Eminent Climate Scientist Advocates 3-Part Strategy to Combat Global Warming

“Continuation of high fossil fuel emissions, given current knowledge of the consequences, would be an act of extraordinary witting   intergenerational injustice.”                                                                                      -- James Hansen, et al, Abstract of “Assessing Dangerous Climate Change” Let the above statement sink in for a moment. It was written by James Hansen, widely considered the world's greatest climate scientist.  He has been researching global warming since the 1970s, and has been raising the alarm since 1988, when he gave Congressional testimony.  In 2013 he ended his 46-year career at NASA to put all his energy into global warming organizing.  Bill McKibben said of Hansen:  “He's done the most important science on the most important question there ever was.”

Recently, Dr. Hansen wrote an intriguing essay, “The Wheels of Justice,” which we would like to share with you. It is strong and actionable.  The essay outlines a three-front strategy required for success in the struggle to stabilize the planet.  The strategies are:

1.  Through the courts.  This front is less familiar to many. In his essay, he reports on a group called Our Children's Trust, which has gone to court to fight for the right of young people and future generations to have a livable planet.  This group has also produced a series of short documentary films called “Stories of Trust,” several of which were shown in the 2013 One Earth Film Festival. Action Opportunities:  Contribute to the legal costs of Our Children’s Trust, and use the short films to engage the community about legal challenges to government inaction.

2.  Public involvement. As Hansen points out, “The courts seldom get far ahead of the public.  Thus public involvement is a second essential front.”  He gives examples of civil rights advances ordered by the courts only after public support became too great to ignore. In the current struggle for our right to a livable planet, Hansen highlights 350.org as the primary leader on this front. Action Opportunities:  Participate in The People’s Climate March on Sept 21^st in New York City. Join the Chicago chapter of 350.org and/or make a donation.

3.  A gradually rising carbon fee. Finally, Hansen says, “No matter how many people participate, if young people do not demand a policy that will actually work, the effort may be largely wasted.” The workable solution Hansen supports is “ to collect a gradually rising carbon fee from fossil fuel companies and distribute 100% of the funds in equal payments to all legal residents."  Hansen names the non-partisan Citizens' Climate Lobby, which works systematically to educate and engage support of legislators and the public, as the leader on this front.  Action Opportunity:  Join the local chapter of Citizen’s Climate Lobby that meets in Oak Park.  It's free to join, and you'll meet many smart, resilient, committed neighbors who are standing with us in this fight. The next meeting is July 12^th.  See calendar for details.

In addition to this three-pronged approach, Dr Hansen makes two central arguments:

First, all three approaches – court battles, public involvement and lobbying for a carbon fee – are needed, and buttress each other.

Second, we need a carbon tax. Schemes involving caps on emissions or alternative fuel mandates are inadequate and misleading.

While not an easy read, “The Wheels of Justice” is worth wading through and is even encouraging to know that these three strategies combined could actually generate necessary change.

Community Profile: Building Political Will for a Livable World

Local residents are advocating for policy change at the federal level. The mission of the Citizens Climate Lobby ("CCL") is to build political will for a livable world and to empower us as citizens to exercise our personal and political power.   The Chicago West chapter of the CCL, which meets in Oak Park, was established in the summer of 2012. CCL is committed to a respectful, non-partisan approach to working with members of congress to make the case for a national fee (tax) on fossil fuel-based carbon with the entire proceeds of the tax to be rebated to the citizens -- also known as Fee and Dividend.

Five Oak Parkers will head to Washington, D.C. in mid-June to be part of the Citizens Climate Lobby’s International Conference. Dick Alton, David Holmquist, Cheryl Pomeroy, John Porterfield and Sally Stovall will join nearly 700 other conference participants to hone their lobbying skills and visit members of Congress and their staffers.

Today, there is a buzz building due to a new study, released on Monday, June 9, 2014.  The general assumption, until now, has been that solutions to address global warming will be a drag on the economy and lead to loss of jobs.  The newly released study “turns that assumption on its head.”  The study, conducted by Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI), shows that a carbon tax refunded to household would add 2.1 million jobs to the US economy over 10 years, and carbon emissions would decline by 33 percent over the same period.  13,000 lives would be saved annually after 10 years, due to cleaner air, with a cumulative 227,000 American lives saved over 20 years.

The Citizens Climate Lobby commissioned REMI to conduct this nation-wide study on the impact of a Fee and Dividend policy in order to have quality data free of ideological taint.  REMI has 3+ decades of experience doing econometric modeling for government and private sector clients.  REMI studies have been published in peer reviewed academic journals, and the methodology and equations used in the present study are peer reviewed and available to the public.  More information on the REMI study, including a 3-page summary or a copy of the full report is available on Citizens Climate Lobby web site. Since its founding, Citizens Climate Lobby, has grown rapidly and spread - from three chapters in 2007 to nearly 200 chapters in today located throughout the United States and Canada.

Still Time to Opt Out of the Brown Energy Default

According to data provided by Constellation via Rob Cole, Oak Park Assistant Village Manager,  as of May 8th a total of 3300 households, approximately 15%, OPTED OUT, of the default Brown Energy Option offered by the village.  Thank you to all who took the initiative to choose a green energy plan! While 15% of households opting out of brown energy is commendable, this means that 85% of households are still purchasing the default aggregation mix of coal, natural gas and nuclear energy sources.  This is why we are asking the Oak Park Village Board to make 100% renewable energy the DEFAULT community aggregation option in 2015!

For those of you that missed the original window to enroll in the 100% renewable energy option, the good news is that there is still time!  Constellation Energy will allow Oak Park customers who are in the Aggregation program to continue to enroll in the 100% renewable energy option at any time.  Requests received after May 8th may not take effect in-time for the first billing cycle.

To enroll in the 100% renewable energy option through Constellation:

• You’ll need to have your ComEd account number ready, then call 800.718.1493 and tell the Constellation Customer Service Rep  that you live in Oak Park and that you want to enroll in the 100% renewable energy option.  Please note that Constellation's per kwh rate offered to Oak Park residents is fixed for 1 year at 7.57 cents.

Please help spread the word to others so we can continue to grow the renewable energy industry!

League of Women Voters Presents: Fracking, Frack-cidents & Frackonomics

Fracking, Frack-cidents & Frackonomics:  What are Fracking's Dangers, Who will be Protected & Who will Benefit?

Have you been hearing about Fracking but want to learn more.  Here is a great opportunity:

League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest will be hosting William C. Rau, Professor Emeritus, Illinois State University & Spokesperson for Illinois People's Action, as keynote speaker on Thursday, May 22, 2014,  7:30 PM. Oak Park Main Library, 834 Lake St.  (Second Floor, Veterans Room).  ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS interested in IL Fracking legislation are invited to attend a FREE keynote address.  No need to RSVP.   See flyer for more information.

The keynote address will be preceded at 6:30 PM by the League of Women Voters Annual Meeting for Members Only. 

After passage last May, the press hailed the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Act (HFA) as featuring the "nation's toughest regulations," and Governor Quinn claimed it contained the "nation's strongest environmental protections."  In turn, the oil & gas industry touted fracking as a "game changer" offering a low-cost energy bonanza that will promote national energy independence, economic development, and job growth. Environmental and public health risks were presented as modest, manageable through regulation, and offset by significant benefits.

This presentation will examine these claims and show fracking to be inherently dangerous everywhere while focusing on risks specific to Southern Illinois including extensive floodplains, active earthquake zones capable of magnitude 7+ quakes, and one of the most radioactive oilfields in the US.

3 More Days to Enroll in Oak Park's Green Energy Program

Oak Park residents have until May 8^th to make a difference for people and the planet by choosing 100% renewable energy. As of May 5th approximately 1300 households  (6%) had opted into the green energy option for aggregated electricity in Oak Park.  Hooray! And Thank you!

But, Can We Beat the Odds?

Experts say that at most, only 5-10% of a population will actually take the action to opt-in when they must actively do something rather than go with the default option.  Although the green energy option is starting with a huge disadvantage by not being the default option we believe Oak Park can do better and we are asking you to help accomplish that for the sake of future generations.

Here's what we can do to help beat the odds:

1. Oak Park, IL residents — to opt into 100% renewable (green) energy, please follow these easy instructions before May 8th:
   • With just a quick call (5-10 min), you can select 100% renewable energy for your home.
   • You'll need to have your ComEd account number ready, then just call 1.800.718.1493 and tell the Constellation Customer Service Rep that you want 100% renewable energy.
   • If you have the letter from Constellation, with the "opt-out code"  That is helpful but not required.
2. Please help spread the word to others.  People can't choose renewable energy if they don't know about it.  Choose the methods that work for you to remind friends, neighbors and perfect strangers standing next to you  in the grocery store!  Here are a few ideas to make sharing simpler:

- Send Email, post on Facebook,  or Tweet to your networks.  Consider using the Share buttons at the bottom of this post.

- Walk your block and chat with your neighbors about it.

- At a book club meeting, school concert, sports event or other event where people will gather this week? -- Consider asking people if they have enrolled in the Green Energy Option.

- Tell us your creative ideas about how to get the word out!

Note:  If you would like half sheet fliers with instructions about how to opt into 100% renewable energy to share with others please contact Sally Stovall (773-315-1109 or sally@greencommunityconnections.org).  The Village has created materials on the enrollment process that you may use to disseminate to your friends and neighbors - just click here.

Together we can do it!

Together we can beat the odds and boost the percentage of residents who  opt-in to green energy over the next 3 days ! Can we get 15%? 20%? Wouldn't it be amazing to get 25% or more?

Thank you for your help! And our children and grandchildren thank you, too!

Connect to Action: Taking Determined Steps to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

The report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), reported on in the New York Times on 3/31/2014, warned of climate risk and the impact on human society in the coming decades.  “Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change,” said the chairman of the IPCC, at the news conference.

As I struggled to think about how to respond to this report, I found myself drawing on the concept of “active hope” conceived by authors Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone.

“Active hope is a practice, like gardening or yoga.  It is something we do rather than something we have.”  (p. 3, Active Hope:  How to Face the Mess We're in Without Going Crazy)

“Active hope involves identifying the outcomes we hope for and then playing an active role in bringing them about.  We don't wait until we are sure of success.  We don't limit our choices to the outcomes that seem likely.  Instead we focus on what we truly, deeply long for, and then we proceed to take determined steps in that direction.”  (p. 37, Active Hope)

 Following are 5 determined steps that you can take right now to reduce your carbon footprint . . . and develop a sense of active hope.

1. Make your home more energy efficient.  If you own a home, call Elevate Energy and schedule a home audit. Better yet, invite some friends and have a party and get it for free. Elevate Energy helps facilitate the Energy Impact Illinois program, which offers rebates, incentives and low cost loans to help you get the recommended work done to increase your home’s energy efficiency. (Skyler Larrimore,, Elevate Energy | 773-407-3784)
2. Support local food resources.  Join the Sugar Beet Coop -- so we can have a year-round, local-food resource here by early 2015.
3. Compost.  If you live in Oak Park, sign up for the village CompostAble program.  Or set up your own backyard composting.  Food waste in landfills is one of the biggest sources of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.
4. Plan trees.  Support our trees and forests through American Forests, the Arbor Day Foundation or another organization that plants trees, and visit your local Forest Preserve.  Trees are effective at capturing carbon dioxide and storing it for a long time.
5. Use your voice.  Join an environmental advocacy organization and get involved in advocating for policies that you want to see become reality.  Some examples in which GCC volunteers participate include:  Citizens Climate Lobby (Chicago West Chapter meets in Oak Park), Frack Free Illinois, 350.org, Food & Water Watch and the Sierra Club.

Referenced New York Times article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/science/earth/climate.html

Referenced book:  Active Hope, How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy, 2012, by Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone.

Submitted by Sally Stovall

Citizens Urge Oak Park Board to "Get on Board" with Green Energy

Action Alert: 

On April 11, 2014, the Oak Park Village Board reversed its commitment to renewable energy and voted to change our community choice aggregation investment from green to brown.  (See related Chicago Tribune article.)

It may be too late to change this particular decision by the board, but it is NOT too late -- and it is crucially important -- that we use our voice to express our continuing desire to have Oak Park take leadership in building a sustainable, resilient community and to ensure that the Village Board is "on board" with us!!

If that is a message that you would like to send to the Oak Park Village Board, please consider taking the following actions. join in the Green Energy Appeal:

1. Help us pack the house during the next village board MEETING, scheduled for Monday, April 21 at 8PM at Village Hall (Lombard and Madison). Our attendance will demonstrate support for green energy and sustainability policies.
2. Sign the PETITION, urging the board to recommit Oak Park to 100% renewable (green) energy now. If you want to make additional comments, write to: board@oak-park.us to remind the members that we expect them to be sustainability leaders.  Remember to say “Thank you!” to Trustee Colette Lueck, the lone board member who spoke in favor of choosing a green energy investment option.
3. SHARE a link to the Oak Park Green Energy Appeal page with your family and friends via an email or social media.  Watch for updates, background and additional action ideas.
4. Stay tuned for information about how you can opt out of brown (fossil fuel-based) energy in Oak Park.
5. OTHER CREATIVE ACTIONS as you are so inspired, e.g., write a letter to the editor at Wednesday Journal, Oak Leaves, Tribune, and/or Sun Times. Make signs to bring to Village Board meetings.

As Trustee Lueck said, “This [slight cost increase to support green energy] is a hit I could live with, because I think green is important to Oak Park. . . I also think it is important to the future of our world.”

We do, too!

Background

On October 18, 2011, the Oak Park Village Board approved a plan making Oak Park the first municipality in Illinois to aggregate the resident and small business energy purchasing power and invest in a 100% renewable energy program.  Since then, 91 communities in the state followed suit.

Just over two years later, on April 11, 2014, the Oak Park Village Board reversed its commitment to renewable energy and voted to change our community choice aggregation investment from green to brown.  (See related Chicago Tribune article.)

All of the available options included rate increases; the Oak Park Village Board chose the lowest cost option.  We appreciate that the board is being cost-sensitive on our behalf, but we also know that opting for dirty energy has hidden health and climate costs that are not included in the price.  These are what we can’t afford to pay!

Right here in the U.S., climate change is taking a toll on people's lives, damaging land and wildlife, threatening our food supply, and hurting the economy. Think about it: severe weather was not good for Oak Park this past winter, it is not good for the drought stricken farms of the western U.S., it is not good for the flooded Southeast, and it was not good for the people who lost homes and loved ones in Super Storm Sandy.

Most disconcertingly, the Village Board made its decision just days after the release of a United Nations report on climate change that was written by hundreds of the world's leading climate scientists. The report called for immediate policy action to reduce carbon emissions. One of the best ways to do so is to invest in renewable energy.

Reminder & Updates on the Oak Park Green Energy Appeal

Four ways to make your voice heard in support of green energy in Oak Park TODAY:

1. Help us pack the house and ATTEND tonight's Special Village Board meeting at 8PM to demonstrate support for green energy and sustainability policies. (Room 101 at Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St. - at S. Lombard Ave.)
2. SIGN the petition urging the board to recommit Oak Park to 100% renewable (green) energy. (Link to petition: http://chn.ge/1tewKEo.)
3. OPT IN to a 100% renewable electric energy option. You can learn details at tonight's village board meeting. Various organizations like GCC will also be sharing this information.
4. SHARE this message with Oak Park friends, family and neighbors. We need your help!

Details and Updates on Oak Park's Energy Aggregation Program

Constellation, the Village’s new brown-energy contractor, says it is not possible to replace the brown contract with a green contract because Constellation has already contracted for a specific mix of energy sources, but there will be an opportunity to select 100% renewable energy.  Residents will begin receiving a notice from Constellation starting today which includes the following three choices:

1. Do nothing and you will be included in the DEFAULT brown energy option (a mix of coal, natural gas and nuclear) at a rate of 7.470 cents per kwh).
2. Check the box at the bottom of the form which says “I do not want to participate in the Village of Oak Park Electricity Aggregation Program” and fill in the rest of the form.  This results in you reverting to Com Ed as your energy supplier.
3. The third option is to select the 100% renewable energy option at a rate of 7.570 cents per kwh shown in the mailing by a green box in the lower right side of the mailer.  The 100% renewable option is available through Constellation’s call center only.  It requires a call to an 800#.  THIS IS THE OPTION THAT WE WILL BE ENCOURAGING OP RESIDENTS TO CHOOSE.

This approach -- requiring a separate phone call from each household to opt-in for green -- makes green energy the difficult option, and it will be an uphill battle to get a people enrolled.  The typical community that requires that citizens to opt-in has less than 10% take advantage of the opt-in choice.  Fortunately Oak Park is not typical, and we will be working hard to get a large percentage of OP residents to choose 100% renewable energy.

We will also work tonight to help the board see the bigger picture of their role in the fight against climate change and what can be done at the village level.  At this stage, individual action is not enough to turn things around. We will stress with them that our Village committed over two years ago to the PlanItGreen Sustainability Plan and there is too much at stake to turn around now.  In fact, rather than retreating, as a Village, we should be pushing forward with bigger and bolder policies.  We will be asking the board to ramp up their support for this plan and strategies that move this plan forward.

Please join us!

Green Drinks Focus: A more prosperous pathway to a sustainable future

The Triton College Sustainability Center will host their inaugural Green Drinks program from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2.  The event is free and open to the public. It will take place in Room B-223 of the Student Center on Triton’s main campus in River Grove.  The event will also have a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. The guest speaker Tom Stoner will be, a former energy entrepreneur who authored the book “Small Change, Big Gains: Reflections of an Energy Entrepreneur.”  Stoner will discuss how climate change mitigation is possible and will result in a more prosperous pathway to a sustainable future, as he answers such questions as:

• Is the very nature of business in conflict with the environment?
• To address climate change, will the United States have to incur a massive public bailout to transform our energy economy?
• What are the top three calls to action for environmentally conscious college graduates?

Stoner is also the founder of Project Butterfly (www.projbutterfly.com), a research organization dedicated to finding business solutions to climate change.  Green Drinks is an international network that encourages networking opportunities to discuss sustainability. This event is sponsored by the Triton College Sustainability Center and the Green Committee.  For more information, contact Adrian Fisher at adrianfisher@triton.edu or Alexandra Dragin at alexandradragin@triton.edu.

Green Living: Deepening our Resolve in 2014

Going green, developing a sustainable lifestyle and a resilient community is a journey. Following are green New Year’s resolutions from a few Green Community Connections members. Let’s help each other and hold each other accountable! Pam:  Welcoming life back to this little outpost on the earth we share with all beings by planting more natives, eliminating lawn, and educating myself on how the choices I make impact the health of the soil, water, and ecosystem.

Laurie:  To get out more in the evenings with my family. I hope we will attend a few school concerts or plays, explore the library or simply enjoy a walk under the stars.

Dick: Take out our lawn and put in a native garden...why grow a lawn when one could have native habitat with deep roots protecting our soil and water. I would also like to get to zero carbon - I need to drastically reduce with my energy use - by putting solar on my roof, my congregation's roof, and push Oak Park solar.

Continue reading this article to see more resolutions - and to add your own!

Sally:  I'd like to spend more time in nature – to care for myself and learn from and about natural systems. I also want to reduce my use of fossil fuel-based energy: increase our home energy efficiency, seriously consider solar, bicycle more, and drive less. (Become fossil-fuel free in 10 years!) Additionally, I want to develop my political voice (and not just through signing online petitions) – get out, demonstrate, lobby, get arrested?!

Katie:  I'm trying to live by example at work. Our office recently switched from brewed coffee to Keurig, wasting hundreds of pieces of plastic, probably every day.  They also insist on plastic cutlery, and styrofoam in the kitchen. I've brought my own french press, as well as utensils and dishes to use during the day. It may seem like a small move, but someone asks me about it in the kitchen, and have the opportunity to explain why I made the choice. I've also made an intention to put my health first.  Might not seem related to environmentalism, but the way I see it, the only way I'll be able to make changes, and be a voice for change, is to be my best, healthiest self.

Ana:  Get outside! Everyday if possible, get out to walk to dog, breath the air, clear my mind, observe wildlife, bring my kids -- even if for just a few minutes a day. To get me "unstuck," or to get me inspired. What a difference it can make!  Also, to get further down my list of urban homesteading skill-building: get better at canning & preserving, build a solar oven, try more permaculture projects like planting a fruit tree guild & learning more about how to build food forests.

Add Your Resolutions

Whether you’re a believer in small steps or one who likes to dream big, we invite you to share your green New Year’s resolution(s). We can root for one another and perhaps make some connections to provide practical support for one another!  Add a comment to this post and/or on our Facebook page to let us know your plans for the new year - and the new you.

Consider attending the Active Hope workshop we are holding beginning Monday, January 13! it is a chance to gain strength from others with similar commitments.