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Climate Action Teams:
Directly Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Every organization and individual uses energy, and since energy is largely derived from the combustion of fossil fuels, reducing energy consumption and switching to alternative carbon-free energy sources can thus reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide—the most important greenhouse gas (GHG).
Step One: Become Carbon Neutral
The Loma Prieta Chapter in collaboration with Acterra and Three Degrees established the Cool It! Campaign, which allows individuals to offset or compensate for the carbon dioxide emissions associated with their energy use. The Cool It! website allows visitors to compute their carbon dioxide emissions and to easily purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which subsidize the production of an equivalent amount of energy from clean wind power. By purchasing RECs, we will develop America’s wind power infrastructure and increase the percentage of electricity generated from this carbon-free energy source. Wind power is currently nearly cost-competitive with power from fossil fuels so offsetting carbon emissions will cost only a few dollars per week for the typical individual.
Step Two: Help Us Start New Climate Action Teams
The Sierra Club is also working to extend this individual action into a new campaign to reduce the GHG emissions of organizations and to engage the general public to reduce their GHG emissions by promoting positive actions in the workplace, social venues, and community institutions. Climate Action Teams can achieve this goal. Small groups of volunteers form teams to apply these ideas in their lives and to lay the foundation for taking these ideas to organizations. Team members will meet regularly in a social setting to share their best practices, ideas and form supportive communities. Team members will then approach their employers, places of worship, and other organizations with which they have a personal connection to promote global warming emission reduction ideas in the community.
The Climate Action Teams will use local, grassroots volunteers to have a positive viral influence within their peer communities that can rapidly and cost-effectively promote GHG-reduction.
They will trigger new ideas and innovation through this social networking and outreach activity to achieve rapid adoption.
If you would like to help us start-up our Climate Action Team Campaign, please contact the Loma Prieta Chapter's Global Warming Program Coordinator, Julio Magalhães, at Julio.Magalhaes(at)sierraclub(dot)org.
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By the numbers:
Loma Prieta Global Warming Activists: 2428
Cool Cities Teams: 19
Signers of U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement: 23
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