Climate Action Team (CAT)

The UUFS Climate Action Team was formed in response to the concerns many of us have as to how we can be more effective in addressing the climate crisis and in building a more sustainable future. Our UUFS CAT will reach out to speakers and sponsor events to educate and inspire, challenging ourselves, our congregation, and our community to make better choices and to change our behaviors in positive ways.

Please direct questions or comments to climate@uufs.org. See also: UU Ministry for Earth.

Upcoming Climate-Related Events

New Season Begins for our Multigenerational Climate Discussion Circle

When: Beginning October 8th on the Second Saturday of each month, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: Online via Zoom

Youth and adults are welcome to join us for online discussion of this third book in our series: Katharine Hayhoe’s Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. Contact redirector@uufs.org with questions or for Zoom details.

“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.”

The paperback version is expected to be released around September 20th and Books, Inc. in Campbell has agreed to provide us with a discounted price.

Opportunities & Material from Previous Events

Recycling and Materials Management

Learn more about:
– recycling benefits including saving energy, water and landfill space
– local recycling issues, including what can be recycled
– the history of recycling in Sunnyvale
– Sunnyvale’s sorting facility, the SMaRT Station
– Sunnyvale’s FoodCycle program and more!

This event took place 5/19/21 as part of the City of Sunnyvale’s Sustainability Speaker Series. Additional topics in 2020-21 included Decarbonizing Transportation, Carbon Neutral Portfoiio, and California’s Carbon Neutral Future. You can learn about all these topics here.

Home Electrification Webinar

Watch the March 13, 2021 webinar on home electrification on our UUFS YouTube channel here. There are two presentations, one from BayREN and from Mary Dateo of Mountain View, who shared how her home is now 100% electrified and she was able to cut her natural gas line.

The BayREN Home+ Program offers cash rebates for energy efficiency projects and provides a list of certified participating contractors to increase the comfort and safety of homes.

To view the slides, click here to see the BayREN presentation,  click here to see Mary Dateo’s slides: “Home Heat Pumps: A Homeowner’s Experience,” and click here for the agenda slides that include links to further resources.

“U.S. Climate Mitigation and the Paris Agreement” presented by Dr. Leon Clarke

In this presentation, Dr. Clarke discussed U.S. climate mitigation in the context of the Paris Agreement. He reviewed the global requirements of the agreement, discussed implications for the United States’ emissions, reviewed the history of deep decarbonization research for the United States and key insights from that literature, and key issues emerging today, including the recent evolution of technology costs and the role of cities, states, and businesses in climate mitigation. Click here to watch the presentation on YouTube; click here to see the presentation slides.

About our Speaker

Dr. Leon Clarke is an expert in energy and environmental issues, with a focus on climate change, climate change mitigation strategies, energy technology options, and integrated assessment modeling. He is currently the Research Director at the Center for Global Sustainability and a Research Professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. He formerly led the Integrated Human Earth System Science Group and directed a range of integrated assessment modeling activities at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a collaboration between the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland.

Presentation Slides by the BAAQMD on Local Air District Programs

While the current Federal government programs to curb climate change continue to be rolled back, California has remained steadfast in enforcing its programs to help reduce emissions which affect our health and environment.  Juan Romero, a communications outreach specialist for the local Air District, presented an overview and history of the District, a summary of its current programs, and incentives programs for the general public.

Click here to see Juan’s slide presentation.

Presentation Slides from our "Going Solar" Webinar

Have you been thinking about installing solar panels but have questions, concerns, or think you don’t use enough electricity to make it worth the expense? Click here to see the presentation and Q&A session by SunWork, a 401(c)(3) nonprofit working with homeowners with low monthly electricity bills, volunteers, and nonprofits to make adoption of solar more affordable and widespread.  Also included are topics such as battery storage and electrification options for the home.

Climate Change: Combating the 6th Mass Extinction?

Click here to see the slides from speaker Rod Diridon, Sr.’s presentation where he discussed climate change and mitigation measures, with a focus on transportation in our region. Mr. Diridon was executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) from 1993 to 2014, a transportation policy research center created in 1991 by Congress. He is known as the father of modern transit service in Silicon Valley and has chaired more than 100 international, national, state, and local programs, most related to transit and the environment.

Report by the Team at Slack: Remote work in the age of Covid-19

The months-long shelter-in-place (SIP) orders in the Bay Area have created a large-scale experiment in the environmental and mental-health effects of working from home (WFH) for many employees.  Click here for the report from a nationwide survey of knowledge workers that reveals how companies and employees are responding to a remote work surge.

See David Elliston’s Presentation on Sustainable, Responsible & Impact Investing (SRI)

We all make personal choices about banking, credit cards, and investments, but do we take into consideration the impact of those choices? David’s presentation provides useful and actionable information to help each of us make those choices more consciously and so that they align with our values. Click here to see his presentation.

David Elliston of CleanMoney.Us and Fossil Free California is a frequent speaker on divestment. David started CleanMoney.US to build a volunteer network of coaches and tools to help you understand and control the impact of your money.

David Griffiths' Presentation: What's the Beef with Beef?

Everywhere we turn we are told that we should give up eating beef because of its detrimental impact on the environment and our health. We discussed how consuming beef and dairy might impact climate change, water usage, our health, etc. Click here to view the presentation by David Griffiths on agricultural methane confusion and here to view a detailed exposition.

Watch the Recording — Book Discussion with Dina Gilio-Whitaker

The Environmental Justice Practitioners Network webinar with Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) last week was a tremendously rich discussion about pandemics, Indigenous legal struggles, and more. Please give the webinar recording a listen — and read her book As Long As Grass Grows — if you have the time. It’s worth it! [Click here to watch it.]

Dina Gilio-Whitaker is the policy director and a senior research associate at the Center for World Indigenous Studies and teaches American Indian Studies at California State University-San Marcos.

You can purchase As Long As Grass Grows at Beacon.org — OR– be one of the first ten new monthly sustaining donors to UU Ministry for Earth (of any amount), and you will be mailed a free copy of the book! Visit www.uumfe.org/giving.

-Aly Tharp
Program Director, UU Ministry for Earth

Learn Why Over 3500 Economists Want a Carbon Tax

Watch Suds Jain’s presentation from November 3, 2019 on our YouTubeChannel—and be sure to subscribe!

Personal Challenges

I will…

…take the Project Drawdown quiz

…commit to “Meatless Mondays” (or “Vegan Before 6”) and reduce the amount of meat I eat each week
…buy local and in-season
…purchase food more thoughtfully so it doesn’t “time out” before I eat it
…avoid pre-packaged foods and buy in bulk (have them weigh your containers when they are empty)
…compost my food waste. (See How to Compost in an Apartment.)
…try a new vegetarian recipe
…drink coffee conscientiously (Click here for 9 ways to do that.)

…ride public transportation to school/work/errands
…bike or carpool to work
…drive an electric vehicle (helpful EV resources)
…take the train instead of flying for a family vacation
…choose slower online delivery options to ensure multiple items can ship together
…buy credits to offset carbon emissions through carbon-mitigation projects like Cool Effect
…attend an Acterra event

…pick a responsible financial institution and cut ties with banks supporting the fossil fuel industry
…break-up with my mega-bank and get a responsible credit card
…review my investments and divest from fossil fuels

…make sure I’m signed up for my city’s clean electric energy option*
…install an electric heat pump water heater (Rebates: Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Power)
…sign up for ohmconnect.com to monitor & time electric consumption
…attend training with sunwork.org
…help install solar panels with sunwork.org
…switch to LED light bulbs
…plant a tree (see arborday.org)

…take my own utensils, cups, straws, napkins with me always
…bring my own containers to restaurants for left-overs
…borrow, rent, or buy used
…buy in metal, glass, ceramic, or wood
…mend or repair my [fill in the blank] rather than replace it

…speak to my friends, family, and acquaintances about what I’m doing to combat climate change
…advocate for my city to ban single-use-disposables
…advocate for walkability in my city’s new development
…advocate for my city to incorporate green roofs in new development
…advocate for my city to require electric rather than natural gas in new construction

…reach out to [insert name of person, organization, or business] to help them in their efforts
…participate in a march, rally, or sit-in to magnify my voice and show solidarity
…contact my state and federal house and senate representatives to express support for legislation that makes a difference. (Priority Bills in California 2019. Click here to find your representatives in another state.)
…write to Congress regarding my concerns about climate change (writegreen.org makes it easy).
…donate.

…Click here to learn about six of the most high-impact, cost-effective, evidence-based organizations.

…join the Citizens Climate Lobby
…join the Sierra Club
…join the Stand.earth campaign
…join the Union of Concerned Scientists
…support the California Product Stewardship Council
…support the Right to Repair movement
…support 350.org, nrdc.org, edf.org…

“On average, every residential solar panel system is almost like planting between 100 and 200 trees — every year,” says Vikram Aggarwal, chief executive of EnergySage, a solar comparison-shopping service. “It is a very, very meaningful carbon offset.”

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Why Food Matters

“So it’s about doing one’s honest best while also forgiving oneself and thinking about life as a series of choices rather than one lifestyle choice, while also recognizing that we have no chance—zero chance—of saving the planet if we do not change how we eat.” –Jonathan Safran Foer in conversation with Katie O’Reilly of Sierra, the national magazine of the Sierra Club

* Local clean energy options
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Sunnyvale, CA 94087

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Sunnyvale, CA 94087-0398

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