Marin Chapter Newsletter
December, 2017

CCL exists to create the political will for climate solutions by enabling individual breakthroughs in the exercise of personal and political power.
-- Mission Statement
VISION WITHOUT EXECUTION IS HALLUCINATION”
- Thomas Edison 
IT'S VOTING TIME!
Until January 15
CCL members Joe Robertson (International Coordinator), Gary Horvitz and Peter Joseph, Marin Chapter lead, enjoying their 2014 win at MIT

CCL is again a finalist in the MIT Climate CoLab Carbon Price contest , and now you can vote for our proposal for the Popular Choice Award. For an up-to-date deep dive into Carbon Fee and Dividend and CCL's progress, explore the links and you'll be on your way to real understanding of why ours is the best way to go. Voting ends January 15, so please do it now. Thanks.
New Member Orientation: January 11, 7-9 PM. Register here .

First "Salon" February 11:
How and why a carbon tax?

We'll get to know each other, hear guest speakers, share personal stories, discuss events and learn from each other, and of course, team up for continued CCL actions. Contact Marcy for details.
Plan to attend!
2017 NorCal conference

Hundreds of your fellow CCL members will be at the

2018 Northern California Regional Conference

January 20-21, 2018
Menlo-Atherton High School
Atherton, CA

Keynotes on Saturday:

Rep. Anna Eschoo, U.S. House of Representatives
Ambassador Thomas Stephenson, Climate Leadership Council


Register now, as it will fill

In Case You're Still Wondering:
How Global Warming Fueled Five Extreme Weather Events
NYT
What, Me Worry?


Trump's National Security Speech Omits Climate Change Time


Because the planetary crisis is steepening  — the longer we wait, the harder it becomes to solve the problems we face — failing to get on the right curve will mean that we end up, very quickly, on an even steeper curve. Wait too long and the curves we face become essentially impossible to meet. Follow futurist Alex Steffen on Medium.
Economist Nicholas Stern , former Chief Economist at the World Bank, Professor at the London School of Economics:

"It is crucial that markets provide a signal about costs if they are to guide economic action in positive ways, leading to the efficient allocation of resources. This means that the prices of goods, services and activities should reflect their real costs , including the costs they impose on others through the damages that they cause. By ensuring that the prices of fossil fuels reflect their true costs, policymakers help markets to operate more effectively. Carbon pricing is a pro-market action, and those who oppose it are anti-markets. The costs of climate change are potentially very large, and calculations of the social cost of carbon should reflect impacts across the world and on future generations, who could be impoverished by our failure to act."
Oops. How Big Oil Lost Control of Its Climate Misinformation Machine

"ExxonMobil has said that a uniform price of carbon applied consistently across the economy is a sensible approach to emissions reduction. Specifically, we have stated that a  revenue-neutral carbon tax   is one policy option...that offers the best prospects for progress at the lowest economic cost to society."
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.

New Member orientation: January 11, 7-9 PM. -- small group discussion to help you  find  your  voice.

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 

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.  Details .
Got a light?
Climate May Quickly Drive Forest-Eating Beetles North: Columbia Earth Institute reports.
Alarmists? Nope. The most accurate climate change models predict the most alarming consequences.
They've been right all along. Watch the video @ WaPo

Nuclear power and renewable energy in the era of climate urgency
This 23 minute broadcast from Bonn, Germany, during COP 23 injects a dose of realism regarding the relative roles and risks of renewable energy sources and nuclear power in the age of the climate crisis, which we didn't realize was coming when some marched against nukes. Open your mind: Hansen is one of history's greatest scientists.

You can subscribe to Jim Hansen's incredibly useful blog here .
Simple. You can't be a climate hero by preaching only about reducing demand while promoting production and ineffective carbon pricing .
Making America Great Again

Government scientists blocked from the biggest meeting in their field -- WaPo
Wonk Room:
Find your voice: Connecting on Climate
A Guide to Effective Climate Change Communication 
Connecting on Climate: A Guide to Effective Climate Change Communication   leads to a better understanding of American responses to climate change and explains how anyone can better communicate with and engage the American public on the issue.
For the latest climate news, sign up for briefings from this Pulitzer Prize-winning website.
New From the New York Times, a weekly digest of their climate coverage
This month's puzzler: What is the "gas of life" and who calls it that? (Hint: not oxygen.) Answer here. ( Do laugh -- it's good for you -- then cringe . )
Past Newsletters
If you've read this far, you might be zealous enough to want to review informative past Marin CCL Chapter newsletters:


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