Summer's over,

November's coming,

 and there's work to be done. Start here: 

Marin CCL membership meeting

Saturday, September 10 at 0900 AM PT

Now that summer's (supposedly) over, "normal" life resumes and both weather and politics heat up, let's reconnect to discuss some of the major events we've recently witnessed. CCL Economics coordinator Jonathan Marshall will lead a discussion of what's in the historic climate bill, what isn't, and why we still need a carbon tax. We'll also discuss options for voter participation in our fragile democracy. Please join us. 

Here's the link

Then join the CCL National Call

September 10th, 10 AM PT, with

Johns Hopkins University political scientist

Hahrie Han 

Our recent big win on climate legislation owes much to the grassroots organizing that CCL and others provided. More solutions will be needed to meet our climate goals — like a price on carbon — which means more grassroots organizing.

Joining us this month is CCL Advisory Board member Hahrie Han, Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, who specializes in the transformational process that empowers volunteers to be effective advocates. She's the author of several books, her most recent being Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America.

Here's the link

Sep. 12 at 6pm PT 

Take political action to protect democracy and our planet.

As our planet burns and political tensions rise, American democracy is under attack due to partisan gridlock and disinformation that block climate action and social change.

Help protect democracy and our planet in this time of crisis. Sign up for Save Democracy and the Planet, a free Zoom event on Monday, September 12 at 6pm Pacific Time.  

A select group of community leaders will speak about taking effective political action to build a more just and sustainable world.

• Jared Huffman, U.S. Representative (CA02): Shoring up national climate progress 
• Ellie Cohen, The Climate Center: How California can lead the nation beyond net zero GHG
• Stephanie Moulton-Peters, Marin County Supervisor: Climate action and local democracy
• Laura Neish, 350 Bay Area: How to help climate and democracy win the midterms

Learn how to make a difference in the critical midterm elections by taking actions such as helping people vote and supporting champions of democracy in federal, state and local elections. 

Register here for this free event

ICYMI, watch the August 30 recording of 

Dr. Michael Mann

and Congressman Jared Huffman

discussing

The New Climate War

Over 400 people were either present at Book Passage or have watched online. A valuable 80 minutes with a world class climatologist and our own member of Congress. 

Stream it here

Dr. Mann's July 17 CNN interview

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was getting progressives to oppose carbon pricing."

-- Tweet from Dr. Mann, 4/11/20

Since the 1999 publication of the "Hockey Stick" graph showing rapid late 20th century warming, Dr. Mann has been mercilessly attacked by forces who still don't like his message despite the now obvious evidence. He has courageously fought back -- and won.

In his latest book, Dr. Mann explains how fossil fuel companies have waged a thirty-year campaign to deflect blame and delay action on climate change. He offers a battle plan for how we can save the planet. (See below for the PBS Frontline series on how the industry succeeded.)

Recycle. Fly less. Eat less meat. These are some of the ways that we've been told we can slow climate change. But the inordinate emphasis on individual behavior is the result of a marketing campaign that has succeeded in placing the responsibility for fixing climate change squarely on the shoulders of individuals.

Fossil fuel companies have followed the example of other industries, deflecting blame (think "guns don't kill people, people kill people") or greenwashing (think of the beverage industry's 1970's "Crying Indian" commercials.) Meanwhile, they've blocked efforts to regulate or price carbon emissions, run PR campaigns aimed at discrediting viable alternatives, and have abdicated their responsibility for fixing the problem they've created. The result has been disastrous for our planet.

In The New Climate War, Dr. Mann argues that all is not lost. Drawing the battle lines between people and the polluters -- fossil fuel companies, right-wing plutocrats and petrostates -- he outlines a plan to force our governments and corporations to wake up and make real change, including:

• A common-sense, attainable approach to carbon pricing and a revision of the well-intentioned but flawed Green New Deal;
• Allowing renewable energy to compete fairly against fossil fuels;
• Debunking the false narratives and arguments that have driven a wedge between even those who support climate change solutions; and
• Combatting climate doomism and despair

CCL members are invited to show their appreciation for Dr. Mann's outstanding work by purchasing his book from our great local book store.

Michael E. Mann is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University. He has received many honors and awards and in 2020 was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He is also the author of Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change; The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines, and The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial is Threatening our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy.

Jared Huffman has very ably represented our congressional district since 2013. A strong environmental leader, he's a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and chairs the subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, among other committee assignments.

 CCL's first Inclusion Conference

September 17

Elevate, Empower, and Rise Up Together:

A conference where all are welcome

Reception: Friday, Sept 16th at 4pm PT

Conference: Saturday, Sept 17th, 9am-3pm PT

Climate change impacts all of us, but especially people in frontline communities, who are left out of important conversations about taking climate action. Our first diversity and inclusion virtual conference will bring individuals from all backgrounds together in unity, community and trust. Join the conference to form connections with fellow climate advocates and walk away with tools of empowerment and confidence.

More info

New! Nerd* Corner

*Nerd: (Noun, a complement) A person who is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a particular subject, especially one of niche interest.

New Study Confirms Huge Benefits of Climate Action

Jonathan Marshall,

CCL economics research coordinator,

former economics editor, S.F. Chronicle

Last week I reported a stunning estimate by the Office of Management and Budget that the social benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions could be as high as $1.9 trillion. That seemed like a big deal to me at the time, and a great return on a 10-year investment of $370 billion.

Starting today, however, that number needs to be revised up—way up. Based on a new study by two dozen leading economists and climate researchers in Nature magazine, the actual benefits of the IRA could be $4.5 trillion or even higher. Remember that jaw-dropping number anytime someone tells you government solutions never work.

The new study re-estimates dramatically upward what economists call the “social cost of carbon” (SCC). The term refers to the net damage, in current dollars, caused by the emission of an additional ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. (That’s about what one passenger car produces over 2,500 miles.) The damage can range from fires, droughts, and floods to the loss of human life from excessive heat.

Often called “the most important number you’ve never heard of,” the SCC has become incredibly important to environmental policy and regulation. Careful study by serious experts in the Obama administration set the number at $51 per metric ton of CO2. Federal and state government planners here and abroad have subsequently used SCC estimates to justify fuel economy standards, power plant regulations, limits on emissions from oil and gas facilities, procurement decisions, and national carbon prices.

Because of its importance, the SCC has also become a target of climate skeptics. A research fellow at the right-wing Heritage Foundation dismissed it as “the most useless number you’ve never heard of.” Determined to roll back EPA regulations on power plant emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency, the Trump administration slashed its official SCC estimate to between $1 and $7/t-CO2.

Reflecting its significance, one of President Biden’s first acts on taking office was to order a full review of SCC estimates, due sometime this year. In the interim, his administration revived the Obama-era $51 number for use by federal agencies. Last May, the Supreme Court overturned an injunction by a Trump-appointed Louisiana judge and allowed the Biden administration to keep using the SCC for planning purposes.

Beating his administration to the punch, two dozen scholars from institutions such as the University of California, Princeton, Harvard, and Resources for the Future, reported today on the results of their five years of work to implement a landmark 2017 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on ways to improve the scientific basis of SCC estimates.

The team’s central estimate for the SCC is $185/t-CO2, 3.6 times higher than the government’s current value. 

Read On

More Good News:

California Approves a Wave of Aggressive New Climate Measures

After lobbying by the governor, lawmakers adopted $54 billion in climate spending and voted to keep open the state’s last nuclear plant.

NYT

INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS

Democrats Designed the Climate Law to Be a Game Changer. Here’s How.

In a first, the measure legally defines greenhouse gases as pollution. That’ll make new regulations much tougher to challenge in court.

NYT

Expansion of Clean Energy Loans Is ‘Sleeping Giant’ of Climate Bill

The bill President Biden signed into law recently will greatly expand government loans and loan guarantees for clean energy and automotive projects and businesses.

NYT

After Signing Climate Bill, Biden Prepares More Actions to Cut Emissions

Regulations from the E.P.A. and elsewhere will help the president meet his aggressive climate goals, administration officials say.

NYT

DO NOT MISS THIS SERIES!

Doubt, Denial and Delay -- that was yesterday. Now it's Deception, Distraction, Disinformation and Doomism, 

according to Dr. Mann.