A regional resource for Cape & Islands climate activists
April 6, 2021
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As countries struggle to meet ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, financial backers and government officials are grappling with how to study ideas for engineering the Earth’s climate.
Why it matters: Once dismissed as science fiction, solar geoengineering is now viewed as a possible tool to help humans reduce the dangerous impacts of climate change on ecosystems and society. However, much remains to be learned about these schemes before they can be considered. Driving the news: A report released today by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) details recommendations for conducting, funding and governing research on solar geoengineering. Read more.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The most important thing you can do as an individual is be a little bit less of an individual and join together with others in the movements
that we've built to allow for rapid change."
— Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org
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Biden administration launches major push to expand offshore wind power
By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post, March 29, 2021
The White House on Monday detailed an ambitious plan to expand wind farms along the East Coast and jump-start the country’s nascent offshore wind industry, saying it hoped to trigger a massive clean-energy effort in the fight against climate change.
The plan would generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of the decade — enough to power more than 10 million American homes and cut 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions...“We are ready to rock-and-roll,” national climate adviser Gina McCarthy told reporters in a phone call Monday. Read more.
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Markey and progressive Democrats see infrastructure bill as a way to accomplish Green New Deal goals
By Jess Bidgood, The Boston Globe, March 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — In the viral ad that helped put his underdog campaign on a glide path to victory last summer, Senator Ed Markey cast himself as the Green New Dealmaker, an old hand in vintage sneakers who was agitating for sweeping progress on climate change.
“We’ve got to make sure President Biden signs the Green New Deal,” Markey said. “We can’t wait.”
Six months later, that isn’t going to happen — not exactly. But Markey and other progressives still insist they are on the cusp of the most consequential environmental legislation in a generation. Read more.
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Forests as natural climate solutions
By Miles Grant, Woodwell Climate Research Center Magazine, Fall 2020
Achieving internationally agreed climate targets is likely to require not only rapid decarbonization across all sectors of the economy, but also the removal of massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Protecting and restoring forests currently is the most cost effective way to do that. Already, forests absorb roughly one third of fossil fuel emissions globally. Forest restoration and regrowth could expand that, but specifics of where and how much remain uncertain. Woodwell Climate Research Center continues to be a global leader in advancing understanding of the potential of this natural climate solution, and carrying that understanding into the public sphere.
While it is clear that forests have a significant role to play in climate change mitigation globally, incorporating natural climate solutions into emissions reduction and sustainable development goals at the national or local level remains more challenging. Previous work with collaborators at The Nature Conservancy showed that natural climate solutions could provide over a third of the emissions reductions needed in the coming decade to limit warming to less than 2°C. Read more.
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Joint Base Cape Cod Machine Gun Range News
Guard plans to issue Finding of No Significant Impact
The National Guard Bureau plans to issue a Finding of No Significant Impact for their proposed Machine Gun Range at Joint Base Cape Cod. This finding is being issued despite the concerns raised by APCC* as well as overwhelming public opposition to the project revealed by APCC public records request, which forced release of the public concerns.
While the finding has not yet been released, it represented a full steam ahead approach by the Guard to force this project on Cape Cod with no regard for the requirement to protect the water supply of the Upper Cape or to the impact of the largest forest clear cut on Cape Cod in recent memory and the resultant impact on climate from the loss of mature forest cover. This project remains substantively flawed and poorly sited. While not the last step in the process, this action is a clear and unmistakable statement of intent by the Guard Bureau to proceed no matter the extent of public opposition or environmental damage that may result.
The focus will now shift to stopping this project at the state Environmental Management Commission. APCC (and other coalition members) will be providing guidance on how to engage with the EMC to ensure that the legitimate concerns of the public and the protection of the water supply, as required by law, are given the weight required by law.
Source: The Association to Preserve Cape Cod, April 2, 2021
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*In addition to APCC, anti-gun range coalition members include Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative, 350 Cape Cod, Coalition for Social Justice, Faith Communities Environmental Network, Sierra Club Cape Cod, Sustainable Practices and others.
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As EV Startups Enter the Market, They Say Dealerships — and a Decades-Old Legal Structure — Stand in Their Way
Rivian, Lucid, Lordstown following Tesla’s lead in taking on state laws prohibiting direct auto sales
By Lisa Martine Jenkins, The Morning Consult, March 22, 2021
Arguing that traditional dealerships and direct-to-consumer sales should coexist, EV startups are waging a campaign for access to state markets that currently only allow dealerships or online sales.
But dealerships have pushed back, saying the EV companies are welcome to operate within the existing system, and that the patchwork of state laws blocking direct sales protects customers from vertical integration in the automotive industry. Read more.
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Google maps to offer "eco-friendly" navigation options
By Irina Ivanova, Moneywatch, March 30, 2021
Google Maps is introducing new features to make it easier for drivers to choose eco-friendly options, the company announced Tuesday. The move is part of the company's stated commitment to reduce humanity's carbon emissions.
"Soon, Google Maps will default to the route with the lowest carbon footprint when it has approximately the same ETA as the fastest route," Dane Glasgow, vice president of product at Google Maps, wrote in a blog post. Read more.
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Getting Down to Business (& Finance) |
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The Environmental Implications of the Return to the Office
Telecommuting can save energy and reduce emissions — unless it doesn’t.
By Sarah Holder, Bloomberg, March 29, 2021
A lot is hanging on the return to the office.
In addition to the economic fate of downtown business districts and local transit agencies that rely on workers and commuters, the expected shift away from pandemic-era remote work policies that several major employers have announced could have climate implications, too. A calculator developed by Watershed Technology Inc. shows how transitioning to a fully remote or hybrid workspace could reduce a company’s overall carbon emissions — but at the expense of increasing their employees’ own footprints. Read more.
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Fed to form committee focused on climate risks to financial system
By Sylvan Lane, The Hill, March 23, 2021
The Federal Reserve will create a committee dedicated to understanding the ways climate change could upend the global financial system, a top official announced Tuesday.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard said in a Tuesday speech that the central bank’s new Financial Stability Climate Committee (FSCC) will focus on the potential threats climate change can pose to the broader financial world.
While the Fed had already created a Supervision Climate Committee to study the climate risks facing specific firms and the banking industry generally, Brainard said the new panel will focus on how climate-related disruptions could ripple through credit markets and other industries within the financial sector, causing a broader crisis. Read more.
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Restoring Nature’s Relationships at Home
A video presentation by Dr. Doug Tallamy
Dr. Doug Tallamy, noted entomologist, ecologist, and author, encourages us to landscape with native plants and “Garden as if life depended on it.”
Dr. Tallamy reveals the unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife—native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. Watch the video.
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Congressman Bill Keating Climate and Infrastructure Town Hall
Wednesday, April 7
5:00-6:00 PM
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Congressman Bill Keating is holding a virtual climate and infrastructure town hall, which is to be moderated by Cape & Islands State Senator Julian Cyr. Please see registration link for information about Q&A. |
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Declarations of Climate Emergency
Tuesday, April 13
5:00-6:00 PM
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The Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) is sponsoring a discussion on Climate Emergency Declarations. Representatives from the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative will be presenting on Cape Cod's Climate Emergency Declaration Initiative. |
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Electric Vehicles 101
Thursday, April 15
12:00 - 1:00pm
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Join the Green Energy Consumers Alliance for its popular Electric Vehicles webinar. If you're
curious about getting an electric vehicle (EV), but not sure where to start, this webinar covers environmental and consumer benefits, information about batteries and charging, state and federal incentives. Q&A opportunity.
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Financing Net Zero
Tuesday, April 13
12-1:00 pm
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The Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) and the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) are hosting a four-part series connecting clean energy advocates with design professionals and affordable housing advocates to center affordable housing and housing stability in the the climate movement. Learn more about financing strategies for making buildings operate to net zero standards and other strategies. |
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Check out the session recordings below.
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Watch 30+ videos and learn from experts around the region, state and country.
Join the conversation and get involved!
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MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATIVE RESOURCES
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We are an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to reach carbon neutrality — or net zero — on Cape Cod and the Islands of Massachusetts by enhancing communication, collaboration, and activism among organizations, programs, and individuals committed to mitigating the climate crisis. We depend upon the generosity of our stakeholders to conduct our work. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
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The Climate Action Alerts newsletter is compiled and crafted by Fran Schofield. If you've got a climate story from your home, school, workplace, town or organization, please be in touch!
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