to the Da’esh (the group formerly known as ISIS) terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday the 13th, the mobilization marches in that city for the Climate Talks (COP21) have been cancelled. That is why it is even more important to let world leaders know that we will hold them accountable for a binding climate agreement. There will be other mobilizations around the country and the world, too, during the two weeks beginning Nov. 29th. Go to 350.org to stay posted on what is happening and to sign a petition to world leadership.
President Obama turned the Keystone Pipeline down once and for all. Shell has withdrawn from the Arctic and Statoil followed them. It seems as if more companies are realizing that some ways of extracting fossil fuels are untenable financially. Let’s hope this is something that catches on. Science tells us that even if we keep all fossil fuels in the ground, it will still take about 300 years for all the carbon that’s in the atmosphere to disappear.
The record hot weather (October was the hottest month on record) also means the ocean is warming, up, which is what drives El Niño and such extreme weather events as Hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever. While we may get a lot of rain (more likely Southern California will get much heavier rain than we do), El Niño means that there won’t be the upwelling of ocean currents that brings the nutrients marine life need, so we are likely to see fisheries crash.
Good news for the climate
El Niño is coming and it’s a doozy!
Succulents are an encouraging sign.
I’m seeing more gardens planted in succulents. It says to me that people are getting serious about water savings in landscaping.
Green Teen Gathering
Advisory Board (YAB) brought together more than 50 students from across Sonoma County for the Green Teen Gathering.
High school students from ten schools
and eight community organizations came together to share ways to make their school, communities, and the world a greener place. YAB members spoke about their triumphs and challenges to create positive action
in response to the climate crisis. Students learned from each other about broad-ranging sustainability projects, i.e. changing their transportation habits, conserving water, and supporting victims of the Middletown fire.
Ripple the World—Daily Acts Fundraising Breakfast.
On Oct. 29th over 600 of the North Bay’s top professionals, government officials, business owners, students, teachers, farmers, gardeners, and citizens gathered at the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Building to celebrate to celebrate this homegrown organization’s success. Only a few days earlier Daily Acts had their most ambitious project to date, transforming 64,000 square feet of lawn at a business park in Petaluma, thus saving 1.6 billion gallons of water a year.
A series of lectures on sustainability, open to the public, meets at the east end of the Bertolini Student Center at SRJC. On Nov. 19th, Tom Suchanek, Research Manager, Lead Scientist, and Climate Change Coordinator for the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, gave the best and most comprehensive overview of what climate change is and its local, regional, and global implications that I have seen anywhere. Coming up on 1/28 is a lecture on the Transportation Sector, on 2/25 on Land Use: Agriculture and Sustainability, on 3/30 Social Justice and Sustainability, and on 4/14 on Local Community and Tools for Sustainability. From noon to 1 PM. Bring your lunch.
The SMART train is conducting tests of trains on the tracks throughout Sonoma County. Be careful. If you see Tracks, think Train! Schools and community organizations can schedule a free rail safety presentation at betracksmart.org/contact-us/. Phase I service between Santa Rosa and San Rafael is scheduled to begin in 2016 – a clean, green alternative way to commute.
Check out mitvahmoments.com for ideas I’ve accumulated over the last eight years. Some have seen print, many have not. I still have a lot of work to do on it, but at least it says more than “Future home of my new website.” I had to get it done, because I was going to Boston for the Rising Seas Summit (see the article on the Gazette web page), and I had had 500 business cards printed with the website address. Over the last year or so this column has drifted some from its original premise, and while I understand many people like the new column better, I still want to be able to share all those ideas for how each of us can make a difference.
© Tish Levee, 2015
By Amy Jolly
The Center for Climate Protection’s Youth
Sustainability Lectures at Santa Rosa Junior College.
There’s a train coming. Watch out!
With transportation accounting for 65% of Sonoma County’s carbon footprint, walking and bicycling are targeted as the easiest and most powerful action students can take. The Center for Climate Protection’s award-winning ECO2school program works with student leaders in their clubs and classes to help them calculate their carbon footprint and implement actions to reduce that footprint. In the 2014-15 school year, students saved 40 tons or CO2 from being emitted. They are aiming to save even more this year.This year’s Green Teen Gathering inspired and motivated youth leaders as they networked for more effective action.
My website is finally up and running!
“Teens can do more than we give them credit for,” says Amy Jolly, ECO2school Program Manager. “They recognize that climate change is the number one challenge facing us today and they want to be a part of the solution. They have power and passion; they only lack experience. We give them the tools to channel their energy into action,” She said.
About ECO2school: The Center for Climate Protection’s ECO2school program works in Sonoma County high schools to foster student leadership and encourage positive action, connecting individual behavior to global issues.
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