My Open Letter to the EPA

Photo from Thom Ayres' Stilled Life Series

Dear EPA Leadership:*

Your decision to begin to address our Climate Crisis today will be something you tell your grandchildren some day. Or not. It really is that black and white. A decision to regulate carbon gives a glimmer of hope that we will be able to survive Climate Change. Without it, our chances for survival as a species are diminished. We are at that crossroads and you, members of the US Environmental Protection Agency, may very well be deciding the fate of our species and many other life forms on this planet. 

Coming to realize just how dire this crisis is has been a very painful journey for me. I am a Climate Leader, a volunteer with the Climate Reality Project. The more I learn, the more I want to shake everyone I see and meet and tell them that this is the crisis of our lifetimes, not some future generation. It is happening NOW. To convince others to wake up, to act, to write their Congressman or Congresswoman and demand action be taken immediately is my goal for the rest of my life.    

At this point, it is very much like standing in a theater shouting FIRE but the audience remains transfixed by the images on the screen, not hearing our cries. Except with this fire, there are no exits. Either we extinguish the flames together or die a certain death together. 

What I hope you do is to first fine those corporations who are spewing carbon, the major cause of global warming, into our atmosphere. We will not be the first country to do so. In fact, there are nearly 40 countries before us who are already regulating carbon polluters to help curb Climate Change. Even China has a pilot carbon policy program in place that they will expand to the rest of the country by 2015. Even China understands what this crisis means.  

Secondly, my hope is that you and the Obama Administration will set up a task force to determine our way forward as curbing our carbon output is only the very first small step toward addressing this crisis. We need a task force comprised of: 

Climate Scientists who can tell us the best and worst case scenarios over the next year as well as 5, 10 and 15 years from now and how much carbon needs to be reduced.

Ecologists/Environmentalists who have had boots on the ground for the past 50 years, passionately telling us that this was coming, who have vital networks within our communities who will help us roll out the plan or plans determined to be best. 

Community Leaders who can tell us how to best organize these plans in their towns, cities and rural areas, what kind of practical application will best be applied to their home territories and others in their charge.

Policy makers who know the laws, who know what laws will affect this process and can suggest fair and just laws that need to be written to support this way forward. 

What this task force will determine are two vital points:

What sources of energy will be used going forward?

How will we capture the carbon existing in the atmosphere? 

BOTH tasks need to happen simultaneously if we are to survive this crisis. Choosing to only secure alternative energy sources will only lead to a longer lingering death for millions. We must also draw the carbon out of our atmosphere to avoid further degradation of our overall climate, water, and soil systems. There are carbon capturing resources that exist now and many are being developed and championed. These technologies exist and more will be invented as we focus on this crisis.

We are a creative, thoughtful species and we are approaching the 11^th hour to address this Crisis. Please lead the way.  

Thank you for the opportunity to speak out on this issue. 

Monica Jenkins, Climate Leader

*For the last couple weeks, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been hosting public listening sessions, inviting the public to suggest ways to address the carbon pollution pouring from our power plants into our atmosphere. This is my written statement response to that question and addressing the larger issue of Climate Change that I think they are stepping too gingerly around. 

Handout from the Presentations on Climate Change this Weekend

Here is a pdf of the handout I used this weekend for the The Climate Reality Project.

This is a list of Climate Actions you can take as an individual as well as actions to take as a family, a group or a community.

Thank you to all who attended this weekend!

Best regards,

Monica 

Click HERE for your printable copy.

Presentations Coming Up: Friday, October 25 & Sunday, October 27

 

I will be presenting the Climate Reality Project's material the last weekend in October two times. Both presentations are 60 minutes long with Q&A following. Both will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Society in Geneva at the corner of 2nd and James. 

Friday, October 25, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary.

Sunday, October 27, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. in the Common Room.

This presentation will review the science of why this is happening, present current climate events over the last several years, and suggest solutions to this crisis. Actions individuals can take to address this crisis will also be covered. Admission is free for both events.

I tell those who attend my presentations the following three things: 

• This IS the crisis of our lifetime and you need to pay attention to this. 
• It doesn't have to be this way!
• Everyone has a role to play in addressing this crisis. (And there are no small roles!)

Please spread the word! Looking forward to sharing this information with you!

Connections and How to Make Them

Our Earth! Photo taken September 22, 2013

I have been reading a lot these past few weeks and thinking about possible fixes to the fix we are in with our climate. My last post here reflects fairly accurately my impression to date about why we find ourselves in this dilemma. If we are doing most everything wrong, why have we taken this path in the first place? Why has our civilization evolved to the point that living our lives the way we live them has become life threatening? The technologies and techniques exist now to change our civilization, to reduce our fossil-fuel addictions and sequester carbon. But if we don't address the root cause, guess what – we will find ourselves back at this place again next generation or sooner.

Tim DeChristopher. a champion for climate action, spoke at the Chicago History Museum Friday night. He suggested that this crisis gives us an opportunity to rethink how we are in community. He compared the responses to two of the worst catastrophic weather events to date in the United States: Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. The response to Katrina was corporate and military led and the choices made by those entities for that recovery effort has led to great loss of life, income and personal property. Images of the lawlessness and brutality and lack of compassionate consideration for the victims of that tragic event will be with me my whole life and the overall 'relief' effort will be a stain on our country's conscience for decades to come. The response to Hurricane Sandy was quite different as the participants in the Occupy movement stepped up almost immediately and started organizing the relief efforts neighborhood by neighborhood. FEMA and the Red Cross arrived and utilized the existing community network set up by the Occupy volunteers. For the many who wondered what the use was of the Occupy movement, you can now point to the Sandy relief as one result of what a unified community can do. This truly is what Democracy looks like. Or as DeChristopher famously said at his sentencing: "This is what Love looks like." (Local radio interview with DeChristopher from Friday, September 27, 2013 here.)

DeChristopher suggests, and I wholeheartedly agree, that the time to create a community that responds effectively to catastrophe is now. What kind of community do we want to have? Do we want one that relies on the military or a soulless corporation bent on making money to step in when catastrophe strikes again? Or do we want a resilient community structure that supports all members no matter their social standing or the color of their skin?

Which leads to a question we need to ask - what would our greater community, our civilization look like if we address this crisis head on, tackle its difficulties in creative and effective ways and set ourselves back on track to live our lives in peace. What would that community look like? I think it would differ significantly from how it looks now. We would begin to realize that we are not separate creatures moving along on separate paths. We are all connected. We are connected to all creatures on this planet from the smallest amoeba to the largest land mammal. And we humans are jeopardizing everything to maintain a lifestyle that is killing us faster and faster. If we truly understand our connection and our place in the chain of all living things, we won't be making decisions to despoil our nest and that of other living creatures as that ultimately affects us.

If we do indeed allow our culture to continue on with our addiction to oil and gas unchecked and if we do nothing about sequestering the carbon already existing in our atmosphere, the future for us is very bleak and will lead to no human, let alone other mammals, being able to live on the surface of the planet in a few generations – that is, those of us who survive the coming Ice Age (see Climate Change Model).

As I have stated here before, the technology and techniques for addressing both the reduction of carbon based fuel use and the sequestering of carbon exist and are known now. All that stands in our way now to avert these catastrophic events are our politicians. Our politicians here in the United States, standing in the way of our planet's survival, are becoming known as the most selfish, most self-centered and probably the most stupid creatures in power the world has ever known. Of course historical records are not available from the Easter Island or Anasazi cultures.

Write your congressman and urge them to read the recent IPCC report that states that climate change is happening now and that humans are responsible for the rapid warming of the planet. Everyone has a role to play in reclaiming our dying planet. Not sure who your representative is? Find them here. Not sure what to say? Here are some letters I have written to Representative Randy Hultgren, my representative (here and here).

Write them today and ask them to help us all in saving our planet and future generations. 

Don't remain silent. Make your role in addressing this crisis count.

Being Wrong is Maybe a Good Thing

David Atkins (pic found on Facebook)

I've been immersed in reading this week and not really ready to do a book review yet. It's going to take some time for me to digest what I have read and will most likely reread some of the sources I have found.

The big idea that I am working on is this: we are pretty much wrong about most things we do in this civilization of ours. 

We travel wrong ~ Our fossil fuels are throwing more and more carbon into the atmosphere than our ecosystem can address.

We farm wrong ~ Our soils are diminished and in various stages of 'addiction' by years of throwing nitrogen, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other synthetics on our land. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, we let what soil we do have remaining lay exposed after harvest allowing it to blow away in the wind or run off into our streams and rivers . 

We garden wrong ~ See above.

We ranch wrong ~ We keep our livestock standing in one place most of their lives causing land loss, soil loss which eventually leads to desertification. Not to mention that the livestock lead pretty miserable lives.

We heat our homes and businesses wrong ~ We use a source of fuel that pollutes our air, our land, our water supply, causes ill-health in those who provide these fuels, and fills our atmosphere with carbon.

We use water wrong ~ Somehow we think that water is not as precious as we need to be thinking of it. All of the above wrongs jeopardize this very valuable commodity. 

And those are just a few of the 'wrongs' I am considering this week. What I see as a silver lining though is that so few of us are happy. Look around you. Can you think of more than a handful of friends or family who are truly happy with the ways things are or how they spend their days? Rethinking how we live our lives may be something we are all very much ready to explore.

If you could use your car to travel where you wanted for little cost - would you support it?

If you could be assured that the food you ate and set on your family's table was nutritious and guarded your loved ones against disease - would you support it?

If you could live comfortably in your home in all seasons for little cost - would you support it?

If those last three interest you - stay tuned. That's where I am heading on this blog.  Being so very wrong about all these systems is maybe the only way we would have chosen to do things right.  

The future may be just exactly what we wanted all along 

and better than we thought it could ever be. 

My Open Letter to My Congressman #2: Solar Roadways

Dear Representative Hultgren:

I am writing you again and asking that you take a leadership role on the Climate Change crisis.

Though I was very disappointed to read that you signed the Koch brothers' pledge against the creation of a carbon tax on major corporate carbon polluters, a group to which the Koch brothers not surprisingly belongs, I think I do have a way for you to act on the Climate Change crisis without breaking that pledge. (Though of course I would strongly suggest you reconsider your allegiance to the Koch brothers given their past record.) I would like to call your attention to the Solar Roadways project which is just finishing Phase II of the parking lot prototype this week.

The Solar Roadways project would address several issues that you mention you are concerned with as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on your web page as well as addresses my concerns on Climate Change:

• Implementation would pay for itself in energy produced alone, 
• Provide more jobs in construction and related industries (Scott Brusaw, project founder, estimates that 5 billion panels are needed for this country alone),
• Increase "local control, improve regional planning, and incentivize partnerships between the private and public sectors to fund and manage these critical assets.", 
• Provide "long-term surface transportation" solutions,
• Provide a "globally competitive infrastructure",
• Reduce transportation congestion,
• Reduce carbon produced by vehicle emissions,
• Reduces our dependence on oil for creating asphalt.
• Reduces our dependence on oil overall which is this century's growing security issue! 

And those are just a few of the positives indicated for this idea. Booz Allen Hamilton has one of the original working panels on display in their offices not far from your office in DC.

You are no doubt thinking this 'open letter' thing is more than a little bit gimmicky. I know it is. The climate change crisis is the most deadly challenge of our lifetimes and I see Congress' inaction on this to be a blunder of epic and historic proportions. By way of this 'gimmick' it is slightly more likely that you will actually read these words and consider taking action or at the very least, look further into this idea.

I am copying others who may join you in writing legislation from the other side of the aisle on the Transportation and Infrastructure committee and on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Energy and Commerce Committee's hearing coming up on the 18th of this month on Climate Change may be as good a time as any for Congress to begin to consider this project.

And again, this letter will be posted online at my blog Exploring the Green Road. A hard copy will be sent to you by fax (and copied to others indicated below) with a page of links provided as well as contact information if you would like to talk with me directly.

Addressing this crisis will take courage. I ask that you do for the sake of our children and generations to come.

Sincerely,

Monica Jenkins
Constituent of District 14 

cc:
Nick J. Rahall, II, (D-West Virginia) Ranking Member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee;
Henry Waxman, (D-California) Ranking Member on the Energy and Commerce Committee;
Jan Schakowski, (D-Illinois) Member Energy and Commerce Committee.

See letter #1 HERE.

More on the 'Sun is Just Hotter Now' Myth

Just found this video on Skeptical Science this evening and had to share. It's short, sweet and loaded with science fact that's easy to follow.

• Smoking gun evidence right here: Troposphere, lower atmosphere is warming as the Stratosphere, upper atmosphere is cooling.
• The planet warms at the same rate at night as it does during the day.
• More warming in winter than in summer.
• More warming at the poles than at the equator.

'Windows to the Universe' by Randy Russell

And be sure to watch the latter bit that addresses a well-worn and false argument that it's sun spot activity. Nope. It's not those crazy sunspots either no matter how the data is cherry picked.

It's Climate Change.

Let us all do something about it rather than focus on a few diehards who continue to throw up poorly reasoned arguments that obscure the crisis at hand and waste valuable time.  

See my earlier post:
Isn't the Sun Really Just Hotter Now? 

Christian Statements on Climate Change

The Christian Post: "Climate Change: Evangelical Scientists Say Limbaugh Wrong, Faith and Science Compliment One Another"

In response to an earlier assertion by a nationally known radio talk show host that one cannot be Christian and 'believe in climate change', Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and Dr. Thomas Ackerman wrote in The Christian Post 8/31/2013.

"...For us, global warming is not a matter of belief - it is about applying our understanding of science to the climate of this planet. The author of Hebrews tells us, "faith is … the evidence of things not seen." We believe in God through faith. Science, on the other hand, is the evidence of our eyes. We can measure the extent to which natural levels of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere regulate and maintain our climate. We can track how excess heat-trapping gases, beyond what would naturally occur, are being added to the atmosphere every day by human activities. We can calculate how this artificially warms the Earth's surface, increasing risks of extreme heat, rain, and drought. We can see how these impacts often fall disproportionately on those with the least resources to adapt, the very people we are told to care for by our faith...."

The National Association of Evangelicals has put together a booklet that is downloadable as a pdf titled Loving the Least of These: Addressing a Changing Environment. Dorothy Boorse, lead author describes this booklet:

"This document covers four ideas: a biblical basis for Christian engagement, a look at changing environments around the world, insight into how environmental variances affect the poor, and thoughts on what Christians should do.Each section includes text and examples, and each ends with a reflection from an expert to further the discussion."

The Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) is a ministry that "educates, inspires, and mobilizes Christians in their effort to care for God's creation, to be faithful stewards of God's provision, and to advocate for actions and policies that honor God and protect the environment." Their 20 year old ministry is "grounded in the Bible's teaching on the responsibility of God's people to "tend the garden" through a faithful walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. Based in the scriptures."

From the Presbyterian Mission Ministries: “…God's work in creation is too wonderful, too ancient, too beautiful, too good to be desecrated...Restoring creation is God's own work in our time, in which God comes both to judge and to restore...” —PC(USA) Environmental Policy

From The United Methodists:

"All creation is under the authority of God and all creation is interdependent. Our covenant with God requires us to be stewards, protectors, and defenders of all creation. The use of natural resources is a universal concern and responsibility of all as reflected in Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."

The United Church of Christ's Resolution on Climate Change from 2007:

"..THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Twenty-sixth General Synod of the United Church of Christ admits Christian complicity in the damage human beings have caused to the earth's climate system and other planetary life systems, and urges recommitment to the Christian vocation of responsible stewardship of God's creation, and expresses profound concern for the pending environmental, economic, and social tragedies threatened by global warming, to creation, human communities and traditional sacred spaces;..."

The Evangelical Lutheran Church statement on the Environment: Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice
includes these stirring words in response to the climate crisis:

"Our tradition offers many glimpses of hope triumphant over despair. In ancient Israel, as Jerusalem was under siege and people were on the verge of exile, Jeremiah purchased a plot of land (Jer 32). When Martin Luther was asked what he would do if the world were to end tomorrow, he reportedly answered, "I would plant an apple tree today." When we face today's crisis, we do not despair. We act." (emphasis mine)

The Unitarian Universalist's statement on the Injustice of Global Climate Change:

"...The U.S. constitutes 5% of the world's population, yet we consume 25% of the world's fossil fuel resources. The U.S. constitutes 5% of the world's population, yet we produce 25% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.... The injustice of global climate change is that those who contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions are still the first to suffer. Those who contribute the most must recognize our responsibility for the suffering."

Ezekiel 34:2-4.
Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! 

Should not the shepherds take care of the flock? 

You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, 

but you did not take care of the flock! 

You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. 

You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. 

You have ruled them harshly and brutally.

Isn't the Sun Really Just Hotter Now?

The Sun

Question: Isn't the Sun Really Just Hotter Now? 

Short Answer: No.

I can see where this would be an easier way of looking at the whole climate change crisis. It's simple, it involves that large yellow orb we all see every day in the sky that we all know is very hot to begin with - so no visuals really needed to illustrate this response to those concerned with climate change.

But unfortunately for proponents of this explanation, Science provides a more complex but not hard to understand view of the actual reality. Indeed, no part of 'the Sun is just hotter now' is true.  

Data from satellite collection (ACRIM) indicates that the energy output of the sun is actually lower now than it was earlier last decade.

 

Data from ACRIM (Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor).

 Satellite measurements of daily (light line) and monthly average (dark line).

Scientists have been observing the sun's solar output since 1979 and have observed that the solar output over an 11-year cycle only changes 0.1 percent.

The global warming that has been observed since the 1950's has not followed this pattern.

When the sun's warming is at it's peak, you would think that both the the lower and upper atmosphere would become warmer as more ultraviolet light is captured. Not so. The lower atmosphere (troposphere), as it traps more greenhouse gases (carbon, methane, etc.), becomes warmer. The upper atmosphere (stratosphere) becomes cooler as less ultraviolet light is able to reach this level because our carbon pollution is becoming more and more dense, trapped in our lower atmosphere.

This graph shows the changes in this dynamic over the past 30 years. This data is consistent with a warming planet from greenhouse gases and not from the solar output cycle. 

 Source: NASA. Graph by Robert Simmon

For more information about the many ways our planet is warming, visit NOAA's 10 Signs of a Warming World.

Talk to your representative and tell him or her your concerns and ask for action to be taken immediately.

I propose that the first step would be to set up a task force of climate scientists and ecologists to discuss the various solutions open to us at this point. As with any crisis, the longer we wait, the fewer the solutions available. Please don't wait and think someone else will address this.

THIS is every human on this planet's problem. Please do your part as it is a vital one and talk about this with your representative in Congress. Not sure who that is? In the United States, find your representative HERE.

My Open Letter to My Congressman #1: Please take a Leadership Role on the Climate Crisis

Dear Representative Hultgren,

As a member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, I urge you to support a task force addressing the ongoing Climate Change crisis. As a parent, I am quite sure you share my concern for our children's future. We both want them to enjoy the best that Life can offer them. We both want them to be healthy, find love, and raise a family, find a calling and follow it truthfully. This we share, I know it. What we do not share - yet - is a concern for our climate's health. I hope to convince you of this crisis that is threatening our children's future starting with this letter.

A few years ago, when you first took office as representative of our District 14, I called and was given a 15 minute interview with you to discuss my concern about climate change. We met in your local district office one afternoon. I delivered a copy of an article from Forbes describing the economic disaster that awaits us if we do not address this crisis in a timely way and a DVD that I felt strongly put the case forward that the crisis is now and needs to be addressed immediately. I was warned by friends and family that it was a fool's errand and not to bother as you could not be swayed, that you were firmly in the 'denier camp'. I thought, and still do, that we are both humans on a journey. We both hope the best for our country, we both are parents. And given enough information, that you would eventually see the truth and choose to act to address this crisis as our District's representative, as you, above all others in our District, have the power to talk about this in Congress and on the national stage and affect the change that needs to happen. I am asking you to take the lead on this on your committee and in your caucus for all of our sakes.

I was initially saddened to receive your letter a month after we met, a form letter that thanked me in a generic way for the unnamed concern I expressed about an unnamed topic and made no mention of the articles I gave you for review or that we even met face to face. Having recently been inspired to pursue this cause again, I thought I would again try to convince you that you do indeed need to take a leadership role on this issue. For your review, I would like to direct your attention to the recent opinion piece written by four former EPA directors who served during the four past Republican administrations titled A Republican Case for Climate Action. (See enclosed)

I will also be chronicling what I hope to be a discussion with you on my blog Exploring the Green Road to give hope to others who are writing their Congressional representatives who are not now actively addressing this most important crisis of our lifetimes.

Sincerely,

Monica Jenkins
Constituent of District 14

Like to hear more about the Solar Roadways? Nominate Scott Brusaw for a TED Talk

Piggy-backing on a great suggestion by the Parking Matters blog, if you would like to hear more about the Solar Roadways project, please nominate Scott Brusaw for a TED talk HERE.

In 2010, Scott spoke at an independent TEDx event in Sacramento but his and Julie Brusaw's idea has evolved beyond the initial stages and the implications now have a global and extremely timely application given the current status of our climate. This idea truly deserves and needs a global spotlight. A TED talk would be a fantastic way to get the Brusaw's idea and the new parking lot prototype seen by thousands more people - possibly engaging the interest of an ideal financial partner for this important project

Earlier this summer, Scott spoke at Google's Solve for X:

• Modular road that works as smart grid
• By way of the cable corridor running parallel to the road, storm water runoff is captured, filtered and redirected back to the local aquifer.
• The cable corridor would also provide the interface between the road and the end user - power, data, electronics.
• Easy to repair as the panels communicate when there is a problem.
• The road pays for itself by the generation of electricity.
• Capable of static and dynamic charging - cars would eventually be able to charge as they move over the road.
• Applications: roads, bike paths, parking lots, sidewalks, airport taxiways/aprons, etc.
• Sustains a healthy economy AND a healthy environment. 
• "We can manufacture our way out of this mess" ~ Scott Brusaw

Scott and Julie Brusaw  (updates on the Solar Roadway project)

Climate Reality Leadership Corps: More on the Training and Presentations

The Chicago Area Climate Leadership Corps.
Photo taken August 1, 2013 by Franc Acevedo after the McCormick Place Training Event.

Earlier this month, I attended a training at McCormick Place. in Chicago, Illinois hosted by the Climate Reality Project. Along with 1300 people from 70 countries and all 50 states, I was trained to present the latest version of material that Al Gore has personally been presenting for the past 30+ years. We joined a group of 7000-strong volunteers who are presenting the material in variety of ways - presentations, letters to editors, blogs, articles, etc - all over the world.

I wrote of my Climate Reality Leadership Corps training earlier here (Myth Busting August 16, 2013) and will reiterate what I felt was the most important point again - Mr. Gore stressed that we only deliver the truth as we know it, in the spirit of Satyagraha, regarding what is happening with the climate. There are so many untruths being spread - the worst being that this is not a problem now, an idea largely promoted by those who are benefiting from this ignorance with profits from the fossil fuel industries and unfortunately there are far too many who still believe them.

This is a complex topic and there is no one person who can hold all the latest facts and figures in their heads. Even Mr. Gore gave his presentation with the assistance of two climate scientists who were adding deeper explanations of particular sections of material presented. Fortunately our goal is not to hold all the facts in our heads and spew them out at people. Our goal is to spread the word that this is happening, to tell the story of why this is important now, to point out who has been and who will be affected, and most importantly - to get people talking about this crisis and to stop ignoring it so We. Can. Address. This. Crisis. Ignoring it has cost us dearly and so much of what we love about our earth, the creatures who live here with us will pay for that silence with extinction. It is possible, if we act together now, future effects of climate change may be lessened.

I am speaking publicly at two events locally the last weekend in October. If you live in the Northern Illinois area, you are welcome to attend. There are a number of private events I will be speaking at and presenting this material. If you can't make the two public events and can't wait for the next public event I post here, invite me to speak to your group. I would prefer to present the material for 60 minutes and then follow with a question and answer period but that presentation time can be reduced to 30-45 minutes. The presentations contain climate change science facts as well as list possible solutions and actions individuals can take in their families and communities.

PLEASE NOTE: These presentations, given on a volunteer basis, are free of charge to the host organization. If there are traveling costs, the host may be asked to cover those expenses.

Friday, October 25, 7:00 p.m.Friday Focus: Climate Reality
Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva
2nd and James Streets, Geneva, Illinois 60134

Sunday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. Munch & Learn: Climate Reality 
(Please RSVP as lunch will be served)
Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva
2nd and James Streets, Geneva, Illinois 60134

If you would like to schedule a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps to speak to your group, you can find one here no matter where you live. Some of the volunteers provide discussion of the effect of climate change around a specific topic: healthcare, family, religion, business.

I started this blog in 2008 to discuss the Green Revolution I saw unfolding in front of me. I viewed it as one of the most creative and revolutionary things to happen to our civilization since the Industrial Revolution. I have restarted blogging here now as I see this revolution as a beacon of hope for our future. If you are interested in the larger ideas that may propel us forward into a new and better day, search this blog for 'Big Idea'. If you are looking for ideas on how you can change your lifestyle and revamp your spirit, search this blog for 'Things to Do'. As this blog grows, no doubt these will become their own sections - but for now a simple search should suffice.

Thank you most kindly for reading my words here. Never doubt though that you have a role to play in this great drama unfolding in front of us. You make a difference with each act you take, each choice you make - from the purchases you make at the store, to the car you drive (or choose not to drive), to the way you garden, to the way you spend your time.

The actions you choose send ripples out every day and 

those around you will benefit by your example... or not. 

You decide. 

One my favorite quotes from Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.” 

Dorothy Day

Big Idea: Solar Roadways

 

This big idea gives me much hope for the future. It has sustained my optimism for a possible good outcome to this Climate Crisis since I first read of it in January 2011. Truly, this is something that would answer many problems associated with our climate crisis. It won't answer ALL our problems with carbon but it would significantly reduce our carbon output worldwide. The video above is being shown as a 'short' in cinemas across the United States this month. I am thrilled they are getting this much deserved exposure for their long years of work.

Their prototype parking lot is due to be finished sometime this fall. You can follow the progress of that and the overall project at their Facebook page: Solar Roadways.

Highlights: 

• Pays for itself
• Creates an infrastructure for electric vehicles
• "Will take 5 Billion panels to cover the roads in the United States. That's a lot of manufacturing. That's a lot of jobs."
• Reduces our dependence on petroleum to create asphalt
• Reduces need for combustion engines
• Reduces our dependence on oil to fuel cars, engines
• Provides an energy source to replace oil and coal
• Reduces our carbon output and will help slow Global Warming  
• Did I mention yet that it PAYS FOR ITSELF?

From the Solar Roadways FAQ page:

How much power can you expect to get out of a one-mile stretch of road?

One mile = 5280 feet. Our Solar Road Panels are 12' by 12'. Therefore, it will take 5280/12 = 440 panels to create one mile (one lane, 12 feet wide). Each panel is expected to produce 7600Wh of electricity daily based on 15% efficiency and four hours of sunlight per day (for more details, see the Numbers page).

440 times 7600Wh = 3.344MWhr per lane per mile. So a typical four lane highway will produce 13.376MWhr per mile, based on four hours of sunlight per day.

According to a 2007 study by the Energy Information Administration, the average American home used 936kWh per month. Dividing this number by 30 will give us an average need of 31.2kWh per day. Dividing this number into the 13.376MWhr per mile, gives us approximately 428. That's how many American homes can go "off-grid" for every mile of 4-lane Solar Roadway. We can wean ourselves off coal. Again, that's based on four hours of sunlight per day.

The TED Talk below tells more of their story and how this came about.

I will post more about this great project later this fall when the Phase II Prototype is complete. 

I am very grateful to the Brusaw's for their patience in getting this project off the ground and for their endurance in standing firm when many told them that their great idea could not be done. 

If you love this project too, they could always use more volunteers!

Scott and Julie Brusaw and the textured prototype glass.

Things to Do: Walk the Talk and March

Sculpture on the grounds of Scaligero Castle, Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy.

On March 1, 2014 a group of Climate Activists will leave Santa Monica, California and begin their trek to reach their destination, Washington D.C., nine months later. They are seeking volunteer marchers now for the full journey or part time at their website: The Great March for Climate Action.

This 3,000 mile trip will wind through Phoenix, Des Moines, Chicago and Pittsburgh with the intention to raise awareness of Climate Change.  Ed Fallon, a former Iowa politician, is leading the march and hopes to convince the politicians in Washington of the great need to take action now on this crisis.

Marching on Washington is not a new thing but it is a peculiarly American thing. If other countries gather groups of like-minded people and march and/or travel hundreds of miles in buses to stand together and speak loudly as one voice at the halls where laws are made, I am not aware of it. The demonstrations held in Egypt's Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring were directed at its country's leadership but the organized traveling over a long distance was missing. There was of course Gandhi's March to the Sea to make salt and it was quite well attended, gathering throngs of people as it moved through the countryside. But the Salt March involved a purposeful action taken together at the end of the march and held an indirect though very revolutionary message to the leadership.

Does a march to the capital have social value still? There are some who think it's a tiresome everyday thing now and nothing will match the significance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington so why do it? What purpose does it fulfill?

Why commit yourself to a cause? Why try to make a difference? Why hope that others will see what you see and work with you toward a better tomorrow for our kids and their kids? Why get up off the couch at all? It is so easy for a journalist to say that even the smallest march has little to no meaning if one is not involved in it. Marching, like all acts of commitment, enrich the marcher and enrich the viewer. The more miles a person commits to walk, the greater effect the act will have on them. The more press the march receives, the more people witnessing this action, the more people will talk about the topic of Climate Change and its possible solutions.

There is an audio of author Jean Shepherd and his story of the March on Washington. You can hear in this great storyteller's voice, from his retelling of it, what this march meant to him personally, what a profound effect it had on him. And he marvels that no journalist reported on the amazing tenor of the crowd, the kindness and support all exhibited toward each other - marchers, policemen, bystanders alike. And then he also notes that no journalists that he knew of or had read of had actually made the journey on a bus, that most had arrived the night before the marchers arrived on the buses so they missed out on this significant emotional undercurrent. It's a great and riveting listen if you have 20 minutes. This had to have changed his life and there is no way of measuring how that effect affected others. For all we know, the ripple he started in his own sphere of influence may still be going on.

The enormous historic impact of  King's I have a Dream speech at the March and Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha, could not have been fully anticipated at the time they were planned. I am sure both men were surprised and pleased that the reception of their actions brought meaning to so many people's lives. These actions still do. Their actions and those who followed them spoke of a very basic human truth. We all want to be free to live our lives in peace. It is that truth that makes these moments in time so very dear to us.

This Great March on Climate Action could be one of those moments in time. Climate Change is this generation's challenge and is the most difficult challenge that any generation has had to face.

People concerned about Climate Change are speaking out today  
despite the extreme social pressure to not talk of it,
despite the extremely negligent and misguided media that, for the most part, is denying that it is happening and despite the fact that it is a very sad thing to contemplate.

Much of what we love about our planet will be lost due to our refusal to act before today.
Much MORE will be lost if we continue this silence.

Please join in The Great March for Climate Action or if you can't walk, please donate to defray their expenses.

Big Idea: Keep Them Doggies Rolling

I ain't no doggie

The Savory Institute makes a compelling argument about management of livestock as part of the answer to slowing Climate Change. Allan Savory suggests we return to herd management the way our ancestors did. He's had success with his Holistic Management method returning soils and grasslands and surface water to lands formerly overgrazed by simply changing the time a herd spends in one location. The hooves break up the soil and their dung adds to the richness of the soil encouraging grass growth.

Our current overgrazing of land is a principal cause of desertification. Given the increasing need for dairy and meat, not changing our methods would prove disastrous. Healthy grasslands and soil health could be the key to turning this around. Healthy grasslands act as carbon sinks. Photosynthesis fixes the carbon in the grass - more grass, more carbon absorption from the atmosphere. If this method was again practiced worldwide, it would have a significant impact on reducing the excessive carbon in our atmosphere.

Using this method on his 'mobile composters' is something a Massachusett's rancher has done to rejuvenate his land. He employs the method of moving the herd every three days as discussed in the video below.

(From my friend and fellow Climate Leader, Glenn Gall: "The resource frame [at the end of the video] doesn't resolve well. It is probably similar to this list: http://planet-tech.com/blog/holistic-management-reading-video-resources. It was prepared by Seth Itzkan, who I believe is the mentor of the filmmakers.")

Great resources can be found at The Savory Institute's website. If you have a herd and would like to learn how this would work for you, they have resources for you. If you would like to read the research, they have that too. Currently, through a LLC here in the United States, Holistic Management techniques are being employed in South Dakota, Montana and Hawaii. 

And it doesn't matter the size of the herd (sorry my vegetarian friends!), the key is moving them from one location to the other allowing the soil and grasses to revive for their next visit. Quite exceptionally simple and doable if enough ranches adopt these techniques.