| | The Climate Activist is brought to you by the Climate Emergency Mobilization Team. For more information about the team, please click here. This newsletter supports local climate activists in their efforts to reduce climate warming emissions and increase carbon sequestration. It also features actions taken by climate activists across the country who are making the transformational changes needed to restore a safe and stable climate. | | | Costly weather and climate disasters increasing“Sure, the climate is changing. And one of the reasons why the climate is changing is because the climate has always been changing. There has never been a time when the climate has not changed.” – Florida Senator Marco Rubio Yes, the climate does change. But humankind has never seen the climate change so fast, increasing the number and severity of weather and climate disasters, in particular droughts, wildfires, and extreme precipitation. Since 1980, the United States has experienced 338 events where the costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (adjusted to 2022 CPI). Total cost: $2.295 trillion. In 2022 alone (through October 11), there were 15 such events as seen on the map: | | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2022). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/, DOI: 10.25921/stkw-7w73 | And the trend is a growing number of events each year: The dollar figures are conservative, as they do not include all costs. Notably they exclude losses to “natural capital or environmental degradation.” The dollar amounts also reflect the increased vulnerability and value of places where people choose to live. | New interactive tool tracks liquified natural gas export projects2021 marked the largest increase in atmospheric methane (the primary component of natural gas) ever recorded. The International Energy Agency maintains in its Net Zero by 2050 - A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector report that if we are to stay below 1.5 degrees C, no new natural gas fields can be developed and the trade in liquified natural gas (LNG) must decline by 60% by 2050 (page 103).* And yet, billions of dollars are being invested today in terminals to export LNG to overseas markets. The Sierra Club has developed the US LNG Export Tracker, an interactive tool that compiles and analyzes information on all existing and proposed LNG export projects in the United States. It sheds light on the facilities being constructed, their impact, and who they are benefiting. The graphs below show two of several available via a series of tabs, each looking at a different aspect of the data. | | The graph on the left shows the types and amounts of funding for these projects. For instance, through loans and the bonds it’s underwritten, Bank of America has funded close to $5 billion in export terminals. The next graph shows that the bank has enabled a cumulative capacity of more than 17 billion cubic feet per day through a combination of projects planned, under construction, and operating. The Bank of America, together with the other financial institutions disclosed, are taking us in exactly the opposite direction in which we should be heading, locking us into decades of further dependence on fossil fuels. *While 1.5 degrees C is frequently referred to in articles and studies as a ceiling for warming, climate disruption is already occurring with the Earth about 1.1°C (1.9°F) warmer than it was in the late 19th century. To protect life on Earth as we have known it and begin to restore the climate, the Sierra Club's 2020 climate policy supports a target of less than 350 ppm atmospheric CO2 and 1.0°C (1.8°F) warming in 2100. This new target is required to restore Earth systems to within the boundaries of their natural evolution. For background, read more here and here. | | | | | Grow a community garden | Community gardens are a great way to reduce carbon emissions and build community resilience. There are direct climate benefits to gardening: food can be produced without using fossil fuels or long-distance transportation, while organic gardening sequesters carbon in the soil. There are community benefits as well. A garden brings people together to work on a shared project and offers a public space to be in nature. Free fresh produce and exercise improve local health and the garden can be used to teach gardening and cooking, especially to young people. Not everyone wants to do the physical work of gardening, but there are plenty of other support jobs involved. Money has to be raised, a suitable plot found and permits granted, water and bed infrastructure must be built, and the garden will need a steering committee to manage operations. Starting a community garden from scratch is a big job. Often they are started and run by institutions like churches, local government or schools that have the paid staff and resources to keep them going. See our Toolbox example, which is of a community garden run by a university. | | | How climate change is affecting freshwater lakesIncreased water temperatures, decreased ice cover, droughts, wildfires, floods, and stronger weather patterns caused by climate change are having a detrimental effect on the United States’ freshwater lakes and reservoirs. Animals and humans will suffer from the effects of increased algal blooms, droughts, fires, heightened storms, and flooding. Increased rates of runoff in winter and spring and burnt debris left from ravaging wildfires pose a strong threat to freshwater sources in the Western United States. And runoff, sediment load, and erosion caused by heavy rainfall sweeping the Great Lakes Region threaten the area’s freshwater supply. We must take urgent action now before the negative effects become irreversible. Continue reading >> | | The myth of the methane transition fuelCompanies with an ingrained stake in the fossil fuel industry are working to persuade the public of the virtues of methane (aka natural gas) as a “transition fuel.” This approach ignores the danger methane poses to the environment at every stage, from extraction to use. This potent greenhouse gas is second only to carbon dioxide as a cause of global warming, and a source of toxic pollutants when it is leaked into the atmosphere. We must overcome the efforts of these companies to prolong our dependence on fossil fuels by blocking their efforts to build new facilities for extracting, producing, transporting, and utilizing natural gas.This will allow for immediate short-term benefits and encourage our clean energy transition through efforts such as building decarbonization. Continue reading >> | | | | | | | Deception by the fossil fuel industry adversely affects local communities and the climateThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded more than 100 years ago to fight racism and racial discrimination. Increasingly, climate has become part of the battle. In response, the NAACP established the Environmental and Climate Justice Program with a focus on protecting and mobilizing BIPOC and low-income communities who have had little to no say in locating, permitting, or regulating oil refineries, power plants, and other fossil fueled facilities which have contaminated local air, land, and water and contributed to climate change. The Environmental and Climate Justice Program has created a number of resources to assist communities, including Fossil Fueled Foolery, an Illustrated Primer on the Fossil Fuel Industry’s Deceptive Tactics. Among other topics, this primer documents the pernicious ways in which fossil fuel interests seek to construct or expand chemical facilities by persuading local communities to act against their own interests. For example, they claim health and safety regulations will harm the local economy and reduce job opportunities and offer financial support to local churches and non-profits in order to weaken opposition to new projects. Learn more >> | | | | Climate BasicsAre you just beginning to become more familiar with the climate crisis? Still a bit unsure of some of the concepts and terminology? We have a series of videos designed to help. Photo: David Alberto Carmona Coto |
| | Climate Emergency ResolutionAs of June 2022, governments covering 1 billion people worldwide have declared climate emergencies. Will your community be next? Check out our how-to guide on writing a Climate Emergency Resolution. Photo: Markus Spiske |
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