September 2022 Newsletter
Hello Friends,
We have just passed the autumnal equinox, the turning point in our journey around the sun where day and night are briefly equal in length. As our planet keeps spinning and our nights here in the northern hemisphere lengthen, we’ve been thinking about other kinds of turning points.
In the scary category, a Guardian article describes how we are running headlong into some pretty huge climate tipping points like the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, and how other tipping points may be much closer than scientists previously thought.
But in the hopeful category, UK scientists recently published a report asserting that we may be much closer to positive social tipping points, “ . . . small interventions, [that] once triggered, can grow into systemic changes. . . The scientists also said the approach could dispel feelings of helplessness about complex global challenges, stressing that big changes could start in small groups.”
“Our new work provides compelling evidence that the world must radically accelerate decarbonising the economy. To achieve that, we need to trigger positive social tipping points.”
— Professor Tim Lenton, the University of Exeter
For an inspiring local example of a small group action that rapidly grew into a popular movement (and one that is particularly salient to parents of school-aged children), consider the “bike bus!” Sam Balto is a PE teacher at Portland’s Alameda Elementary who started a weekly “bike bus” — a 2 mile ride where kids join the group along the route just like a school bus, until they all arrive at the school together. For the kids, it’s just pure fun; parents will be happy to learn that exercise before the school day improves student performance. In addition, the bike bus is also a meaningful climate action. With only 10% of U.S. children biking or walking to school, there is a lot of room for improvement!.
“Balto surveyed parents of bike bus riders at the beginning of summer and asked how they got to school on non-bike bus days (it only happens once per week currently). Over 35% of the parents surveyed said they normally drive their kid to school. “That really goes to show that the bike bus is climate action and that we’re removing car trips from the road. If you were to extrapolate that out and do this every day and fund it properly, you’d see really incredible environmental benefits.””
Climate tipping points are very real. But so are our choices: to do nothing or to try and spark social tipping points, with small collective actions that can catch on and add up to big changes. That’s why Dr. Katharine Hayhoe says the most important thing we can do about climate change is talk about it! (Not sure how to start? Saving Us is a must-read primer for the trepidatious.)
“Decarbonizing the economy” sounds distant and abstract (and a bit boring) — but a group bike ride to school is fun, community-centered, “emissions prevention” in real life! For proof, check out this video!
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Action Alert!
In spite of Portland Public Schools’ own Climate Policy, which explicitly prohibits the installation of fossil fuel infrastructure in all new buildings, a methane heating system is slated to be installed in Benson High School, currently undergoing renovation. How is this happening? The response of PPS’s Chief Operating Officer to that question was “I don’t know.”
Mike Rosen, a former PPS school board member, lays out all the details in his 9/7/22 opinion piece in the Oregonian. Rosen has a doctorate in environmental science and engineering, and is a member of the Portland Public Schools Climate Justice Committee.
What can you do to help make things go right?
Please send an email to PPS board chair, Andrew Scott and vice-chair, Gary Hollands, letting them know that your family wants resilient, climate-safe buildings for all kids, and that the time to address this design error is now!
We’ve created a template email you can copy, and please customize the subject line and add a few sentences about your family.
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Resources
“How Bad Is It?” In a recent edition of his newsletter, The Crucial Years, the seemingly indefatigable activist Bill McKibben shared his answer to the question.
Wondering how climate change is making hurricanes more frequent and extreme? Dr. Katharine Hayhoe explains succinctly in this MSNBC interview about Hurricane Ian. (5 min video)
Thinking about buying an EV? Maybe you should buy an E-bike instead! “E-bikes, along with other forms of micro-mobility and a sustained investment in transit, are the keystones to healthy, carbon-neutral transportation in cities, ending dependence on fossil fuels and depriving autocratic regimes of the engine of their repression.”
Back to School reading: Parenting in a Changing Climate by Elizabeth Bechard. One of our members participated in her group coaching cohort last year!
Love The Great British Bakeoff? Try Cook Clever, Waste Less with Prue and Rupy. Prue Leith’s latest project helps families eat better, save money, and reduce food waste, a significant contributor to global warming.
Turn off outdoor lights to help migratory birds! “Most migratory birds, some weighing as little as half an ounce, make a remarkable and perilous journey at night, using the magnetic pull of the earth, the moon and stars to set their course. By reducing skyglow over our cities, we can help them make it to their destinations safely.” Take the lights-out pledge.
An arborist’s ode to trees and democracy. If you also love trees and want to help Portland reverse the trend of our shrinking urban tree canopy, and provide life-saving shade to all our neighborhoods, join our Shade Equity coalition! Email noelle@familiesforclimate.org to find out how to plug in.
Curious how the candidates for Oregon governor's views on climate change compare? "As part of a larger survey, OPB asked Republican Christine Drazan, Democrat Tina Kotek and unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson about their approach to global warming." Read the full article from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Can Wolves and Beavers Help Save the West From Global Warming? We love beavers, and they’re getting a lot of attention lately as climate helpers! But did you know that wolves are important, too? Both keystone species “help shape the landscapes they live in; restoring populations could help forests and streams adapt to rising temperatures and aridification.”
Here’s a useful look at how the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Act will cut emissions by advancing clean buildings.
Curious how much money your household could save with the Inflation Reduction Act? Check out this calculator from Rewiring America.
Schools going solar is the kind of renovation PPS *should* be mandating—not installing last century methane burning furnaces!
California has banned new gas appliances starting in 2030! And here in Portland, over 1,000 people signed a petition to Multnomah county calling for a policy to protect public health and electrify buildings.
Portland’s form of governance needs a reboot, so it can be a city that actually works. Learn more about what Charter reform would do.