Rotary Climate Action Team

March 2024 Climate Update

Hadley Willman — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:41:20 +0000

By Alan Anderson, RCAT Board Member

Climate in the news:

1. Scientists fear planetary shift as oceans heat to record, impacting fisheries, air temps, coral reefs and more.

2. Alarming number of climate records were smashed in 2023. If you are not concerned, you are not paying attention.

3. Climate change to slash African GDP by 7.1%. Impact of droughts and floods disrupting crop production, leading to hunger.

4. Homeowners in these cities face increased climate threat. And as storms damage more & more properties, insurance goes up for everyone.

Climate Education:

1. Ethanol really makes no sense, environmentally

2. The water cycle in review and how climate change is impacting the cycle

Good Climate News:

1. Gas-powered cars are losing market share to EVs and hybrids, but still a long way to go. In MN now, you can get $7,500 from feds, 2,500 from state, buying an EV. 10k off!

2. Researchers achieve a breakthrough in solar energy storage. Could be a true game changer!

3. South Carolina Welcomes Multibillion Dollar Electric Vehicle Projects. SC is reaping the benefits of the fed. IRA bill, with 14 new EV, battery and other related plants now planned.

What we can all do to help preserve a livable world for future generations:

1. Care enough to stay steadily in the fight. It will be long, but winnable with enough citizens caring and acting. If we are unwilling to make changes, it means we will be sacrificing our kids’/grandkids’ futures.

2. Make plans now to get an EV the next time you buy a car. With $10,000 in credits/rebates, the prices are competitive. Once bought, the maintenance cost is about 25% of owning a gas car. 90% of your charging is in your own garage at night. For long trips a little planning with a recharging app. makes finding chargers easy. Even if not in the market. now, start shopping, so when the time comes, you’ll have all your EV homework done!

3. Keep talking to friends, family and workmates about climate and the IRA benefits. Become an IRA benefits booster. Share this link to the Rewiring America info pc. on the IRA. https://www.rewiringamerica.org/IRAguide

Thanks for all you’ve done and will do. Together, we can make a difference!

February 2024 Climate Update

Hadley Willman — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:36:30 +0000

By Alan Anderson, RCAT Board Member

Record warm oceans are bringing heat waves to Australia. Likely a forewarning of our summer to come. We must not look away. Our children need us to do all we can do – right now and every day – to help preserve a livable world.

Climate in then news

1. Impact of the future collapse of key Atlantic currents would be devastating to future gen. Another key reason to reduce emissions now.

2. Our oceans are the warmest ever recorded. This is bad for all marine life, corals and the next hurricane season.

3. Warm winters threaten $billions in winter outdoor recreation in MN and across the world.

4. Storms hit homeowners already facing difficult times, as insurance rates rise out of affordability.

5. The world is not prepared for climate disasters, after the warmest Jan. ever. Are we awake? Will we take action for our kids/grandkids?

Good Climate News:

1. Growth of renewables in the EU – in one chart. Good trend, just needs to be faster.

2. EVs are one step closer to being roaming battery sources, which can solve several of our challenges. Make your next car an EV !

3. Michael Mann, famous climate scientist much attacked by deniers, wins in court! Score for the good guys!

4. The clean hydrogen paradox. We need clean burning hydrogen to replace fuels hard to replace with electricity. But making clean hydrogen can be a dirty process. There is a lot of hope for real, green, hydrogen.

What we can all do to help preserve a livable world for future generations:

1. If you have not already done so, join Citizens Climate Lobby and add your name behind our citizen lobbyists. Fed. legislation can bring systemic change, which will be needed to reach our goals. And there is no cost to join, so why not? See www.citizensclimatelobby.org

2. Make a plan to electrify your home and car, as new equipment is needed. Use the attached Rewiring guide to make your plan, so you are knowledgeable and prepared when the need arises.

3. Talk to friends and relatives about climate change. When we talk about it, then we think about it, and then we are more likely to take action!

Thanks for all you do and will do. Together, we can make a real difference!

January 2024 Climate Update

Hadley Willman — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:31:46 +0000

By Alan Anderson, RCAT Board Member

Climate in the News (See attached articles, most with links at end of each):

1. 2023 smashes record for global temps – not where we want to be going!

2. 2023 also set new high temp records in the oceans – also not a good path!

3. Eight charts illustrate 2023’s extreme weather

4. World is facing massive impacts from every additional 0.1 deg. increase in temps.

5. 2023: A historic year of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. Other years had fewer in number, but more expensive, like hurricane Katrina.

Good Climate News (there are MANY positive things happening. Here are few):

1. 700 miles on one tank of hydrogen! The technology is here. Need to expand refueling stations, just as we also expand EV charging stations.

2. Researchers are producing cobalt free batteries for EVs. Cobalt is currently mined in countries w/o protections for the miners, and it’s expensive.

3. The country’s biggest solar+batteries field just came online in CA. Now operational, the fuel is free, clean, inexhaustible!

4. Researchers have developed a solar cell 1,000x more efficient than current cells and costs LESS to produce. It will likely be sev. years before they come to market, but they will be revolutionary in our transition away from fossil fuels.

Actions we can all take to help preserve a livable world:

We have the technology to preserve a livable world. The question is, will we make the transition to clean energy fast enough. We CAN do this for all future generations, IF we all do our part. There are two main points in “our part”:

1. Press your fed & state reps to take meaningful climate action now! The best way is monthly phone calls to them. It costs little in time and $ and can make a BIG difference. Add a note to your smart phone calendar and hit repeat monthly. Your phone will remind you monthly to call.

2. Work to reduce your own carbon footprint. And now we have the big, federal climate bill offering you lots of $ to transition to electricity. Visit www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator

3. Here is a quick report on my new heat pump (installed when my 20 yo A/C died last summer). This fall, my heat pump has done all my heating except in the very cold week we had. Gas savings have been more than increased electric cost, so far. But it was a warmer than average fall, in our hottest year on record. Time will see on the savings. But, burning less gas is a very good thing in any case.

Steve Bender on Rotary’s People of Action Summits and the 4-7-8-17 Global Service Program

Hadley Willman — Sun, 31 Jul 2022 19:37:57 +0000

The 7/28/22 session of the Rotary Climate Action Team (RCAT) Network’s Climate Conversations forum featured speaker Steve Bender, the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach, who discussed the upcoming People of Action Summit on Water, and the 4-7-8-17 Global Service Program.

The People of Action Summits will provide an in-person and virtual opportunity for Rotary members to join forces with communities and industry experts to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face. It’s all about individuals identifying issues, solving problems, and making a difference. The summits will be hosted at different locations and will focus on Food Security (Boise, Idaho), Green Transportation and Clean energy (San Jose, CA), Agriculture (Colorado), Human trafficking (San Diego, CA), and Water from “Source to Sea” (Newport Beach, CA).

The Global Service 4-7-8-17 Program has the goal of “Embracing the Future While Respecting the Past”. All local and global service projects follow Rotary’s legendary 4 Way Test and fall under at least one of Rotary’s 7 Areas of Focus. Projects are created that embrace Rotary’s 8 Pillars of Positive Peace and that align with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This 4-7-8-17 Program is designed to partner with Rotary clubs locally and globally in a strategic vision for the future.

Steve Bender is the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach, Co-Chair of the Global Climate Pledge, Founding Director of the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Reefs Projects, Building Bridges through Rotary, Volunteer Tourism and too many other environmental and humanitarian organizations to list. Steve chaired the Newport Beach Host Town committee during the 2015 Special Olympics in Los Angeles. Steve is also the past president of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Steve sits on many local and global boards.

Steve has influenced countless communities and individuals through an extensive lifetime of volunteerism. For his service, Steve and the groups he supports have been recognized by the California State Assembly, the City of Newport Beach, the Daily Pilot, and Rotary International.

Steve Bender on Rotary's People of Action Summits and the 4-7-8-17 Global Service Program

Breaking Down the 2022 IPCC Report with Dr. Karl Hausker

Hadley Willman — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 23:52:09 +0000

The 5/26/22 session of the Rotary Climate Action Team (RCAT) Network’s Climate Conversations forum featured speaker Dr. Karl Hausker, Senior Climate Fellow of the World Resources Institute, who discussed the recent IPCC report.

Dr. Hausker has co-authored an article titled “6 Takeaways from the 2022 IPCC Climate Mitigation Report” and shared his valuable knowledge and perspective with us. As we know, with every fraction of a degree of global warming, climate change impacts will intensify. What can we and what should we be doing to address these risks? Dr. Hausker provided hope stemming from modern solutions and reputable global data.

Read the article here: https://www.wri.org/insights/ipcc-rep..

View the recording of the Zoom webinar below or via the following link: https://youtu.be/895elL05WeM

Breaking Down the IPCC Report with Dr. Karl Hausker

7 Focus Areas for 7th Area of Focus-Environment

Hadley Willman — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 15:27:29 +0000

Description: Around 40 participants took a pledge to act on climate change by choosing one among 7 focus areas.

Contact: Nagalakshmi Vignesh Kumar

Email: [email protected]

Club Name: Rotary Club of Salem Wings

District: 2982

State: INTERNATIONAL – Not in US

Project Target: Personal

Project Type: Climate Inequality

Play URL:

RCAT Network and Global Climate Pledge Leaders

Hadley Willman — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 06:53:43 +0000

In light of the recently released IPCC report, we know the necessity of addressing climate change is more urgent than ever. Climate action is needed in all sectors of society if we are to keep global warming to no more than +1.5 degrees (C) as advocated by the climate scientist community. To do their parts, an ever increasing number of Rotary Climate Action teams are initiating local climate projects around the world while more and more organizations and individuals are taking a stand on the climate crisis by signing the Global Climate Pledge.

For our first Climate Conversation, we heard from a few select RCAT Network and Global Climate Pledge leaders who are paving the way in addressing climate change in their communities and organizations: John Marshall, Michelle Thatcher, and Hadley Willman. We are hoping that learning about their experiences will motivate our viewers to select, organize, and execute their own actions that help us collectively solve the climate crisis.

LONG SAM

adminss — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 09:07:26 +0000

Description: It is a program in Borneo/Indonesia.
Goals: Rescue animals, protect forest, support the locals.

Contact: Hans Joachim Schmid

Email: [email protected]

Club Name: Rotary Club Bali Ubud Sunset

District: 3420

State: INTERNATIONAL – Not in US

Project Target: _ Other Target _

Project Type: Community

Play URL:

Tree Planting

adminss — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 19:36:05 +0000

We planted 16 trees in a park. Our Rotarians enjoyed it so much we are making it an annual event.

Nathan Cogswell WRI on Cooperations Amongst Nations to Address Climate Crisis

Hadley Willman — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 23:24:10 +0000

Cooperation between countries is central to addressing the climate crisis. Despite concerns about the results from COP26 in Glasgow, it is critical that climate advocates understand how global cooperation has arrived at this point and how it will influence immediate future climate actions.

To understand the complexity of the issue, this Forum will provide an overview of the international climate collaboration process, starting with where previous international efforts have failed. This will help explain why the current international approach (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) is organized the way that it is.

The UNFCCC and the role of all countries and subgroups is key to recognizing the actions Rotarians must take in advocating with their local and national governments to assure realization of the 2030 and beyond emissions targets