On June 11-13, the Citizens’ Climate Lobby held its annual summer conference, and we were there! It was an enlightening and inspiring event. In preparation for the fall semester, Marina, Colleen, and Olivia put their heads together on a number of chapter matters, starting with the social media. You can now follow us @bloomccl on Twitter and Instagram.
This letter, by Eric C. Miller, appeared in the Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise on Thursday, May 12. Climate change requires a full-scale mobilization, and demands political will. Next month, our members will convene with others from around the nation to discuss strategies for creating it.
On Wednesday, April 20, we broke out our tabling supplies to participate in the annual Bloomsburg University Earth Day celebration. We shared a lot of information, collected a bunch of contact info, and pitched everyone on carbon pricing. Our solution to climate change? Democracy!
This letter, by Eric C. Miller, appeared in the Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Be sure to check out the CCL’s “Stand with Ukraine” initiative. For more on the climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act, see this helpful piece from the Center for American Progress.
This letter, by group leader Eric C. Miller, appeared in the Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise on Friday, December 10. More on C-PACE here.
Bloomsburg CCL hosted Dr. Katharine Hayhoe for a live webinar on the evening of October 28, 2021. Enjoy!
Consider yourself invited to a Q&A with the great Katharine Hayhoe about her new book, Saving Us. Here’s a little about the author:
Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist and chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy. She is also the Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law and Paul W. Horn Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech University. She has been named a United Nations Champion of the Earth and one of Time ’s 100 Most Influential People, and serves as the climate ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance. Katharine was a lead author for the U.S. Second, Third, and Fourth National Climate Assessments, hosts the PBS digital series Global Weirding, and has written for The New York Times. Her TED Talk “The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change: Talk About It” has been viewed over 5 million times. She has a BSc in physics and astronomy from the University of Toronto and an MS and a PhD in atmospheric science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
And a little about the book:
Called “one of the nation’s most effective communicators on climate change” by The New York Times, Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet. A Canadian climate scientist living in Texas, she negotiates distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions with ease. Over the past fifteen years Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how.
In Saving Us, Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire. It is a multilayered look at science, faith, and human psychology, from an icon in her field—recently named chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy.
Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal stories, Hayhoe shows that small conversations can have astonishing results. Saving Us leaves us with the tools to open a dialogue with your loved ones about how we all can play a role in pushing forward for change.
Hosted by the PA Bloomsburg chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, this event allows participants to submit questions about climate communication and have them answered by the world’s foremost expert. You can get a sense of the book’s key arguments from this Q&A, and you can register here.
This letter appeared in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise on Tuesday, September 7.
Now at the halfway point of 2021, the Bloomburg Chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby is able to look back on some interesting experiences and achievements. A few of these include:
Meetings held with the Bloomsburg Town Council, the Columbia-Montour Chamber of Commerce, the Montour Area Recreation Commission, and the Danville Borough Council, as well as a municipal resolution in favor of carbon pricing passed in Bloomsburg.
Endorsements received from the Bloomsburg University Economics Department and members of the Bloomsburg Ministerium.
Presentations delivered to the students of the Bloomsburg University Communication Studies Department and members of the Fishing Creek Watershed Association.
Six letters to the editor published in the Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise.
And one meeting (so far) with staffers from Rep. Meuser’s office.
In the second half of the year, we hope to build on these initial successes, with new contributions from both town and university contingents. We also hope to resume in-person meetings. If you would like to join BloomCCL, simply send an email to bloomccl@gmail.com.
Nationally, the Citizens’ Climate Lobby remains laser-focused on passing the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act as a means to slashing America’s annual carbon emissions. Locally, members of our chapter are also concerned about the state of American democracy, especially as states such as Georgia and Texas have moved to curtail voting rights and to make voting more difficult. Since we rely on advocacy and persuasion to achieve our political goals, our efforts are directly threatened by a politics that hopes to weaken grassroots action. In our June letter, Eric C. Miller argues that American politics are in a bad place right now, but that large challenges provide us with opportunities to rise.
As always, learn more about the Energy Innovation Act here.
PA Bloomsburg Citizens' Climate Lobby 