My meeting with the Editor

I met with the Editor of my State's largest newspaper last Thursday. Our meeting lasted 15 to 20 minutes. I told him about Citizens Climate Lobby, our mission, and how we started a local chapter this past winter. I gave him an overview of our proposed carbon fee and dividend legislation.

He wanted to clarify that it was a federal level legislative proposal.  He also asked if we were doing anything on the state or local level since the paper likes to stay local in its focus. I told him we have discussed it briefly, but have not come up with a State plan so far. We are currently focusing on the national level just as CCL does. I mentioned that will be watching the bill that is being passed around for discussion that would allow states to create their own carbon taxes.

He asked what do we do since we already have a progressive group of representatives for Vermont who already acknowledge climate change and agree something should be done. I mentioned that even though they are already allies there still more we can do to nudge them in the right direction towards carbon fee and dividend. I also mentioned that Sanders-Boxer climate change bill, proposed in 2013, and how it is the closest bill any politician has proposed to our fee and dividend, we are very happy that it was introduced, but we feel it could be tweaked to be more effective and accepted by both sides of the aisle. 

I also mentioned that, if passed, the carbon fee and dividend would negate the need for the new EPA rules, which would be another selling point for conservatives. Love or hate conservatives--we need them on board for this. I will note that I am very happy that President Obama is using his Executive power to do something about CO2 emissions (though more action is severely needed!)
 
He asked why was it so important that it was 100% revenue neutral. I said that it is important because it returns money to households to pay for the pass-through costs, and it doesn't expand government so that makes it more appealing to conservatives. Also, under this plan 2/3 of all households would break even or receive more in their dividend checks than they would pay in higher prices due to the fee, thereby protecting the poor and middle class. 

I highlighted how CCL just commissioned the REMI* Report (which is officially being released today 6/9/14) that shows a carbon fee and dividend as we propose would actually add 2.2 million jobs to the economy over 10 years and reduce emissions by 33%, and 2.8 million jobs and 52% reductions after 20 years. The report found that making it 100% revenue neutral will also increase the real-income of American households even after accounting for inflation. In an era of a shrinking middle-class and record corporate profits, this is good news.

He asked me why was I involved with this group and there were so many other groups that I could be involved in. I answered that Citizens Climate Lobby brings in policy experts, economists, climate scientists and others to contribute to the discussion. They are also the only group with a clear proposal for how to fix the climate crisis, and have just commissioned the REMI study to show that it would actually work! We are fighting FOR something, not just against. The "personal empowerment" portion of the mission is also why it's such an attractive organization. It inspires hope. You don't just have to sit at home feeling scared about climate change. I wish I had thought to say it when I was at the meeting, but before joining CCL there's no way I would've ever considered scheduling a meeting with the editor to talk climate change! or co-sign a letter to the Senate Finance Committee and then forward it to all of my members of Congress as a co-signer. CCL gives you the expertise and the tools to make politicians listen.

He asked more about the makeup of our group. I said that we have a core group of 6-8 very active members, and more members who are interested in our work but less active at this at this time. I noted that we are a group of concerned citizens, purely volunteers, we meet at a member's house to work on this. We do not have membership fees or a budget. I personally do this because I am a stay-at-home mom concerned about her two little kids and what their futures will be in the time of global warming. I do this in my spare time after the kids are in bed.
 
I think he was impressed or maybe even moved. I asked if he would do an editorial endorsing our carbon fee and dividend proposal. That very day he had published an editorial he wrote in support of the new EPA rules.  The paper does so few editorials each month, and since they like to stay with a very local focus, he didn't know if he could do another one so soon on climate change. He said he would think about it. He also said he would pass on the press packet I gave to him to a reporter. Look for it in newspapers around the country this week!

*REMI is a well-respected economic modeling group that is hired by State and Federal governmental offices in the US and around the world to analyze the economic implications of new policies.

Making In-Roads

Between April 19th and May 2nd the Burlington Chapter of Vermont Citizens Climate Lobby tabled at public events/places 5 times. I'm proud to say that I had a direct role in organizing 4 of those opportunities, and was involved in all of them in some way.

April 19th and 25th we were on Church Street.

April 22nd we were at UVM's Earth Day Climate Convention

April 27th CCL was at the First United Methodist Church's Eco Fair.

May 2nd we were at a presentation of the  Climate Reality Project at Burlington's Contois Auditorium.

We established connections with other like-minded organizations including 350 Vermont. We collected over a dozen signatures of people interested in joining and talked to people about a carbon revenue fee and dividend to put a price on carbon.

I also received a handwritten letter from Congressman Peter Welch in response to a letter by the Boston Citizens Climate Lobby about carbon fee and dividend that I co-signed. In it he supported a carbon tax.

This Thursday, May 8th, at noon, Citizens Climate Lobby Burlington VT will be on VPR's Vermont Edition news hour along with reps from 350 Vermont and the Sierra Club to discuss the latest IPCC report on climate change and how communities and individuals can take action.


CCL Burlington is growing its influence, and this is just the beginning.

Cowboys, Indians and Action

There are two recent events I wanted to bring to your attention. It always makes me happy to see large scale events to protect the climate and average people. I wish I could join them!

1. During the week of April 22-27 a group of ranchers, farmers, and tribal communities from along the Keystone XL pipeline route called "The Cowboy and Indian Alliance" marched and rode horses to the White House to protest the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry dirty tar sands oil through the United States to the Gulf of Mexico where it would be refined and shipped to Asian markets.

The pipeline threatens air, water, climate and tribal rights of all the people in the path of the pipeline. It passes over the Ogallala Aquifer, which is one of the largest aquifers in the world and supplies water to 82% of the people living in that region which covers 8 states. It also supplies 1/3 of the water used in the US for crop irrigation. An oil spill in this already overused and stressed aquifer would have devastating results.

2. Would you take 8 months off from your normal life to walk 3,000 miles from Los Angeles to Washington DC? That's exactly what 235 people from 36 states and 6 countries are doing. They began their journey on March 1st in Los Angeles and will end in Washington DC on November 1st. They are walking in The Great March for Climate Action and their goal is to change the heart and mind of the American people, our elected leaders and people across the world to act now to address the climate crisis.

Want to join the march? You can still apply. Can't march but want to support those marching? Make a donation. Visit climatemarch.org .

The Climate March Route

Start of the March in Los Angeles on March 1, 2014

 

I'm Glad I'm Old

"I'm glad I'm old." the man said with a resigned smile. I was almost finished giving him my spiel about Citizens Climate Lobby, carbon fee and dividend legislation, and climate change while attending a tabling event at the University of Vermont for Earth Day.

It's funny how whenever scientists come out with an estimate of when some of the worst effects of climate change will hit the first thing people do is calculate how old they will be. I will admit, I share that guy's sentiment sometimes and feel relieved that I'm not just starting out my life. I bet many of you do too. But I have kids. I have a niece, nephews, little cousins, and friends who are just starting out, or recently finished college, or are still in K-12 school. I have to care, WE have a responsibility to care and act.

This Earth Day I went to the Climate Convention at the University of Vermont. I went with a clipboard to talk to people about Citizens Climate Lobby. How it gives me hope. How it gives people concrete steps to take to chip away at Washington DC's refusal to act.

At the tabling fair I was less than impressed with some of the students I met. Campus Eco Reps who only thought as large as the campus and their answer to everything was to get more compost bins and teach people how to compost. Composting is important and related to climate change, and it's good to start with the basics. The Eco Reps didn't know much about climate change though, so weren't really concerned. THE ECO REPS WEREN'T CONCERNED BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW! If Eco Reps are uninformed....ouch.

Then I met students from VSTEP (the VT Student Environmental Program) who wholeheartedly agreed that they are concerned about climate change. One student in particular was especially interested in carbon tax and sounds like he will join CCL. So there's that at least.

Then I went to the speaking event at 1:00. The main focus of the event was to raise awareness against fracking in particular, and fight against Vermont Gas' proposed pipeline to carry fracked natural gas through Addison County and underneath Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga, NY.

Speakers included 350 Vermont, Rising Tide Vermont, Greenpeace, and VPIRG. One of Senator Bernie Sanders' staffers came and read a statement he prepared on climate change and the bill he is co-sponsoring with Senator Barbara Boxer.

From L-R: UVM event organizer, 350VT, Bernie Sanders' office, 350VT, Greenpeace, VPIRG, UVM Prof

It was the young speakers who were the most inspiring by far. Some of the most memorable points are below. My paraphrasing isn't as inspiring as what the speakers actually said, but you will get the flavor of it all.There was lots of whooping and cheering, as well as booing and hissing for all the right reasons.

• Activism is a step beyond hope. Activism means doing something proactive to get what you want.
• 350 VT tried to get a bill passed to Divest State funds from fossil fuels. It was voted down in committee by a vote of 3-2. 350 Vermont plans to try again next year. Call your state legislators and the State Treasurer and urge them to divest. The State Treasurer means well, and accepts climate change is real, but is still very business as usual in her approach.
• Earth Day began in 1970 and sparked a big movement that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. By 1990 Earth Day got really big, but it was being sponsored largely by oil and gas companies. These companies shifted the focus to individuals and what they can do to reduce their own environmental impact while glossing over the systemic problems that have led to the continuous destruction of the planet. When Exxon tells you they believe every day is Earth Day, something is not right with the world.
• Coming to an Earth Day event is an act of optimism. No individual has power to take on the systemic problems we face, but together we can make things change.
• The Rising Tide speaker spoke about how as a child she obsessed about reducing her own environmental impact, sorting trash to make sure to get out the recyclables, knowing the types of plastic by sight, taking cold showers, etc. Then she realized that those individual actions won't do anything on a global scale, it was only making her feel a little better about environmental problems. She realizes now that she has to fight the system that puts profits and short-term benefits above all else. She's studying environmental engineering as a result.
• Vermont Gas, the company trying to build that pipeline under Lake Champlain, despite its name is not a Vermont company. It is part of a multinational company trying to build natural gas pipelines all over.
• The students participating in this rally didn't cause global warming, but we have a responsibility to deal with it
• At least Bernie is concerned about climate change and introduced a bill along with Senator Barbara Boxer that would price carbon. (CCL doesn't think his proposal will do enough, but we can work with him on that!)

My own conclusions:

1. I had a hard time finding Earth Day events to participate in. This was disheartening. Have people forgotten Earth Day and what it is supposed to mean? We need Earth Day now more than ever.
2. We need more young people in political offices, young people are more likely to recognize that we are in a brave new world and need to see everything through the lense of climate change and make decisions accordingly.
3. We need to retain HOPE, and then take it further and ACT.

Signs stuck all over campus

Photo from BFP on 4/23/14
Look it's me on the far right in a red jacket!

Hope and Inspiration

One of my main objectives of starting this blog was to talk about climate change. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, my climate/environmental posts are less popular than my parenting posts.

I get it. I really do. Climate change is scary and makes a lot of people feel depressed and hopeless.

There is hope though. We already have everything we need to solve the "climate crisis." Climate change is a political problem, not a technological problem.

That's why it's so important to talk about climate change and create the political will for change. Politicians don't create political will, they merely respond to it. People create the will, then the politicians follow. With some hard work we can reclaim our democracy and make the politicians listen to us, not just big money.

That's why I'm so drawn to the Citizens' Climate Lobby. They have a real, nonpartisan solution that will transition our economy away from fossil fuels: Carbon Fee & Dividend. It is something positive to work FOR, not merely against, that will make a positive difference the world-over.

CCL empowers Americans to exercise their citizenship to its maximum extent and is making powerful progress with members of Congress. CCL has about 4,000 volunteers working in 46 states and international chapters in Bangladesh, Canada and Sweden. Combined, these volunteers have been publishing an average of 6 letters to the editor EACH DAY of 2014. In 2013 CCL members had 679 direct meetings with members of Congress, and got endorsements for the Carbon Fee and Dividend policy from 20 newspaper editorial boards. One CCL member in Sweden even convinced the World Bank to stop funding new coal powered plant projects.

There's a lot of work still to do, but CCL makes it concrete, manageable, hopeful, inspiring, and empowering.

You're not really an environmentalist? Or an activist? That's all the more reason why we need you to say something. Do it for your kids, your grandchildren, yourself.

So what next?

1. Start talking about climate change with people you know 
2. Listen to CCL's Introductory Call to learn more and feel all that positive energy and inspiration for yourself (see graphic below)
3. Join a Citizens Climate Lobby Chapter in your area (CCL Burlington for Vermonters)
4. Register as a supporter of Citizens Climate Lobby (just sign your name)

Grape Jelly

I remember my first year of college in Maine at a tiny college full of earth conscious individuals. My housemates were way ahead of me in terms of wanting to be self-sufficient and depending directly on the earth. I remember them making lots of rather disgusting recipes, but at least they were trying. They collected acorns to make flour that they then baked into bread. It was bitter and awful, but resourceful. They collected wild edibles for teas and berries for jam. I remember the jam was also a disaster and they added more and more pectin and were confused why it still wouldn't set.

Here I am, 15 years later. I finally am feeling domesticated enough where this all makes sense to me enough to want to do it. At least the jelly part anyway, I will skip the acorn bread. I set out to make grape jelly with just my Ball Canning Book by my side.

First I boiled the grapes my friend gave me to break them down.

Then I let the liquid filter through some cheesecloth for several hours to separate the juice from the pulp.

I even used the food mill to turn the pulp into a smooth grape sauce. I have been reluctant to use it because of mess, but after finally trying it I see the appeal.

A couple days later I boiled the grape juice with sugar, then said a little prayer as I poured in the pectin and boiled it for one minute more. The jelly looked really soupy and I was afraid I had somehow repeated the mistakes of my Maine college housemates. But lo and behold, after a couple hours of cooling the jelly set! Now I can add jelly to my no-need-to-purchase-at-the-grocery-store list.

Liberation Through Food

In one summer I have gone from someone who was afraid to try canning (hello botulism?), to someone who feels comfortable doing it and enjoys it--though it is a lot of work! I attribute this success to my friend who showed me how to do it by first canning dilly beans together, and then peaches and peach jam. It took off from there, and I can now say I have made: 5 jars or peach jam, 5 pints of peach slices, 4 pints of tomato sauce (plus more than 20 quarts of frozen tomato sauce), 6 pints of salsa, and 6 quarts and 1 pint of pear slices. I still want to can some apple sauce and pear sauce before the season is over.

L to R: canned peach jam and slices, tomato sauce, salsa, pear slices

Though my canned (and frozen) stores, are no where near what we would need to get through a winter, it is a strong start. Now I'm thinking about how many tomato plants I will need in my garden next summer to yield enough bushels of tomatoes to make all the spaghetti sauce and salsa we would want over the following year. It is so liberating to go to the grocery store and think I don't have to buy that or that or that. My list of items not to buy includes all the items I canned this summer, plus potatoes, eggs and maple syrup. I have the peace of mind of knowing exactly what went into producing and growing all those foods too.

Both my mom and my husband's grandfather grew up in families that gardened and canned, and/or raised chickens for meat and eggs. They have both told me on different occasions "We were poor, but we always had plenty of food." To me, in an age of excessive consumption and when stuff piles up in our houses without even thinking about it, it seems funny to say that. It seems funny only because if you have plenty of food (and a place to grow it) how can you be poor? Of course, there are lots of things we need paper currency in order to procure, but I think having plentiful food is a great wealth. Growing it myself, and the sense of self-reliance I get from the process is empowering and liberating.

Like what you read?  Visit and 'Like' Mama of Ma'at on Facebook