| Dear CCL State College members, This week I came across The Environmental Voter Project’s recent report titled, “Voter drop-off in Battleground States.” They surveyed and analyzed environmental voters in PA and nine other states in anticipation of the 2022 midterm elections. While young voter turnout drops off in midterm elections in every state in the report, PA stands out with 86% of the environmental voters unlikely to vote in November falling between the ages of 18-34. These voters are most prevalent around the Penn State main campus, as well as the suburban areas of Philadelphia. I encourage you to read this short report, specifically the page on Pennsylvania and consider what we might do to encourage these young people to vote.. At our February meeting, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the Voter Dropoff report or where you have found inspiration this month. We’ll also report on the poll regarding our chapter’s priorities and discuss our plan of action. I hope to see you there. Lisa Richardson Join us for the Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, February 15, 2022 5:30pm – 7pm For the zoom link to attend this meeting, please write to PaStateCollege@citizensclimatelobby.org CCL State College Members in Action A report from Dick Jones, coordinator of the Monthly Calling Campaign Since our December meeting, at least 52 calls or letters have gone from our area to our representatives in the federal House and Senate. Another nine letters went to President Biden. Thanks to all who are faithful callers and writers. We’d like to thank the following folks. Kay Cramer, Sue Smith, John Dziak, Nancy Destreel, Sabrina Woodthrush, Kathy Ruhl, Ann Jones, Ken Smeltzer, Nancy Harrison, Gail Guss, Kathy Pollard, Christy LaForce, Linda Westrick, Lynne Heritage, Wayne Laubscher, Fernanda Lugo, Amy Frazier-Yoder, Sylvia Neely, Lisa Richardson and Mark Sentesy. (If we missed you, please let us know.) Please, please, please keep up the good work. It really does make an impression on our elected officials. If you can join the effort, sign up for your reminder email here. For more information, contact Dick Jones at media@statecollegeccl.org On Jan. 9, Dick Jones published an OpEd in the Centre Daily Times focusing on the importance of Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. You can read it here. In Case You Missed It: 2021 Year in review At our January meeting, Lisa Richardson presented a report on our chapter’s impressive activities for the year. In the chart below which tabulates many different kinds of activities, you can see the enthusiastic response of our members to the calls to contact Congress that CCL sent out in July and September. Our thanks to all of those who heeded that call.  Presentations – EnRoads presented as part of Olli Course (Sylvia Neely, Ray Najjar), Forestry Panel (Cathy Cullen, Kay Cramer), Katharine Hayhoe’s Book Chat (Lisa Richardson, Jon Clark), State College to Glasgow presentation given to University Baptist and Brethren Church and to our CCL chapter (Sylvia Neely, Dick Jones, and Lisa Richardson), presentation to Trout Unlimited (Bob Carline) Endorsements – We are especially proud to report that the following signed on as supporters of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Happy Valley Vineyard & Winery, Shy Bear Brewing, State College Friends Meeting, Webster’s Cafe Tabling at Lion Bash and Clinton County Days- Diane Mills, Mike Edwards, Helen Kenion, Lisa Richardson, Sylvia Neely New Members- Number of people who joined our chapter in 2021: 80 Lobby Meetings– Number of meetings with staff of Rep. Fred Keller – 3 (in association with Susquehanna Valley) and with staff of Rep. GT Thompson – 3. In addition, Diane Mills met with Sen. Bob Casey when he was in Lock Haven. National CCL Legislative Update The Reconciliation Bill pending in Congress includes important measures to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill did not pass in the fall. However, the good news is that Congress seems more committed than ever to passing climate legislation, and our efforts certainly played a part in persuading them to pay more attention to the issue. You can hear about the state of affairs in DC in this video. Watch a brief legislative update from Jen Tyler, CCL Director of Government Affairs CCL reminds us that continued pressure is essential if we are to expect Congress to make good on promises for climate action. Please keep up the efforts to contact our Senators and write emails to President Biden. Click here.  Community News Penn State’s Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Food & Environmental Science (SAFES) Here is a list of the speakers for this lecture series: Earth Talks, sponsored by Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. The theme for this semester is “Energy and Climate Policy: Strategies for Getting to Net Zero.” Monday afternoons at 4 pm List of speakers and topics can be found here. PennEnvironment, February 16 at 6pm Join PennEnvironment and the lead sponsors of the PA 100% renewable energy bill in Harrisburg, Senator Cappelletti, Senator Muth, and Rep. Rabb, for a free zoom panel discussion about what a 100% renewable energy future would mean for Pennsylvania. Register here. Environmental Voter Project Briefing, February 17 at 7pm Interested in learning more about the Voter Drop-off report? Here is a link to a special briefing on February 17th. Penn State’s Earth System Science Center offers a Brown Bag Series On Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 11:15 am in 529 Walker Building, Prof. Ray Najjar of Penn State will speak on “The Land-To-Ocean Loops of the Global Carbon Cycle.” For the full list of speakers and the zoom link: ESSC Brown Bag Series |
| If you have ideas, comments, or just want to talk about climate, please feel free to contact Sylvia Neely (PaStateCollege@citizensclimatelobby.org) or Lisa Richardson (twitter@statecollegeccl.org). We would love to hear from you. |