Wildfires, health and money: How to talk about climate change with skeptics

By Mila Jasper | August 11, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Monday marked a major day in climate change news. The United Nations published a new report that found global warming will likely rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next two decades, a level that will bring more instances of extreme weather.
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There’s a lot to process in the report, which runs many thousands of pages. But critically, it suggests that humans still have a chance to put the brakes on and stop warming from going beyond that 1.5 degree increase. Here’s how to understand the report – and how to talk about it with skeptics – according to an expert on communicating climate science.
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David Colgan is an environmental writer and the director of communications at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability…“What you need is kind of a balance, they need to see a problem and they need to see a potential way out of it,” Colgan said.

Slow and Active Streets

Ralph Propper, board president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento, mentioned one community-level solution that people can focus on: Sacramento’s “slow and active streets” initiative, instituted during the pandemic, was a great way to reduce emissions in the community. But that pilot program ended in July.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article253398155.html

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Photo from https://www.pexels.com/photo/backlit-breathing-apparatus-danger-dangerous-279979/

Sacramento County declared a climate emergency. Its action plan should take that seriously.

By The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board | July 18, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento County is still drafting its long-overdue climate action plan, which could have decades-long impacts on how we care for our environment. A favorable outcome will depend on the seriousness of county officials to act in its best interests.
California is in the midst of a rough summer. Sacramento saw surprisingly early 100-degree days in May, and climate experts say the brutal heat waves across the West Coast that have killed hundreds of people and devastated shellfish will become a recurring summer norm. We’re also facing a severe drought of historic proportions. Oh, and did we mention the wildfires that are outpacing last year’s record season?
Depending on the willingness of Sacramento County officials to commit to significant mitigation strategies, it’s no hyperbole to say the county’s climate plan will determine how long Sacramento will remain habitable in the face of impending climate catastrophe.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article252761058.html

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Photo by Marta Dzedyshko from Pexels

Climate Rally at Sac City Hall on June 25

ECOS encourages your participation in this rally (with safe distancing).

From the Sacramento Climate Coalition:

The heat this year has already been another brutal reminder that our planet is heating up. The current heatwave, like last summer’s, is worse because of climate change, and is just a foretaste of what the weather will bring going forward. The climate emergency requires an immediate response from our government officials!

Join us Friday, June 25 at 10:30 am to 11:30 am on the patio in front of City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 to demand our elected officials and city staffers use 2030 as their goal for eliminating GHG emissions, as they committed to in 2019 when they adopted the Climate Emergency Declaration. Unfortunately when staff make presentations, and when the Mayor made a recent commitment to start the process of planning for electrification of existing buildings: they use 2045 as the goal. As scientists tell us this is simply not fast enough to avoid the worst of what climate change has in store.

We will have signs and banners and maintain social distancing. But of course you can bring your own signs if you wish. You can learn more about this campaign to get the City to join SMUD and the County for a Carbon Free 2030 at our website’s Take Action page.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels

Caltrans Active Transportation Survey (July 16 deadline)

Do you live in any of the following counties: Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba?

If so, please fill out this survey for Caltrans by July 16, 2021.

Your survey response will help Caltrans plan for biking and walking near you. Please click through the following screens to identify concerns that you believe need to be addressed to improve walking and biking on and along State Routes near you.

Take the survey

Photo by PNW Production from Pexels

Developers funded Sacramento County climate action plan

Environmentalists see a conflict.

By Michael Finch II | June 10, 2021, Updated JUNE 11, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento County leaned on developers last year to help fund its long-delayed climate action plan, raising conflict of interest concerns among environmentalists who say the early drafts do not have enough detail to be an effective blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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In the eyes of some environmentalists, the financial arrangement suggests a conflict of interest. Each of the five firms wants the Board of Supervisors to expand the boundaries of where new development is allowed to include their projects. And that decision is in conflict with the aims of the climate plan.
“I know some environmentalists were concerned that the county’s staff was compromised in this way,” said Ralph Propper, president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento. “There were a lot of concerns about that but the county was pleading poverty.”
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article252009793.html

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Photo by Pok Rie from Pexels

Western Soils and Plants are Parched

June 5, 2021 | NASA

For the second year in a row, drought has parched much of the United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. Following one of the planet’s warmest years on record, and with precipitation this year well below average in the western U.S., scientists and government agencies are watching for diminished water resources and potentially severe fire seasons.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148419/western-soils-and-plants-are-parched

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