October 2019

Monthly Meeting
The State College chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 15 at 5:30 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at the end of Waupelani Drive in State College.  We will share what we have done since the last meeting, learn more about CCL and our signature bill, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, and plan future activities.  Please join us.
News from our State College chapter

–Lots of Constituent Letters
One of the ways volunteers for CCL push for passage of HR 763 and action on climate in general is by asking people to write letters to Congress.  In the past month we have had a wonderful response to this request as our volunteers tabled at Crickfest in Coburn on September 1, at Lion Bash in downtown State College on September 10, and at the Constitution Day celebration on Tussey Mountain on September 15.   Our volunteers also attended both the noon and evening rallies of the Climate Strike in downtown State College on September 20 and asked people to write letters. 
The results were terrific.  We collected a total of 358 constituent letters, which will be copied and delivered to each representative and the two senators during the Lobby Days in November (see below).  Thank you to the dedicated volunteers and to all of you who took the time to write to Congress.  Our elected officials will act only if we show them that there is support for climate action, and we have found that there is a lot of support.
—UAJA solar installation tour

Our chapter sponsored a presentation and tour of the University Area Joint Authority’s solar installation on Sunday afternoon, September 22.  A group of about 50 people, including municipal and county officials from Centre County and the surrounding counties as well as CCL members, heard from executive director Cory Miller about the ways their measures to save energy are projected to save $7 million dollars over 30 years.  You will want to read more about this really positive development.  Last week’s Centre County Gazette published an article by Dick Jones on the front page.  You can read it online here.  We also had a picture published in the Centre Daily Times.  Melissa Manno, a reporter from the Collegian, the student paper at Penn State, wrote a fine article on the tour as well.  Here is the link.
— CCL Presentation on “The Future of Nuclear Energy”

CCL State College sponsors presentations to explore possible solutions to the climate crisis.  Our next presentation, scheduled for November 3, will focus on “The Future of Nuclear Energy.”  Recently we learned that the nuclear plant at Three Mile Island is being shut down.  Does this signal the end of the nuclear era in electricity generation?  Or will climate change spur renewed interest in nuclear energy which produces electricity without carbon dioxide as a by-product?  What are the new technical developments in this field?  What are the health and safety concerns and the economic issues?  These are some of the topics to be addressed by our speakers, Arthur T. Motta, Chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Penn State, and David J. Allard, Director of the Bureau of Radiation Protection at the PA Department of Environmental Protection.  We invite you to join us on Sunday, November 3 at 2 pm at Schlow Library for what promises to be a stimulating discussion, with refreshments to follow.
–OpEd in CDT

Our OpEd for September in the Centre Daily Times was written by Sylvia Neely and focused on Climate Change and the Constitution.  You can read it on our CCL State College Facebook page by clicking here.
–CCL November Lobby Day

Have you ever attended a CCL national meeting?  They are truly inspiring.  The next opportunity will be on November 11 and 12.  The first day will be presentations and training and the second will be a Lobby Day.  There are scholarships available.  Please contact Sylvia Neely at SNeelyPA@gmail.com or 814-867-5631 about the scholarships.  To learn more or to register for the conference, click here.  Registration deadline: October 20.
National News

The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act now has 66 co-sponsors.  You can find the complete list here.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican from Pennsylvania, and three colleagues have introduced a bipartisan bill similar to one written last year by former Congressman Carlos Curbelo.  The Market Choice Bill proposes using the money from a carbon fee to fund infrastructure.  You can read more about this bill here.  This bill, along with other recent bills, shows a growing momentum in Congress for putting a price on carbon.

The Senate now has a group similar to the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House.   Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, and Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican from Indiana, are creating a bipartisan climate caucus in the Senate.  Click here for more information.

You may recall that last October, Danny Richter, CCL’s Vice President of Government Affairs, spoke to us in State College.  He recently appeared on the NPR program 1A to discuss pricing carbon.  You can listen to the show at this link.
Community News

–The Centre County United Nations Association has scheduled their UN Day Celebration Dinner for October 20 at the Ramada Inn.  The theme of this year’s dinner is Climate Change.  The keynote speaker is Dr. Tom Richard, Director of PSU’s Institutes of Energy and the Environment.  He will be speaking on innovative scientific solutions to reverse the impact of global warming. See  http://www.unacentrecountypa.org/ for more information.

— PA Interfaith Power & Light invites you to see a 2018 documentary that explores the ways cities and states are responding to climate change.  “Paris to Pittsburgh” was produced by National Geographic. See the trailer.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Friday, October 18th at 7:00 pm
Snacks and fellowship start at 6:30. 
Trinity Lutheran Church Wednesday, October 23rd at 6:00 pm
Soup and sandwiches at 6:00, film begins at 6:30
RSVP’s appreciated to Ron Porter rdp1@psu.edu for the meal

Monthly Meeting times for 2019

Tuesday, October 15 at 5:30 pm
Tuesday, November 19 at 5:30 pm
Tuesday, December 17 at 5:30 pm
All monthly meetings take place at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at the end of Waupelani Drive in State College.
◀September 2019
November 2019▶

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