Transcript Session 3 - Cool Rochester

The
Challenge
Save money,
energy, and
the planet!
Welcome Greece!
Let’s be a Cool Community!
Climate Change Cafe
Café Question #1
How did it go?
Fill out worksheet
For meetings
1 and 2
Predicted Climate
Change Effects
Specific to
New York
Precipitation increases in some areas and
decreases in others. More extreme wet
and snowy days are predicted
for Rochester
Increased frequency
of extreme hot summer
days and heat-related
deaths
Coastal areas
experience more
severe storms
Increased concentrations of ground-level ozone, which
adversely affects respiratory health, reduces crop
yields and impairs ecosystem health
Increase in diseasespreading pests such
as mosquitoes and
ticks
Increase in harmful
algae blooms in
water environments
Flooding and erosion
of low-lying areas
More variable stream flow &
lower lake levels:
poorer water quality;
insufficient water supply for
people AND agriculture
Forests turn to
grasslands; species
like maple, beech and
birch severely
reduced, affecting
tourism (fall foliage)
and maple product
industries
Loss of vegetation and
wildlife habitat, loss
of cold-dependent
species (trout)
20. Pssst… Save the Planet, Pass It On!
This section-- all HIGH IMPACT actions!
• Who can you engage to go on the Low Carbon Diet?
• Neighbors
• Workgroup
• Classmates
• Church group
• Sports team
• other organizations?
• Can you lead the eco-team? Of course you can!
Personal engagement
is
the most effective!
Promoting Change
Environmentally friendly behaviors
become….
the new “Normal”
– 15% already conserving $, energy, the
planet
– 35% ready to conserve when engaged
– 35% will act when many others do
– 15% will always refuse- not our audience
Everett Rogers
– Diffusion of Innovation
21. A Cool Place to Work
Think about applying Section 1 & 2 Actions to workplace:
What are the barriers? Take action to remove them.
• Work cooperatively with management
• Engage your peers to work with you
22. A Cool Community
Save
money, energy, and the planet
in a big way
• small & large groups
• churches, schools, town halls
• sponsorship by elected officials- any & all levels of gov’t
• town, village, city, county…
• set concrete goals
• engagement (85%?) & carbon reduction goal (20%?)
Let’s Go, Rochester!
Let’s do it all over again!
April 2009
This series has been a great start: support and
participation of local officials, community
groups and businesses
Help us make it grow! Volunteers needed for:
• Media
• Recruitment of participants
• Eco-team leaders
• Coordinating details at sites
• Donations
A Cool Community Example
•Town of Brighton – Color Brighton Green
•Volunteer Citizen Committees to advise Town, and
provide opportunities for action and education for
community.
•Empower Citizens and Businesses to use resources
efficiently
•Long term goal of sustainability and stewardship
•www.colorbrightongreen.org
Color Brighton Green Campaigns
10% Challenge
Campaign supporting business, municipal, school, and
residential energy reduction measures
Curb Your Car Week
Energy Fair
Low Carbon Diet Challenge meetings
Environmental Leadership Summit
23. A Cool Citizen
•Think about what barriers you encountered
to the LCD actions
•What changes need to happen?
•How can you get involved in making them?
Cool Citizen Voter’s Guide
The most earth-friendly candidate would:
• Call for CO2 emissions reduction of 80% below 1990
levels by 2050
• Support limiting CO2 emissions through economic
means such as carbon tax; or caps on emissions and
trading of emission allowances (“cap and trade”)
• Support the growth of clean energy through research
funding and economic incentives (tax credits, net
metering)
• Support mandatory increases in MPG for vehicles
(referred to as Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards)
• Not promote coal or nuclear (there is no such thing as
“clean coal”)
• Support the increase of mass transit
24. Cool Kids and Cool Schools
• Promote schools teaching the other 3 R’s:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
• Engage kids at home too:
Set a good example
foster appreciation for nature
choose earth-friendly activities
November 18th, 7 PM at City Hall
Hosted by Mayor Duffy, attended by
many Town Supervisors
Refreshments, Awards, Prizes
Announcement and recognition of the
accomplishments of all participants
Café Question #2
Keeping in mind these last four
actions, what do you feel can
you commit to do
now to empower
others to act?
Help us make 4/09 even better!
What worked
really well?
What would
you change?
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,
it's the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead