Read & Watch

Movie Review 2: Planet of the Humans

Watch it and weep: Skip this film and go for a nature walk. By Jacqueline Krim (North Carolina State University) As if global citizens didn’t have enough mental health challenges during the current pandemic, Michael Moore, a.k.a. “Debbie Downer”, marked Earth Day Eve 2020 with a temporary and free YouTube release of a documentary film, “Planet of the Humans”. The film, which was originally released in July 2019, goes on for 100 seemingly endless, despair-inducing minutes with a focus on negative environmental impacts of green… Read More »Movie Review 2: Planet of the Humans

Movie Review: Planet of the Humans

By Milton W. Cole Planet of the Humans is a controversial film that has received significant attention, in large part because its executive producer is Michael Moore, an iconoclastic film-maker and prominent leftist commentator. The film (temporarily available free on YouTube) is critical, indeed damning, of the environmental movement and especially its focus on climate change and the need for alternative renewable energy sources. The central question addressed by the film is this: does humankind really benefit from increased reliance on technologies that capture and… Read More »Movie Review: Planet of the Humans

May 2020

CCL State College chapter members, we need you to joinour digital advocacy effort! At a time when many of our lobbying, tabling, and in-person grassroots educational efforts are on hold, we need to look at what it is we CAN do. It’s time for agility, time to learn something new, and time to shift priorities into the digital realm. We can continue to fight to put a price on pollution, but we need your help to leverage the power of social media.  Did you know that… Read More »May 2020

Climate Watch: Saving the world while sheltering in place

Who could’ve imagined a global crisis larger than climate change? But here we are sheltering in place to curtail a virus. How can we overcome our biggest challenges even though we’re sequestered at home, like climate change, and other environmental and humanitarian causes challenges that haven’t evaporated along with our day-to-day lives? Good news: there’s much that we can do from our couch and kitchens. Here are some ideas: 1. Work on climate change The revenue-neutral Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, or H.R.763 allocates fees collected… Read More »Climate Watch: Saving the world while sheltering in place

National Volunteer Week

By Bree Guy A world-wide event, President Trump declared Sunday, April 19th through Saturday, April 25th National Volunteer Week, 2020 for the United States. In the proclamation, he states that “civic engagement and volunteering strengthens this country and our national character is judged on how we help others.” You can find the proclamation here. […] Earth Day also happens to fall within National Volunteer Week. This year’s theme is climate action. People and local organizations are still working hard to spread information and volunteer their time… Read More »National Volunteer Week

Local climate advocates to join nationwide virtual Earth Day event

At 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, you are invited to participate in “Uniting from Home: A virtual CCL event with Katharine Hayhoe.” This event, taking place on Zoom, will allow attendees to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and take action on climate change, while still respecting public health recommendations for social distancing. The event will feature keynote speaker Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, who is a world-renowned climate scientist, an evangelical Christian, and the creator of the educational show “Global Weirding” on PBS.  Many… Read More »Local climate advocates to join nationwide virtual Earth Day event

Opinion: On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, much has changed

By Sylvia Neely This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A lot has changed since April 22, 1970. At that time, on college campuses, people against the Vietnam War were holding “teach-ins” to explain why they were opposed. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin decided to adopt this idea by holding “teach-ins” on the environment on college campuses. The original name was “Environmental Teach-In.” And they chose April 22 because they wanted a date before the students left for the semester. But the idea… Read More »Opinion: On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, much has changed

Book Review: Climate Change and the Fall of Rome

A review of Kyle Harper, The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, & the End of an Empire (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017), 417 pp., maps, charts, illustrations. At the end of the sixth century Pope Gregory, fearing the end of the world amidst unexplained plagues, rushed missionaries to the British Isles to save as many souls as possible in the short time remaining, and this, according to historian Kyle Harper, is what they encountered there: . . . a land that the Romans would hardly… Read More »Book Review: Climate Change and the Fall of Rome

April 2020

Monthly Meeting Online on April 21 In these strange times, the State College chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby will be holding our monthly meeting online using a Zoom connection.  We did this for last month’s meeting and it worked out very well.  The meeting will be on Tuesday, April 21 at 5 pm.  For the Zoom link, join our mailing list. If you have never used Zoom before, you should plan to join the meeting 5 minutes early to make sure that you have a connection. … Read More »April 2020

Saving the world while sheltering in place

Productive Stuff to Do as We Wait it Out at Home By Kathy Pollard, MS, Nutrition instructor, co-founder of SustainableDiet.com, and expert on sustainability and food choice. Her upcoming book is Climate Party! Saving the Planet and Your Health One Plate at a Time. Who could have imagined a global crisis larger than climate change? But here we are! Life as we know it has come to a halt as we hunker down to shelter in place indefinitely, to protect ourselves and tamp down the spread of… Read More »Saving the world while sheltering in place