The UUFC Climate Action Team’s (CAT) goals for 2023-24 include: Encourage, support, and provide opportunities for members and friends to engage in solutions-focused climate action. CAT classifies solutions-focussed climate action in two broad domains:
- Reducing and taking responsibility for personal emissions
- Influencing:
- National, state, and local legislation and policy
- Corporate action
Action in both domains is essential to (a) mitigate climate change, (b) adapt and build resilience, and (c) and secure justice for those most impacted but least responsible for climate change. CAT suggests there is positive feedback between the two. Working to reduce emissions increases the likelihood of working to influence legislation, policy, and corporations. And vice versa.
In the first step to reducing and taking responsibility for our carbon emissions, we track our use of fossil (natural) gas, purchased electricity, gasoline and/or diesel, and flights taken and calculate the resulting emission. (This spreadsheet can be downloaded and used to track use and calculate emissions.) Tracking fossil-fuel use takes less than 10 min per month.
Resources:
- Download spreadsheet to track use and calculate emissions (Help available)
- Reduce emissions: Science News, The Guardian, World Wildlife Fund,
- Take responsibility for residual emissions
You are invited and encouraged to sign up here to participate in the Towards Net Zero Project.
Questions: michael.a.hughes1951@gmail.com