| | 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. | | | Is your Sierra Club Group or Chapter actively engaged in local efforts to address the climate crisis? Climate Action Awards of up to $1,000 are available! We are once again offering several Community Climate Action Awards of up to $1,000 each to a limited number of Sierra Club Groups or Chapters that are advancing local, climate-focused initiatives. All applications must be received by or before May 31, 2023.
Representative local actions would include supporting high-impact ordinances to reduce emissions or increasing climate change awareness and education. Awardees will be expected to provide a year-end report that emphasizes results achieved and lessons learned. To apply, please complete and submit the Qualifications and Application form. | | | | Get to know Ben Jealous — In a recent forum, Sierra Club’s new Executive Director candidly discussed the journey that led him to his current role, his approach to movement building, top short-term priorities and some aspects of his personal life. Ben has also been traversing the country to visit Sierra Club chapters. Follow his listening tour here.
Watch now >> | | | How can states and local communities take advantage of the unprecedented funding becoming available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act? Jen Hensley, Sierra Club's Director of State Lobbying and Advocacy, and Taylor Becker, the Club’s State Lobbying and Advocacy Representative, take you through opportunities and challenges.
Watch now >> | | | Where should we put our solar?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration publishes the Energy Atlas, which shows where the country is developing its solar infrastructure. The map below identifies each site with a sun icon. Clicking on an icon in the live version of this map enables a variety of information about the facility to be viewed, including the city and county in which it is located and the amount of electricity it's capable of generating. | | | One perspective that this map doesn't provide is the impact these sites have had on forests and agricultural and natural lands. Solar plants require large amounts of land that's flat, sunny, and near transmission lines. One of the largest plants in the world north of Los Angeles consists of 1.7 million panels taking up more than 3,000 acres. Some portion of these sites undoubtedly involved making difficult environmental tradeoffs. Would developing urban and disturbed lands instead have been a better choice?
The U.S. Department of Energy found in its Solar Futures Study that “In 2050, ground-based solar technologies require a maximum land area equivalent to 0.5% of the contiguous U.S. surface area. This requirement could be met in numerous ways, including the use of disturbed or contaminated lands unsuitable for other purposes.” Additional studies point to the potential for solar installations on rooftops and on contaminated ground to deliver substantial amounts of power, including in California and New England. It’s even possible to float solar panels on water. One study estimates that there are 24,419 man-made bodies of water in the U.S. suitable for such installations.
Curious about other renewable sources? The Energy Atlas contains a wealth of additional information about electricity generation and consumption in the U.S., including wind, geothermal, and biomass. | | | | The push to phase out gas heating intensifies | Natural gas (aka methane) is used for home space and water heating in a little over half of U.S. homes. If we are to substantially reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions, we must stop burning gas and switch to electrical heating instead. Electrifying the large number of buildings in this country is a huge undertaking — and it needs to happen fast.
Laws banning natural gas hookups in new buildings have popped up in cities around the country, but they face political headwinds: 20 states have passed "preemption" laws that prohibit natural gas bans. In any case, gas bans apply only to new buildings, meaning just a tiny percentage of homes are electrified each year. Getting gas heaters out of existing buildings has up until now relied on a patchwork of local incentive programs and proactive home owners.
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide. This decision delayed national regulatory action on the main climate-damaging pollutant from burning fossil fuels. However, combustion devices contribute to other air pollutants — such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ozone — which were identified by the original Clean Air Act and have standards enforced by the EPA in all states. Agencies in California are taking advantage of these well-established air pollution standards to speed up climate action.
A March 2023 rule by the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality District (BAAQMD) will phase out new and replacement residential gas-fired water heaters and furnaces by 2029 under EPA standards limiting NOx in the atmosphere. BAAQMD has not banned gas heaters outright, but set the NOx emissions allowed for them to zero, a standard that only electric heating appliances can meet.
At the same time, financial incentives helping low-income homeowners to switch their gas heaters to electric heat pumps have taken a leap forward with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA offers rebates for heat pumps and for upgrading electrical panels.
What about gas stoves and ovens? Because gas-fired water heaters and furnaces vent to the outdoors, the EPA and air districts like BAAQMD have authority to regulate pollutants from them. No agency has authority to regulate gas stoves since the pollution they create is a problem of indoor air quality, which is left to residents to manage.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is working on a statewide zero-emissions rule for heaters, using the EPA's ozone standard, and the Sierra Club and others are pushing the EPA to take similar action at the national level. Details about the BAAQMD action and how a state or local air district can adopt such a zero-emissions rule for space and water heaters can be found here in the Local Climate Actions Toolbox.
| | | Community Climate Action Awards lay the foundation for transformative change
Local actions frequently provide just the incentives government officials need to take critical actions that help avert the dangerous effects of global warming.
That’s why Sierra Club’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Team has been offering Community Climate Action Awards to Sierra Club Chapters or Groups. The program offers modest financial support to kick-start or sustain projects that: address the local causes of climate change, advance environmental justice and community collaboration, and benefit from additional financial resources.
In past years, awards have spearheaded the creation of regional climate plans and bi-lingual fact sheets, among other projects. This article highlights examples that might work where you live or stimulate conversations that could lead to a climate action that is right for your community.
Continue reading >> | | | | Hyperconsumerism, fast fashion, and the climate crisis
Buying things on impulse, or the latest gadget or fashion trend, or to feel good about ourselves, or to keep up with societal pressure all contribute to the disturbing hyperconsumerism trend.
Fast fashion and the pressure to purchase the newest and most trendy items have a decidedly negative impact on the environment. That’s because the production of fast fashion relies heavily on synthetic materials like polyester, which are made from non-renewable resources and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. These materials also require significant amounts of water, energy, and other resources, leading to the depletion of natural resources and increased greenhouse gas emissions. And when we’re done with them, discarded garments end up in landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to decompose, releasing harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
Although it’s unlikely that fast fashion retailers will close up shop, we can take take steps to mitigate their negative impact by purchasing used used clothing, donating unwanted items to friends and neighbors, and mending/cleaning damaged garments.
Continue reading >> | | | Individual CO2 emissions by income – another sign of inequality
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has looked at how global emissions relate to global income inequality from the perspectives of inequality between countries and within countries.
The IEA has estimated that the top 10% of CO2 emitters globally – 782 million people – contributed almost half of energy related CO2 emissions. This contrasts sharply with the bottom 10% who contributed 0.2%. The United States has by far the largest carbon footprint, outdistancing the similarly advanced economies of the European Union.
The graph below divides the populations of the United States, European Union, China, and India into 10 equal income groups – deciles. Decile #1, in blue, is the lowest 10% of income. Decile #10, in yellow, is the highest. The range of per capita CO2 emissions is on the vertical axis. The interactive version of this graph enables every income level to be viewed along with its contribution to emissions. For example, the richest decile in the United States emits more than 56 tons of CO2 per capita each year, while the poorest decile – consumers of relatively small amounts of goods and services – emits only 3.5 tons of CO2 per capita each year. The comparable figures for the European Union’s established economies are 25 tons and 1.5 tons, and for China’s rapidly developing economy are 29.5 tons and 0.9 tons, respectively. India’s per capita emissions are negligible at this stage in the country’s development. | | | There is a worldwide need for those individuals living in advanced economies, e.g., the European Union, South Korea, the United States, who contribute a disproportionate share to carbon emissions, to examine their lifestyles critically. This is especially true when it comes to making decisions about transportation, from commuting in personal vehicles to flying. Where might they (we!) reduce our consumption?
Special responsibility falls to the United States for funding measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change. In addition to its ongoing contribution of CO2 to the atmosphere, the country’s historical contribution from burning fossil fuels to power its economy has amounted to 420 billion metric tons (as of 2021). | | | | 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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