Citizens' Climate Lobby workshop inspires local citizens concerned about climate change; local CCL Chapter to meet May 22

By Michele Bourdieu

Elizabeth Dell, Great Lakes Regional coordinator for the Citizens' Climate Lobby, meets with a group of local citizens concerned about climate change at a workshop on May 6, 2017, in the Keweenaw Co-op in Hancock. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

HANCOCK -- In preparation for forming a local chapter of the Citizens' Climate Lobby, a group of about a dozen citizens concerned about climate change met with Elizabeth Dell, Great Lakes Regional coordinator for the Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) on May 6, 2017, in the meeting room at the Keweenaw Co-op in Hancock.

[The first meeting of a local CCL chapter will be held TONIGHT, Monday, May 22, at 7:30 p.m., following the presentation "Sea Change: Addressing Climate Change on Lake Superior," at the Portage Lake District Library.*]

To begin her workshop, Dell, who is from Traverse City, Mich., gave a brief history of the founding of CCL and presented CCL's single proposed solution to climate change: To empower citizens to connect with and influence their members of Congress to work toward passage of Carbon Fee and Dividend, a climate change solution that bridges the partisan divide.

Carbon Fee and Dividend is a revenue-neutral carbon tax with 100 percent of the net revenue returned directly to households. CCL believes it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions 52 percent below 1990 levels within 20 years while growing the economy and saving lives.

"Our purpose is to create the political will to address climate change," Dell said. "We advocate for Carbon Fee and Dividend because we think it's one of the most effective, efficient and visible ways to reduce greenhouse gases, and we think we can get bi-partisan support."

Elizabeth Dell, Great Lakes Regional Coordinator for the Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL), introduces her May 6, 2017, workshop in Hancock by relating how CCL was founded and defining its mission. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

The Carbon Fee

CCL proposes an initial fee of $15/ton on the CO2 equivalent emissions of fossil fuels, escalating $10/ton/year, imposed upstream at the mine, well or port of entry.**

Dell noted citizens are paying an artificially low price for fossil fuels -- a price that doesn't include hidden costs such as health impacts, military use, sea level rising, floods and more.

An increasing tax on fossil fuels will result in high prices that consumers and investors will try to avoid, she added.

"All this will drive technology in the direction of more clean energy," Dell said.

The Dividend

According to the CCL Web site, "100 percent of the net fees from the carbon fee are held in a Carbon Fees Trust fund and returned directly to households as a monthly dividend. About two-thirds of households will break even or receive more than they would pay in higher prices. This feature will inject billions into the economy, protect family budgets, free households to make independent choices about their energy usage, spur innovation and build aggregate demand for low-carbon products at the consumer level."**

The revenue neutral dividend does not grow government and is intended to protect lower income earners, Dell explained.

According to the proposal so far, every adult in a household would receive the same amount, and each child (up to two children per household) would receive half that amount monthly.

According to CCL, economic modeling studies have found that in just 20 years a Carbon Fee and Dividend policy could reduce carbon emissions to 50 percent of 1990 levels while adding 2.8 million jobs to the American economy.**

Clean Energy Economy

During the workshop, a question on whether the Carbon Fee and Dividend policy would lead to replacing fossil fuels with clean energy led to a discussion on why this would happen:

After Elizabeth Dell points out how the increased cost for fossil fuels is expected to lead to more investment in clean energy, workshop participants join in the discussion. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

The CCL Web site points out statistics showing that green energy jobs already outnumber coal, oil and gas jobs and renewable energy is expected to provide more and higher paying jobs as well as more diverse opportunities.***

Lobbying Congress

Dell explained the importance of lobbying Republican members of the House and Senate to communicate to them CCL's proposed Carbon Fee and Dividend solution to climate change. She described recent progress in the U.S. House of Representatives, which now has a bi-partisan Climate Solutions Caucus with 38 members -- 19 Republicans and 19 Democrats.

During her May 6 workshop in Hancock, Elizabeth Dell speaks about the bi-partisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

The bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus explores policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate. The caucus was founded in February of 2016 by two south-Florida representatives Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) who serve as co-chairs of the caucus.****

During a break in the workshop for small-group discussion, participants share personal experiences and thoughts about climate change solutions and lobbying . Pictured here, from left, are Nancy Langston, Anne Newcombe, Julie Bakkila and Bill Binroth. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Dell encouraged the workshop participants to form a local chapter of the Citizens' Climate Lobby and coordinate with other Michigan CCL chapters, including those in Marquette and Traverse City, to lobby District 1 House Rep. Jack Bergman and/or his staff members in order to communicate CCL's mission.

"Lobbying is one of the most important things we can do," Dell said. "That (lobbying) allows us to build relationships with members of Congress (House and Senate) and start making change that could lead to legislation," Dell said.

Sharing their recent lobbying experiences with the group were Nancy Langston, who visited with one of Bergman's Marquette staff recently, and Sarah Green, who spoke about visiting Bergman's office in Washington, DC, while she was there for the Apr. 29, 2017, People's Climate March. Langston and Green are co-organizers of the Keweenaw Climate Community (KCC), which has sponsored several events on climate change locally.*****

Elizabeth Dell speaks about lobbying Congressional representatives and senators to gain their support for CCL's Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Dell also noted the importance of speaking with local officials about CCL and making them aware of the need to address climate change. A local chapter of CCL could, for example, influence county or city officials to adopt a resolution such as the Republican Climate Resolution (H.Res.195), which is being introduced by a group of 20 Republican House Members led by Reps. Elise Stefanik, Carlos Curbelo, and Ryan Costello. The resolution invokes the conservative principle "'to protect, conserve, and be good stewards of our environment, responsibly plan for all market factors, and base our policy decisions in science and quantifiable facts on the ground.'" 

The House Resolution resolves, "'That the House of Representatives commits to working constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional climates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have been found to have an impact.'" ******

Dell encouraged everyone at the workshop to join CCL and to volunteer to spread the word about its proposed climate solution.

During the May 6 workshop, Elizabeth Dell displays a handout for recruiting new CCL volunteers. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Dell reminded workshop participant to check the CCL Web site for more detailed information and to tune in to the one-hour weekly intro call on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (EDT). The Web site also holds monthly meetings with guest speakers accessible on line.

Dell is optimistic about CCL's efforts and proud of their accomplishments.

"Nobody deals with Congress about climate change more than we do," she said.

Notes:

* Click here to learn about tonight's presentation and meeting.

** See details on Carbon Fee and Dividend on the CCL Web site.

*** Click here to see job statistics.

**** Read about the Climate Solutions Caucus here.

***** Do a search for Keweenaw Climate Community in our upper left corner of Keweenaw Now to see our articles on the KCC Climate Cafés.

****** Click here to read the Republican House Climate Resolution. See also the May 19, 2017, New York Times Opinion article on CCL, "Cracking Washington’s Gridlock to Save the Planet."

Free local screening of Naomi Klein film Apr. 13, Citizens' Climate Lobby workshop Apr. 16 to offer info on climate issues

This Changes Everything, a film based on climate author Naomi Klein's book of the same title, will be shown at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock. (Poster image courtesy Anne Newcombe)

HANCOCK, HOUGHTON -- Two free community events concerning climate issues will be offered this week in Hancock and Houghton.

The Orpheum Theater in Hancock will host a free Community Screening of Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13. A brief community conversation will follow the film. This film is co-sponsored by Transition Marquette, Transition Keweenaw, and the Green Film Series.

This film, by Avi Lewis, is narrated and inspired by the book of the same title by Naomi Klein, who states the following in that book:

“Can I be honest with you? I’ve always kind of hated films about climate change.

"What is it about those vanishing glaciers and desperate polar bears that makes me want to click away? Is it really possible to be bored by the end of the world? It’s not that I don’t care what happens to polar bears. It’s just that we’re told that the cause isn’t out there, that it’s in us, it’s human nature. We’re innately greedy and short-sighted. And if that’s true, there is no hope. But when I finally stopped looking away, traveled into the heart of the crisis, met people on the front lines, I discovered so much of what I thought I knew was wrong. And I began to wonder: what if human nature isn’t the problem? What if even greenhouse gases aren’t the problem? What if the real problem is a story, one we’ve been telling ourselves for 400 years.

"I was in a stately home in the English countryside that looked an awful lot like Downton Abbey. It was an invitation-only meeting hosted by the world’s oldest scientific organization, the Royal Society. Instead of ordering around the servants, the people here were trying to order around the sun. I mean the sun, in the sky. They were discussing a plan to spray chemicals into the stratosphere to turn down the temperature for planet earth."

Shirley Galbraith of Houghton (in orange vest, to left of "No Tar Sands" sign) holds hands with Canadian journalist Naomi Klein during the Nov. 6, 2011, protest in front of the White House -- aimed at convincing President Obama to say "No" to the Keystone XL Pipeline. (Keweenaw Now file photo © Allan Baker)

Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the international bestsellers, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate (2014), The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007) and No Logo (2000). Her books have been translated into over 30 languages. In 2004, Naomi Klein wrote The Take, a feature documentary about Argentina’s occupied factories co-produced with director Avi Lewis. Naomi Klein is a columnist for The Nation magazine and the Guardian and a contributing editor at Harper’s magazine. She is a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute and sits on the board of directors for 350.org, the global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis.* 

Whether or not you have read the book, come to the Orpheum Theater Wednesday evening to learn more.

The second community event will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Portage Lake District Library: A Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) Houghton Chapter Launch. Please join a group of concerned citizens for this workshop to create the political will to address climate change. Become a citizen climate advocate and help create a livable world.

* Click here to read about the film and see a trailer.

People's Climate March, Part 2: Video Report: Riding People's Climate Train to New York

By Michele Bourdieu

On Sept. 19, 2014, Amtrak passengers riding a People's Climate Train assemble for a group photo at a train stop in Buffalo, NY, on the way to New York City for a weekend of workshops, meetings, lectures by climate activist leaders and the Sunday, Sept. 21,  People's Climate March. Some stayed in New York on Monday, Sept. 22, for a Flood Wall Street march as well. Pictured with the group are Houghton residents Allan Baker, Keweenaw Now videographer, and his wife, Shirley Galbraith, Keweenaw Now guest author (second row, seated right).* (Photo by Gustavo Bourdieu for Keweenaw Now)

HANCOCK -- The Amtrak train for New York City, dubbed the "People's Climate Train" by passengers who boarded it in San Francisco, picked up more passengers bound for the Sept. 21 People's Climate March along the way. Amtrak arranged for the group to be seated together in two cars, which facilitated a day of presentations, workshops and discussions on various climate change issues -- and networking among both young and old. A spirit of camaraderie and solidarity prevailed.

Susan Riederer, co-chair of the Boulder, Colo., Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) chapter, was one of the organizers of talks and discussions on the People's Climate Train.

Keweenaw Now staff boarded the train in Chicago at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18. Friday was a long day, especially since a health emergency on the train caused a delay of several hours; yet the nearly 24-hour ride from Chicago to New York City was nothing to those people we met who had been riding the train since California and other points west.

One of these, Diana Cabcabin of San Francisco, gave a presentation about Typhoon Haiyan, which had affected her family directly since it struck their town in the Philippines:

During workshops on the People's Climate Train on the way to New York City on Sept. 19, 2014, Diana Cabcabin of San Francisco talks about Typhoon Haiyan, which struck her family's home town in the Philippines. In a later presentation, Cabcabin speaks about mining companies that exploit poor communities in the Philippines. (Video by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Cabcabin is a member of Women for Genuine Security, a group that advocates for justice and educates the public about historical inequities. She questioned the value of trade agreements in the Asia Pacific region that favor large corporations rather than people in poor communities vulnerable to impacts of climate change.

A California journalist and author, Christopher Cook, spoke about the relationship between climate change and industrial agriculture with large-scale food production:

San Francisco journalist and author Christopher Cook notes that industrial, concentrated agriculture around the world produces great amounts of toxic pollution and carbon emissions while making it difficult for subsistence and small-scale farmers to survive. (Video by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Cook, who is the author of Diet for a Dead Planet, also published an article on riding the train from San Francisco. He actually filed the article when the train stopped in Chicago, and it was posted on Sept. 19.**

Activist James Blakely of Boise, Idaho, said he also boarded the train in San Francisco. He spoke about his recent experience in Alberta, Canada -- participating in the 4th Annual Tar Sands Healing Walk with First Nations people who are most immediately impacted by this industry:

James Blakely of Boise, Idaho, recounts his participation in the 4th Annual Tar Sands Healing Walk in Alberta, Canada. led by First Nations tribes of the area. (Video by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)***

Blakely pointed out that the boreal forests, once rich in biodiversity, are destroyed to enable the industry to mine the tar sands. The process puts so many toxins into the environment that the First Nations people can no longer hunt and fish as they used to do for subsistence.

"The only real jobs up there are for the oil companies, so they're now almost forced to work for the oil companies or leave their land," he said.

According to Lemmon McMillan of Evanston, Ill., talking about climate issues must include the intersectionality of poverty, racism and gender inequality. These social justice issues, along with government corruption and U.S. foreign policy, are all connected, he says.

Lemmon McMillan of Evanston, Ill., joins in the discussion of climate change and insists it must be discussed in connection with social justice issues, especially poverty and racism. (Photo by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

McMillan, whose own heritage includes Native American and African American roots, is working on a series of videos intended to discuss these issues and how they are all related.

McMillan said he spoke with teenagers from an African American community on the south side of Chicago and one asked him why he should be concerned about climate change that might kill him in 20 or 30 years when he's facing situations (police or gang members) that could kill him now.

"The climate movement needs to answer that question," McMillan said. "We all have to support each other and understand that all our issues are related."

Two other Illinois residents -- Jill Paulus of Wheaton, Ill., and Joyce Good of Chicago -- spoke about an environmental issue that is now impacting people of many different socio-economic groups -- fracking:

Jill Paulus of Wheaton, Illinois, and Joyce Good of Chicago speak about fracking in Illinois and legislation to regulate it. (Video by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Paulus and Good spoke about citizens' grassroots efforts to learn about legislative "rules" for fracking and the importance of participation in public hearings on the issue.

The climate movement, led by 350.org and other groups, more recently has been encouraging students on college campuses to influence their colleges and universities to divest from fossil fuel companies. This divestment takes as a model the divestment from South Africa which helped to end the unjust apartheid system.

On the People's Climate Train, Becky Romatoski, a graduate student at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), spoke optimistically about increasing numbers of colleges, students and faculty now beginning to divest from companies that produce fossil fuels:

Rebecca ("Becky") Romatoski, a doctoral candidate in nuclear science and engineering at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), talks about students, faculty and colleges that are divesting from fossil fuel companies. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

"The biggest issue is not hurting these people (fossil fuel companies) financially, but hurting them on a moral level," Romatoski said.

Romatoski is a member of the student group Fossil Free MIT. After the Sept. 21 People's Climate March, she wrote to Keweenaw Now saying the march was a great way to recruit more MIT students for that group, which is active in raising awareness of climate change on campus.****

"Our group right now has succeeded in getting MIT to have a committee on climate change which will propose actions for MIT, and our group has secured divestment as one key aspect the committee will consider," Romatoski writes.

 As for the People's Climate Train, she notes it was a great and unique experience.

"I will never forget it and the empowerment and excitement from the experience!" Romatoski adds.

Amanda Gabryszak boarded the train in Salt Lake City and, once she realized it was a People's Climate Train, joined in the discussions and workshops, played her guitar in the lounge and regretted that she had to get off in Buffalo, NY, and was unable to attend the Climate March.

 

Amanda Gabryszak took this photo on the People's Climate Train and wrote a blog article on her experience, noting she even led a workshop on conservation biology. Keweenaw Now's videographer, Allan Baker, is pictured here in the aisle. While people often had to stand in the aisle to hear the speakers, they were very considerate about making room for other passengers passing through the cars. (Photo © and courtesy Amanda Gabryszak. Reprinted with permission.)*****

Susan Riederer, co-chair of the Boulder, Colo., chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, also commented about the positive experience of the People's Climate Train, the Climate March and the Flood Wall Street action, in which she also participated.

"I am still on a high from our time together (on the train), the march and then my time with the Flood Wall Street direct action," she wrote in an email to Keweenaw Now last week.

Here Riederer speaks about the Citizens' Climate Lobby:

During the workshops held on the People's Climate Train Susan Riederer of Boulder, Colo., describes her experience working with the Citizens' Climate Lobby. (Video by Keweenaw Now)******

Another speaker who rode the train from San Francisco -- Pete Gang, an architect from Petaluma, Calif. -- explained the connection between green building and climate change:

Architect Pete Gang of Petaluma, Calif., speaks about green building and climate change. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Gang pointed out that at least 40 percent of all energy is used in the making and operation of buildings. In addition, 50 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings is used for heating and cooling space and water.

"Green building is a very simple idea -- just trying to make buildings that are more energy efficient, resource efficient and people friendly," Gang explained, "because actually a lot of buildings that we build, especially commercial buildings, are full of chemicals that are known to be toxic to humans."

Gang said he has designed green residential buildings with a range of alternative techniques, including straw-bale, which is an agricultural waste product that could be put to better use as wall insulation. His guidelines for building an energy efficient house follow this order: 1) reduce the demand by designing the building so it needs minimal energy for heating or cooling (with insulation, windows, size, etc.); 2) use energy-efficient appliances; 3) use renewables like solar and wind to provide energy.

Three activists planning to participate in the Sept. 22 Flood Wall Street action spoke about action and civil disobedience, encouraging listeners to take training that would be provided in New York before committing to a civil disobedience action. They also explained that supporters would also be needed for those who may get arrested.

Aaron "iLLLy" Murphy described his own efforts to find active solutions to the climate problem:

Aaron "iLLLy" Murphy suggests possible solutions to the climate problem, including his own experience living in an intentional community, Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village in Missouri. (Video by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Illinois resident Hillary Colby described her experience with civil disobedience in Chicago:

Illinois resident Hillary Colby speaks about her experience as one of the original Chicago 22 who risked arrest in front of the federal building in Chicago during a protest against the Keystone XL Pipeline in June 2012. (Video by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Bobby Wengronowitz, a graduate student at Boston College and one of the organizers of the workshops and talks on the People's Climate Train, shared his views on why "putting your bodies on the street" in the Climate March is a good beginning and why the Flood Wall Street action is even more important:

Activist Bobby Wengronowitz emphasizes the importance of the Flood Wall Street action planned for Sept. 22, 2014, in New York City (a day after the People's Climate March). (Video by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Regina Birchem of Minneapolis, a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said she chose to ride the People's Climate Train to New York rather than taking a bus from Minneapolis because of a train experience she had in 1995 -- traveling from Helsinki to Beijing for the 4th World Conference of Women:

Regina Birchem of Minneapolis explains how a 1995 train ride with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom -- from Helsinki to Beijing for the 4th World Conference of Women -- inspired her to take the People's Climate Train to the 2014 People's Climate March in New York. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Finally, as the train approached Penn Station late Friday evening, Jorge Arauz of Ecuador, who now lives in Madison, Wis., told Keweenaw Now why he was heading for the People's Climate March.

Jorge Arauz of Madison, Wis., displays the sign he made to take to the People's Climate March. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"It's just painful to live every day seeing what's happened," Arauz said. "It's outrageous to see the inaction of our leaders."

Soon Arauz was leading the group in a song titled "Sing for the Climate":

As the People's Climate Train approaches New York City on Friday, Sept. 19, 2014, travelers keep up their spirits and motivation as they join in singing.

Notes:
* This is the second in a series of articles about the People's Climate March and related events Sept. 19-22, 2014, in New York City. Shirley Galbraith is the author of "People's Climate March, Part 1, Letter: Houghton couple travel to New York to march for planet's future," posted on Keweenaw Now Sept. 30, 2014.

** See Christopher Cook's article, "All Aboard the People’s Climate Train," posted Sept. 19, 2014, on Earth Island Journal.

*** Click here to read more about the Tar Sands Healing Walk.

**** Read about Fossil Free MIT on their Web site.

***** Click here to read Amanda Gabryszak's blog entry on the People's Climate Train.

****** Click here to learn about the Citizens' Climate Lobby.