Cool Town Meeting Report
I've had several people ask me to write more about what happened at Sunday's Step It Up Cool Town Meeting on global climate change. It was probably the largest and most important environmental meeting I've attended in Springfield.
After opening statements by Roy Wherle and Diane Hughes, UIS professor Jim Bonacum made a presentation. Dr. Bonacum specializes in genetics and molecular biology and he participated in a training session by Al Gore and the Climate Project based on An Inconvenient Truth. He would like to speak to groups of any size, including skeptics, about the science of global climate change and what we can do about the problem.
(Diane Lopez Hughes opening the meeting. Click to enlarge all photos.)
Next, SJ-R photographer Chris Young showed two beautiful slide presentations, including many pictures of natural Illinois prairies. He brought a blade of the prairie grass that once covered this region and helped create the excellent soil we now use for farmland. He reminded everyone of how much our natural environment has given us.
(Chris Young speaking)
The next part of the town meeting was an open forum for audience members to talk about how to take action both personally and with environmental organizations. For me the most exciting part of this event was the large crowd with about 140 people, (about the same size as Chicago's Step It Up meeting) including many of Springfield's environmental leaders. It drew people who have been active in the local movement for many years, like Alex Casella.
Casella made two points I found myself nodding my head to. One is that elected officials notice that environmental groups are not as active in elections as most other groups who ask for their vote on issues. I've often found myself frustrated by how many environmental activists don't want to get involved in campaigns. As a movement, most environmental organizations are 501-C3 non-profits in order to attain tax-exempt funding, but that also precludes them from engaging in many election activities. That's one reason the environmental agenda often loses legislative battles despite having overwhelming public support.
Another good point he made later during the meeting is that Springfield is showing real leadership in the clean energy agreement between the city and the Sierra Club. This is one area where we aren't ten years behind Chicago. Springfield now has a stronger commitment to using wind power and energy efficiency programs than Chicago and most other cities in America.
During that portion of the meeting someone mentioned Kevin Green's guest editorial in the SJ-R about promoting more bicycle use. I won't try to name all the leaders present or summarize all the comments made because I know I'll miss too much. But, we did have two elected officials present that I know of, Sam Cahman and Mike Ziri. Also speaking from the audience were a State Senate candidate, plus the wife of US Congressional candidate Joe McMenamin.
(A big crowd)
The next portion of the meeting was for local organizations to talk about the work they do related to climate change and how people can get involved. They included Pax Christi Springfield, UIS SAGE, Sustainable Springfield Inc, and others.
I spoke for the Cool Cities initiative and the Sangamon Valley Group of the Sierra Club. Cool Cities is a national drive to encourage cities to sign the US Council of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to reduce their CO2 emissions. Springfield has already gone a long way toward reaching the goals of Cool Cities because of the clean energy agreement with the Sierra Club, but there is much more to do in areas not related to power generation, such as promoting bicycling, good public transportation, incorporating hybrid vehicles into the citiy's non-emergency fleet and greener building codes.
Leadership is the national theme of this year's Step It Up events so when I put my Sangamon Valley Group hat on I spoke about the national attention Springfield is receiving for the Sierra Club clean energy agreement. I emphasized two ways people can get involved in the follow-up to the agreement to make it reach its full potential.
One, is to participate in the energy efficiency & conservation programs and the planning process to create new programs. CWLP's energy services office is rolling out new rebates and programs people can participate in to reduce their energy usage and carbon emissions. This is a good way for people to help stop global warming while also reducing their monthly utility bill.
CWLP is going to dramatically expand its energy efficiency programs and part of the Sierra Club agreement provides for the public to be involved in shaping those programs. That's why CWLP is holding a series of public energy forums. The forums are an excellent opportunity to tell our utility how you want them to promote more efficient energy use and related environmental programs. Additionally, the Sierra Club would like a citizens advisory board to work with CWLP on developing those programs.
The second way for the public to get involved in the agreement is through a green energy buy-in program. This allows people to pay a little extra on their bill with the money going toward additional clean, renewable power generation. If this is something you're interested in you can let CWLP know that you want them to make the program available soon, and remember to participate when its offered.
Finally, I spoke about the formation of the Sierra Club, Sangamon Valley Group, Energy & Climate Change Committee (ECCC). The ECCC will focus on follow-up to the clean energy agreement and provide a way for people to get involved in other initiatives related to energy and climate change, including Cool Cities, the Clean Car Campaign, and work being done by other area environmental groups. The next meeting is Tuesday, November 27th at 6pm in the Lincoln Library, 3rd Floor, Bicentennial Room. Everyone is welcome to attend, even if you aren't a Sierra Club member.
I realize I wrote about my own portion of the meeting at much greater length than everything else. Well, its my blog, and those are the parts of the meeting I remember most clearly anyway.
After all groups made their presentations there was a shorter period of group discussion and announcements. People also enjoyed tasty home-made snacks made with locally grown ingredients and fair trade coffee. The whole thing lasted about two hours and convinced me that people in Springfield are ready to show more leadership on climate change.
(Cross-posted from thereisaway blog)