Monthly Meeting – September 15 at 5 pm via Zoom
The news these days is dominated by the pandemic, racial justice, and the election. Our meeting this month will be via Zoom to protect our members from contagion. This month’s national CCL call features a speaker from the National Black Environmental Justice Network (see below). We urge voters committed to the issue of climate change to get involved in the political process. Lisa Richardson has outlined below some things you can do.
Even amidst these absorbing concerns, we cannot forget that climate change still has not been solved. At our meeting this month, we will explore what Citizens’ Climate Lobby is doing to prepare for the new Congressional session starting in January. What is the news about legislation? What can our organization do to make sure that carbon pricing is among the solutions seriously considered? We will review and assess what our chapter has done in the past year and set goals for the next year. Please join us for this important discussion.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 from 5 to 6:30 pm
For a link to the meeting, write to PaStateCollege@citizensclimatelobby.org
New to CCL? We will be offering an introduction to our work after our meeting, from 6:30 to 7 pm. We will try to answer any questions you have then.
News from our chapter
Ed Cullen published an informative letter to the editor on dams, warming waters, and the salmon industry. The letter was published in the Centre Daily Times on August 28.
Going Green Pays Off was the title of John Swisher’s letter to the Centre Daily Times that appeared in the August 27 issue. It focused on the economic advantages of green development.
Kathy Pollard’s OpEd in the Centre Daily Times of August 8 described some important ways farmers can help solve the climate crisis. It was entitled “With support, Pennsylvania’s farmers can deliver climate solutions.”
If you miss any of the contributions by CCL members, you can always read them later on our chapter webpage: statecollegeccl.org
Maxwell Boykoff in special presentation
Our CCL chapter will be hosting a special presentation in conjunction with the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State. Our speaker will be Maxwell T. Boykoff, Associate Professor in the Center for Science and Technology Policy, and Fellow in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He is the author of Who Speaks for the Climate?: Making Sense of Media Reporting. Please save the date: Thursday, October 1 at 6 pm. Details will follow soon.
The Age of the Environmental Voter- Act now to ensure your vote counts!
Votes PA
—Are you registered to vote? Pennsylvania’s deadline is 10/19/20.
—If you recently moved or had a name change you will need to update your records at least 30 days before the next election.
—Anyone in Pennsylvania can use a mail-in ballot, but you must apply by 5pm on October 27th to allow time to be verified as a registered voter. Apply online and save time by clicking here. Help ensure a smooth process and don’t delay!
—Ready to help even more? Volunteers are needed for the Environmental Voter Project at https://www.environmentalvoter.org/, Rock The Vote https://www.rockthevote.org/ and poll workers are needed https://www.votespa.com/Resources/Pages/Be-a-Poll-Worker.aspx
—Questions about voting in Pennsylvania? Go to Votes PA
Monthly Calling Campaign
How do we convince our members of Congress that their constituents want them to act on climate? The Monthly Calling Campaign aims to communicate with every Congressional office at least once a day about climate change. We need your help to accomplish this goal. If you can commit to spending five minutes a month making a call to voice your concerns, click here to enroll. If you want to learn more about the program, email monthlycall@statecollegeccl.org to reach the local coordinator of this program, Cathy Cullen.
Endorsement Outreach
We want to demonstrate a wide and growing support for climate action. We also want to persuade our members of Congress that prominent and influential community leaders and organizations are also in favor of a congressional legislative solution. Can you help us identify local businesses and organizations who can be invited to endorse HR 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act? The coordinator of this effort is Linda Westrick. To learn more about Endorsements and what you can do to get involved, email endorse@statecollegeccl.org .
Regional Conference Recording
On August 22 the Appalachia Region of Citizens’ Climate Lobby held its regional conference (virtually, of course) in conjunction with the Southeast Region. The extensive and informative program featured three choices for every time slot. So even if you were able to attend the conference live, you were forced to miss 2/3 of it. Recordings of all the sessions are now available. Here is the link.
News from CCL national
Every month Citizens’ Climate Lobby hosts a call for all volunteers around the world. In addition to bringing you up to date on the latest accomplishments of CCL, it features a presentation from a prominent speaker. This month’s featured speaker is Tina Johnson, director of the National Black Environmental Justice Network. The September call will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 1 pm. To connect by video conference, go to cclusa.org/meeting (NOTE: this links to meeting ID# 95498355745) The calls are recorded and you can listen to or watch them later by going to this link.
If you’d like to take a dive into effective climate communication, CCL is hosting a workshop with environmental psychologist Dr. Renee Lurtzman on Saturday September 12th from 3:00-5:00 pm. Register here: https://community.citizensclimate.org/events/item/24/4440
En-ROADS Workshop
Pennsylvania boasts 19 active chapters of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. All of us are being invited to a special workshop with CCL volunteer Noel Smyth from Delaware County, who will demonstrate a terrific new tool that will allow you to explore what the results of various policies to reduce emissions might be. Produced by experts at MIT, the En-ROADS calculator is an easy-to-use simulation that lets you build your own mix of climate solutions, then tells you how much your ideas will cut global warming.
Join us on Thursday, September 24 at 7 pm via Zoom for a short training on how to use the model and then start testing your favorite mix of climate solutions. Based on state-of-the-art climate science, it’s fun to use and offers valuable insights about the challenge we’re facing and the tools we have to deal with it.
To register and receive the link for the session, go to: https://tinyurl.com/y2ps5m5p
Community News
The Bipartisan Policy Center is hosting an online discussion of the role of climate-smart agriculture in tackling climate change and enhancing rural economies. The event will be held on Thursday September 10th at 3:30-4:30 pm. To sign up for the webinar, go to this link.
Science Communication and Climate Change Oct 28, 3:30-4:30pm Part of Penn State’s Science Communication Program, a virtual panel will feature an in-depth climate change discussion with journalists and Penn State experts as they relate their experiences communicating their research with the media and other audiences. To register, visit this link.
Penn State’s Earth System Science Center announces a fall line-up of seminars on climate science, carbon emissions and more. The list is here.
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