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Date: 9/20/2022
GRANVILLE/EASTHAMPTON - Voices for Climate (V4C), a grassroots community group based in Granville, is partnering with the Emily Williston Library in Easthampton for a three-part virtual climate series called “Saving Us! Working toward Climate Resilience.”
According to organizer John Meiklejohn of Voices for Climate, the series is for people who are worried about the unwelcome weather and climate changes they see and read about, both locally and nationally, and wonder what they can do to make a difference.
The first two parts in the series will feature two well-respected climate experts who will bring updated factual information on climate science in an understandable way.
Westfield State University Professor of Geography, Planning and Sustainability Carsten Braun, PhD, will present “Climate Change 101: What You Need to Know” on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
Braun believes climate change does not have to be complicated or intimidating. He teaches the subject along with physical geography and sustainable energy to freshmen at Westfield State University who he says are mainly pursuing other majors, but who need science requirements.
“I might be the last scientist they ever know,” he said, adding that his main goal is to have students come away with a positive image of science, and to realize the role that science has to play in a Democratic society.
In his talk for this series, Braun will review the science of climate change, discuss its impacts and explore the practical solutions that are available “right here, right now.” He believes that people can “absolutely make a difference,” and that there is very good data and studies to back that up.
“We do have a new climate legislation that Congress passed that is pretty exciting. While it’s not everything, we should celebrate these successes,” Braun said this month, referring to the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to build American clean energy supply chains by incentivizing domestic production in clean energy technologies. Braun called it the first meaningful piece of climate action in a long time.
The second presentation in the series is “What Will Drive Our Climate Future?” featuring Gary Yohe, PhD, a Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics & Environmental Studies at Wesleyan University; and a Senior Member of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
Yohe will explore the limitations of what scientists do know and don’t know about climate change, and how people can still make proactive decisions to “abate” or “adapt.” There will be ample time for discussion and questions and answers at the end of the talk.
The third part, Taking Action: Exploring Ways to Tackle the Climate Crisis on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. via Zoom will be facilitated by Voices for Climate (V4C), which is a Western Mass. grassroots group dedicated to creating non-partisan, science-based community conversations about the changing climate.
Meiklejohn said the third session will explore a range of constructive steps everyone can take, both as individuals and in groups, to turn a looming crisis into a triumph.
Meiklejohn said there are three key outcomes he hopes that people will get from the three-part series. He said Braun’s and Yohe’s talks will update the public on the current status of climate science, what is known and what is still uncertain, and will give people the opportunity to raise questions with well-versed experts. “There is a lot we can do to mitigate, a lot we can do to adapt, and a lot of suffering if we don’t,” Meiklejohn said.
In the third session, participants will explore in large and small groups how to harness the American can-do spirit to meet this moment, which Meiklejohn called “a remarkable moment. We don’t live in ordinary times. We are facing something humanity has never faced before in terms of a global threat,” he said.
“This will take all of us coming together in that ‘can do’ spirit. We want to use that third session to share ideas and brainstorm, not only at the individual level, but at the community level when it takes all of us to accomplish something. How can we (plural) address this,” Meiklejohn said.
Emily Williston Memorial Library Adult Services Coordinator Stephanie Levine said over email the goal of the program is to educate about climate change.
“In hosting this series, our short term goal is to provide access to up to date, nuanced information. Our long term goal is to be a part of sustained action and change, as a local information resource and as an institution,” she wrote.
Levine added these workshops give people the opportunity to hear directly from experts about climate issues.
To register in advance for any one or all of the sessions go to: https://tinyurl.com/cpw-saving-us Questions may be addressed to John Meiklejohn at jmiserve183@gmail.com.
This series is hosted by the Emily Williston Memorial Library, a member of the Pioneer Valley Library Collaborative, in partnership with Voices for Climate, and is funded in part by Emily’s Friends of the Library.