Marin Chapter Newsletter
July, 2018

CCL exists to create the political will for climate solutions by enabling individual breakthroughs in the exercise of personal and political power. -- Mission Statement

CCL International Conference: Most Massive to Date!
Count 'em: 1,400
CCL's 9th International Conference in Washington, DC, drew 1,400 enthusiastic volunteers over 4 days, 1,200 of whom ascended Capitol Hill to conduct 500 meetings in Congress. It was a great success. The educational sessions were outstanding, and the breakout groups so numerous that it was hard to chose where to go. You can view much of it online .
Dr. James Hansen, former NASA chief climate scientist, awarded CCL's Voice for the Earth prize by founder Marshall Saunders
Dr. James Hansen, among the first to join CCL's Advisory Board will go down in history as a cross between Galileo and Paul Revere -- a great scientist who stuck his neck out to tell the truth, buck the system and sound the alarm. He's never stopped, despite his profound frustration with society's inaction.

Dive in here with the opening video of the "godfather of climate change awareness" receiving CCL's first Voice for the Earth Award exactly thirty years after his fateful testimony to Congress that "global warming has begun." Dr. Hansen vocally advocates for CCL's plan as the most sturdy guarantor of the rights of future generations to a habitable planet. Follow his blog and read his current op-ed below.

Next watch the engaging discussion with Dr. Hansen on why there's hope, Brookings Institute economist Adele Morris on why a tax is superior to cap and trade (great talking points!); Dr . Natasha DeJarnett, American Public Health Association, on the suffering that climate change is already causing; and Trishna Gurung, Ocean Conservancy, on the problems and necessity of effective carbon pricing.
It's also worth watching Dr. Hansen's transformative TED talk on why he's been willing to face arrest and disobey his employer -- the US government (NASA) -- because he knows what's going to happen . You'll then know it for yourself -- viscerally.
June 28, 2018 
Thirty Years Later, What Needs to Change in Our Approach to Climate Change?
See the tiny green sliver at the top, representing the contribution of clean renewables to growing worldwide energy demand? How does this sliver grow while the others diminish? There's no way without increasing the price of the dirty stuff. That's what CCL is all about. Read Dr. Hansen's own words.
CCL newcomers' stories of inspiration, empowerment and gratitude
Next, take in what happened at the end of the conference. After 3 days of education, camaraderie and the exciting lobby day on Capitol Hill, at a well-lubricated evening reception new folks were invited to share their stories of how CCL has impacted their lives. It was amazing. Catch the spirit here and be inspired!
"I love CCL, but do I have to join Ted's army?"
An energy veteran journeys to DC
New to Marin CCL, Arianna Van Meurs attended the DC conference for the first time. Here's what she loved about it and the policy detail from the Climate Leadership Council that she (and many others) has some reservations about.

" I’ve been a carbon tax advocate since 2008, when I staffed a tax reform commission organized by Gov. Schwarzenegger that included study of a revenue-neutral carbon tax. So I was happy to discover Citizens’ Climate Lobby last October. But when asked to write about my impressions as a first-time DC Conference attendee I hesitated – not because I don’t love CCL ... Read more.
And speaking of the Climate Leadership Council...


Read CCL's take on their proposal, which includes "regulatory relief" and tort liability protection for the oil companies. It's controversial, to say the least, and the debate is quickly heating up. Stay tuned.
New Member Orientation

Aug 2, 7 - 9 pm
San Geronimo Valley Community Center
6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd
San Geronimo

We have lots of new members!
Find out how you can get more involved, ask those
vexing questions and sharpen your understanding
of what we're doing.

Contact Molly

AND ...


Get ready for fall:


September 12-14, 2018,
San Francisco, CA
Governor Brown's swansong, this will be a major international event with many opportunities for the public to participate.
CCL is planning activities . To volunteer, contact Evan .

Business Climate Leaders will conduct an affiliated event on Thursday, September 13 from 1-5 PM at The Gap HQ,  2 Folsom St, San Francisco


Marin Affiliated Event:

Getting to Paris Without Stopping in Washington
Saturday, September 15, 7:00 PM at COM
Organized by Time to Lead on Climate and OFA , supported by 21 Marin organizations,

    
Special guests: Christiana Figueres, a rchitect of the 2015 UN Paris Climate Agreement , in conversation with U.C. Berkeley Professor   Daniel Kammen, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Nobel Peace Prize recipient
    
Joined by local and international leaders, including Congressman  Jared Huffman , Marin Supervisors  Kate Sears  and  Damon Connolly , Novato Mayor J osh Fryday , CalEPA Secretary Matt Rodriquez   and Marin School of Environmental Leadership student  Cameron Evans , discussing how citizens and communities can work together to achieve shared climate goals.

College of Marin, Diamond Center Gymnasium, 700 College Ave., Kentfield 
 
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the  Marin Climate Action Showcase, sampling local food, drink and activism  

Tickets will be available at the ‘Time to Lead on Climate’ website after July 15


And there's more!

Sunday, September 16, from 10 AM - 1 PM at Book Passage, Corte Madera:


A 3 hour deep dive presented by CCL leaders Dr. Peter Joseph and Corte Madera Town Council member David Kunhardt. The latest science and solutions, with a focus on carbon pricing, politics, public opinion and the impending mid-term elections. (Nonpartisan!)

Blessed Are the Children
Climate change is a children's issue!

Schools For Climate Action
Resolutions Building Political Will in DC

S4CA youth and adult supporters participated in CCL's Conference and Lobby Day, presented packets of school board resolutions in meetings with 5 Members of Congress (MoCs) and delivered resolutions to an additional 18 Congressional offices. Multiple MoC's expressed enthusiasm for their non-partisan campaign of resolutions to build increasing grassroots pressure for climate action. S4CA also delivered school board resolutions to the National School Boards Association.  

22 school boards have already spoken up for climate action

Twenty-two school boards  in California and Colorado have now passed non-partisan climate action resolutions articulating their political will for common sense climate action. Those include Ross Valley, Novato, Marin County Office of Education, and Tam Union High School District. Great work, Park Guthrie and colleagues! Read more and join them.
Silver Lining Department:
Climate science scores notable win in failed case against Big Oil

Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California  dismissed  a lawsuit brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland seeking compensation from five oil giants for expenses related to the impacts of climate change, writing "The problem deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a district judge or jury in a public nuisance case..."

At the same time, Alsup was unequivocal in recognizing that climate change caused by burning fossil fuels is a real and unfolding danger accepted by the court, as well as the plaintiffs. "The issue is not over science," he  wrote . "All parties agree that fossil fuels have led to global warming and ocean rise and will continue to do so… ." Furthermore, he said, "this order accepts the science behind global warming. So do both sides. The dangers raised in the complaints are very real." More here...


(But..but... it's been cold in Sausalito!)


July 3, 2018

All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week


CCL's Global Strategy Director
 Joseph Robertson


July 4, 2018


A carbon tax and dividend system could usher in an era of clean energy independence. The shortest route to American energy freedom and climate solvency is through a clear-headed, high-efficiency carbon dividends strategy.  Here .

Just the Facts Please:
Core training every Tuesday @ 5 PT on CCLU!
Shapen your skills, deepen your understanding!


Worth Repeating Department:

How to talk about Climate Change so people will hear you.
Highly recommended, 15 min .

MIT and National Renewable Energy Lab study:


Supports REMI findings. Full dividend return is the least regressive, most equitable modality. And since corporate tax cuts have already been enacted, they're no longer needed for revenue neutrality, nor politically. CCL's proposal gains credibility.




Climate Deniers: Go To Hell --
or thereabouts
Denial Corner

"You can run, but you can't hide"
-- Boxer Joe Louis
Republican lawmaker: Rocks tumbling into ocean causing sea level rise

This is not a drill, folks. This is from a member of the U.S. House of Representatives' Science, Space and Technology Committee

The Earth is not warming. The White Cliffs of Dover are tumbling into the sea and causing sea levels to rise. Global warming is helping grow the Antarctic ice sheet...
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Speaking of Fake News...

Why climate change is the easiest news to fake
Amy Harder, former WSJ journalist

Yes, we've noticed.

From the folks who bring us Skeptical Science
( invaluable, check it out )


Highly recommended! 7 weeks at your own
pace, a couple of hours per week, and you'll be equipped to spot climate denial, deconstruct it and confidently debate with those who don't quite...uh..."believe" in it.
Great for your sanity.


In public discussions, climate change is a highly controversial topic. However, in the scientific community, there is little controversy, with 97% of climate scientists concluding humans are causing global warming.
  • Why the gap between the public and scientists?
  • What are the psychological and social drivers of the rejection of the scientific consensus?
  • How has climate denial influenced public perceptions and attitudes towards climate change?

This course examines the science of climate science denial .

What you'll learn
  • How to recognise the social and psychological drivers of climate science denial
  • How to better understand climate change, the evidence that it's happening, that humans are causing it and the potential impacts
  • How to identify the techniques and fallacies that climate myths employ to distort climate science
  • How to effectively debunk climate misinformation


Our Social Media team invites your clicks, likes and posts.
(Guaranteed: no fake news)


Thank you, Amanda and Jay!


Ready to get more involved? Action teams invite you :
We're all volunteers, and you don't need to be an expert. 
One of the best ways to get involved is to...just get involved! Our action team leaders invite you to participate.



If yo ur skill set resonates with any of these teams, please  contact  Molly  with your interest.


Wonk Room:
Summer reading...
Years of Living Dangerously is now  The YEARS Project.  They’ll still be telling the biggest story of our time, but doing it in a new way: on  Facebook Watch . Check it out. 
For the latest climate news, sign up for briefings from this Pulitzer Prize-winning organization.
From the New York Times, a weekly digest of their climate coverage
Past Newsletters
If you've read this far, you might be zealous enough to want to review informative past Marin CCL newsletters:


Comments, Questions?
Apologies for cross postings
Prepared by Peter G. Joseph, M.D.