| Dear CCL State College members, The horrors taking place in Ukraine have us all riveted to our news sources. We feel helpless to aid the victims of these atrocious and senseless incidents of cruelty and oppression. But, fortunately, there is something that we can do to make a difference–at least in the long run. We can stop enriching the coffers of petro states by refusing to buy their oil and by speeding the transition away from fossil fuels. This will deprive dictators of the resources that keep them in power and that enable their attacks on human rights. CCL’s commitment to put a price on carbon is essential, for foreign policy now and for the future of the earth. The latest report from the IPCC offered dramatic proof that the room for action to stop the worst of climate change is getting narrower. The IPCC made it clear that a price on carbon is (as they expressed it) “crucial.” Here is a blog post from CCL about the report. Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers are known for their persistence and their focus on solving the hard problems. Please come to our March meeting to learn more about what we are working on. The IPCC stressed that we have no time to waste: “The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay . . . will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” I look forward to seeing you at our March meeting. Sylvia Neely Tuesday, March 15, 2022 5:30pm – 7pm This will be a hybrid meeting. You can join either by Zoom or in person at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in downtown State College. In Person Room 325 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church 208 West Foster Avenue, State College, PA For directions and parking information, click here. Masks are required in the church building Via Zoom Please contact PaStateCollege@citizensclimatelobby.org for information on how to join this meeting. CCL State College Members in Action Mark Neely’s OpEd on Feb. 13 in the Centre Daily Times was inspired by a new book by Saul Griffith entitled Electrify: An Optimist’s Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future (MIT Press, 2021). In the book, Griffith explores strategies for how to electrify our economy. Griffith has also established a website called Rewiring America asking you to pledge to electrify your home and offering information on how to do it. Dick Jones (assisted by Sylvia Neely) was the featured speaker on Feb. 9 at the Torch Club in State College. They gave a demonstration of the En-ROADS climate simulator which allows participants to explore the effectiveness of different climate policies with the goal of reducing global emissions and temperature. Stay tuned for more details about another demonstration that will be open to the public and happening soon. CCL National Conference in person CCL will once again hold its national conference in person in Washington, DC on June 11-13. If you have not had a chance to attend this conference, this is a great opportunity to meet people, to learn, and to be inspired. Please save the date and think seriously about attending. We have some funds available for scholarships, so let us know if you are interested and would like to apply. Write to PaStateCollege@citizensclimatelobby.org CCL National Call Every month, CCL hosts a call for all members throughout the United States and the world which features an invited speaker and news of CCL activities. The speaker on March 12 at 1pm is Dr. Jennifer Carman from the famous Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. For more information, including how to listen to the call, click here. Contact Congress and the White House 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 Three Running for PSU Trustee on Climate Platform –Report from Dick Jones For the 2022 Penn State alumni trustee election, three candidates have put forth a “climate action platform.” Specifically, they want to: 1. Support the creation of sustainability learning outcomes and a Solar Energy Engineering major to ensure students remain competitive in a changing job market. 2. Achieve a carbon-neutral Penn State by 2035 by supporting the recommendations of Penn State’s Carbon Reduction Task Force. 3. Divest from fossil fuels and develop transparent and robust socially responsible investment practices. 4. Collaborate with Pennsylvania’s state-related schools to invest in additional renewable energy projects and jobs in Pennsylvania. They have developed a seven-page document outlining these goals. Penn State is unusual in its strong alumni presence on its board. Three alumni trustees are elected each year by the alumni of the University. The three candidates who are backing a climate action platform are Dr. Edward Smith, Dr. Christa Hasenkopf, and Dr. Farnaz Farhi. In addition to climate issues, these three, who call themselves “Penn State Forward,” have staked out positions on equity, safety, and transparency in governance. Only Penn State graduates are eligible to vote in alumni trustee elections. If you are a Penn State grad and want to vote you can request a ballot here. The actual voting begins April 10 and ends May 5. Earth Talks, Monday afternoons at 4 pm This semester the focus is on climate policy and all of the presentations will be of interest to CCL members. Sponsored by Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. Lists of speakers and videos of previous presentations are available here. Banff Film Festival, sponsored by Sierra Club Moshannon Group Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9. A different show each night. Doors open at 6 pm. Films start at 7 pm. Tickets on sale at the State Theatre. PA Climate Convergence Climate activists from throughout Pennsylvania will be converging on Harrisburg for three days of activities on June 11-13. Here is the website. At our CCL meeting on March 15, Doug Mason of the Sierra Club Moshannon Group will tell us about what is being planned. Penn State’s Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Food & Environmental Science (SAFES) Here is a list of the speakers for this lecture 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. |