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Marin Chapter Newsletter September, 2017
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Chasing Coral!
Join us in The George Lucas Theater at 32Ten Studios on October 29
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The folks who brought forth the amazing, Oscar-nominated
Chasing Ice
have created a sequel,
Chasing Coral
. Pivoting from land to sea, it dramatically documents the "hidden" impacts of climate change on the planet's largest animal communities -- the ancient cities under the sea -- coral reefs.
And like
Chasing Ice
, they've made time lapse videos of what happens after ocean heat waves roll through. It's both heartbreaking and alarming.
But, like
Chasing Ice
, they warn, urging action but don't
specify
the solutions --
like harnessing the economy to make dirty fuels more expensive.
That's
our
job.
Please join us on October 29 from 3-6 f
or a
free special showing
of this gorgeous film at the high- tech
32Ten Studios
in San Rafael, where
models for such legendary movies as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean were imagined and created. This amazing theatre, designed by George Lucas, is now used for private screenings and is off limits to the general public. Here's an opportunity to experience an incredibly important movie in
a beautiful, intimate historic venue
.
Space is limited to 120. Refreshments will be served. Please
RSVP to
Marcy.
THEN:
We'll meet again the following Sunday, November 5 to further explore CCL's solution and welcome new members. On Sunday, November 5, 4-6 PM in Tiburon at Eagle Rock Gardens. Again, RSVP to
Marcy
for details.
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Watch:
The Case for a Carbon Tax
Author on CCL's International Conference Call
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Don't miss CCL's September 9th international call guest speaker, Dr. Shi-Ling Hsu, author of
The Case for A Carbon Tax
and member of CCL's advisory board. From his South Florida home, as hurricane Irma churned towards him (before evacuation orders), he
calmly explains why
CCL's proposal is so reasonable, efficient and fair. Even if you were on the call, watch it again and
memorize his talking points!
Here's a short summary
he wrote at our request. His book will be at our meetings and is well worth 30 bucks if you really want to understand the economic and political case for a carbon tax.
Yes, it's economics, but there are only two pages of calculus and quite a bit of humor.
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CCL returns to Capitol Hill again in November bearing gifts: INTEL. Sifting every detailed report from over 500 June meetings, our DC office has an up-to-date profile of Congress' questions and concerns about our carbon pricing proposal, which we'll share with selected offices. CCL is the only organization doing this kind of survey. The impact on Congress of the hurricanes and the President's behavior will be interesting to hear. We'll have the details after the event. Come if you can!
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A Full Reception following
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Sixty-five enthusiastic folks enjoyed our after-movie gathering at D'Angelo's in Mill Valley on August 5. The movie is beautifully filmed as it follows Mr. Gore around the world on his one-man mission to raise awareness of the climate crisis and relish the swift deployment of renewable energy technologies.
Particularly gripping are the scenes at the Paris climate summit, showing the internal workings of a massive
(60,000 people were there, including 50 CCL members)
, complex international negotiation process that has evolved over 25 years -- with little to show for itself. There is an air of hopeful desperation to get
something
done.
We peek behind the stage on which 196 countries with vastly disparate agendas, a huge entourage of delegates, heads of states, observers, demonstrators and media all coalesce. Mr. Gore himself closes the midnight deal that breaks the gridlock threatening to wreck the historic, inadequate accord, then watches helplessly as it's trashed a year later by the US President. It's high drama.
There's only one problem (well, more than one):
While wind, solar and efficiency technologies are out-competing coal for
new
electricity
generation, consumption of dirty fuels continues to
increase
, and GHG levels continue to rise. (See next.)
Mr. Gore avoids calling for what economists term "
demand destruction
," which can be achieved
only by
raising the price of fossil fuels (like we did with cigarettes.)
As Dr. Hansen
says
repeatedly, "As long as fossil fuels remain the cheapest source of energy, they will be used." Period.
Since Mr. Gore surely understands basic economics, his may
actually be a good strategy. As a polarizing figure, Mr. Gore's advocacy for a carbon tax could actually
backfire
, as his endorsement would make it awkward for Republicans, whose support is critical, to get on board.
That's where CCL enters the picture: we're strictly nonpartisan.
In fact, we're hoping for a Republican-sponsored bill to be introduced this year. Don't hold your breath, but do cross your fingers.
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Can Renewables Really Save Us?
These 'missing charts' may change the way you think about fossil fuel addiction
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One of Al Gore's (and many others') points of hope is that the cost of wind and solar energy has plummeted and deployment has skyrocketed. Noting that in recent years the majority of new electricity generation came from wind and solar, optimists feel hopeful that we can bend the emissions curve by pressing for more. But is that true? Take a look at the numbers.
In this lucid piece, we're brought back to reality. Take home message: Of course we need massive deployment of renewable energy, but even more important is a
global carbon price
that engages the gears of the world's economy, the only entity that can slow down the runaway train of cheap fossil fuel production and consumption.
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Oil dependency rockets upwards
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- This is why we need a carbon tax
- Under reporting of emissions is common.
- There's no world authority other than the global trading system
- Profit motive, cheating, and human nature will persist.
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"We knew this would happen, decades ago. We knew this would happen, and we didn’t care. Now is the time to say it as loudly as possible:
Harvey is what climate change looks like.
More specifically, Harvey is what climate change looks like in a world that has decided, over and over, that it doesn’t want to take climate change seriously."
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CCL Advisory Board member Dr. James Hansen, first to warn Congress in 1988, former Director of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, now Columbia University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, has said this many times: Warmer ocean surface temperatures equal wetter storms. Basic physics.
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Read CCL's latest proposal in the MIT Climate CoLab contest for a Carbon Price
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CCL members Joe Robertson (international coordinator), Gary Horvitz and Peter Joseph enjoying Cambridge, MA after winning the Popular Choice award for their 2014 carbon pricing proposal
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Marin chapter leader Peter Joseph has again co-authored a proposal explaining CCL's carbon fee, dividend and border carbon adjustment:
You can read, then support it by
registering
at the CoLab, then clicking "support" on the proposal -- basically "liking" it. In December, after revisions, we'll ask you to
vote
for it in the Popular Choice award contest, which we've won twice before.
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Watch
Elon Musk
explain climate change and the carbon tax in 12 minutes
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You'll enjoy this. In his own slightly shy and unique way,
Elon Musk
explains climate change and the carbon tax in 12 minutes
at The Sorbonne during the Paris climate summit in December, 2015. It's not rocket science, but he could explain that as well.
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Activate
Your
Group with a CCL Presentation!
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One of the best ways to spread the word about CCL is to arrange for a presentation to your group -- friends, associates, workplace, school, club, place of worship -- anywhere you can assemble an audience. We have experienced speakers eager to educate.
Contact
Peter Joseph.
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"I’m a climate scientist. And I’m not letting trickle-down ignorance win."
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Dr. Ben Santer,
IPCC climatologist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, member of the National Academy of Sciences, writes passionately about why he will not submit to intimidation, a lesson learned young when trapped alone deep in an Alpine crevasse. It was life or death then -- and still is. Read his latest post in
Scientific American
celebrating Voyager and the beauty of science.
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Looking for Ways to Get Involved?
Marin Action Teams Want You!
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"CCL exists to create the political will for climate solutions by enabling individual breakthroughs in the exercise of personal and political power."
-- Mission Statement
We're all volunteers, and you don't need to be an expert to help.
One of the best ways to get involved is to...just get involved! Our action team leaders invite you to participate. Teams include:
If yo
ur skill set resonates with any of these teams, please
contact
Molly
with your interest.
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If you're ready for that breakthrough and have one hour/month to volunteer for CCL, we invite you to attend a hands-on workshop in Mill Valley.
We'll tailor small group discussion to
you
in
order to help
you
find
your
personal political power.
At these workshops we will:
- Get to know other CCL members
- Demonstrate the new Community and CCL University sites, both rich learning resources
- Answer your questions, discuss upcoming opportunities and your personal next steps
If you're new we look forward to meeting you. If you've already attended a meeting, we look forward to deepening your understanding and involvement.
Seating is limited to 10 people. Please pose questions in your reply to help us plan to address your needs. When we receive your response, we'll send directions and carpool/shuttle info.
RSVP to Barbara Wilson
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Download
here
for a deep dive into carbon pricing policy.
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A well written primer from The Urban Institute and Brookings on the theory and practice of carbon pricing around the world. Easy to understand format.
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The CLIMATE PORTAL
"We have a moral, ethical, and survival imperative to learn about climate change"
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Terrific
one-stop shopping
for a gold mine of climate related articles from our friends the Unitarian-Universalists, who pay due attention to the moral and spiritual aspects of responding to this crisis.
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Years of Living Dangerously Short Videos
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Subscribe
to the weekly podcasts.
Warning: unflinching, uncomfortable realism that can be both a downer and stimulant for action.
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Climate Feedback
is a global network of scientists fact-checking climate change news. They collectively assess the credibility of influential climate change media coverage.
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Three years to safeguard our climate,
Nature.
Christiana Figueres and colleagues set out a six-point plan for turning the tide of the world’s carbon dioxide by 2020. They forget to mention the need for a global carbon price.
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Join the
Intro Call
every
Wednesday at 5 PM
then take the
Climate Advocate
training, offered on the
3rd and 4th Wednesdays of each month
at 5 PM PT
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