Let’s Not Return To Normal
As we all grow tired of the confines of this pandemic and the deaths of unarmed African Americans, we frequently hear people say, “I can hardly wait to return to normal.” This statement hits me like an electric shock, because that “normal” we’re hoping for, is what brought us to this moment.
Fire researchers respond to political pundits who blame “forest management”
As the toll from California’s wildfires grows higher year after year, the state’s future appears fiery and hazy with smoke. For conservative columnists like Ben Shapiro, Niall Ferguson and Tyler O’Neil, it’s clear who is responsible: California Democrats. In recent opinion pieces, they acknowledge that climate change might play a role in these fires, but they blame Democratic leadership for exacerbating fuel buildups through poor land management. As proof, they reference a study from early this year in Nature Sustainability.
2019 Catalyst For Cool
On Earth Day 2020, 350 Spokane partnered with Sunrise Spokane, Fossil Free Gonzaga and League of Women Voters to organize a 3 day live online event where we discussed the state of the Climate Movement and where we go from here.
2020 Earth Day Live
On Earth Day 2020, 350 Spokane partnered with Sunrise Spokane, Fossil Free Gonzaga and League of Women Voters to organize a 3 day live online event where we discussed the state of the Climate Movement and where we go from here.
WA State Clean Energy Transformation Act Passes!
On May 7, 2019, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) (E2SSB 5116, 2019), which commits Washington to an electricity supply free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
100% Fossil Free Spokane Passes!
On August 20 the Spokane City Council voted on an ordinance that creates a permanent Sustainability Action Committee that will update the City’s Sustainability Action Plan to include specific climate action plans to make Spokane more resilient to climate change, do our part to mitigate the pollution causing climate change, and plan to have 100% of our electricity come from renewable sources by 2030.
Countering Narratives of Denial
Our community finds itself engulfed in a layer of smoke so thick that it bumps up against the very top of the air quality index measurement chart. Communities have been destroyed, and dozens have died due to a wildfire season that is unfortunately not unexpected. Climate assessments have largely predicted increasingly bad wildfire seasons in our region of the world. Factors such as wetter springs contribute to an abundance of plant growth, then hotter, drier summers turn that plant growth into a tinderbox of fuel for nightmarish wildfires to burn. This is indisputable, yet on social media platforms it is but one of many narratives that attempt to explain who or what is to “blame” for the wildfires. Here are some thoughts on how you can counter these narratives that seek to hide the role of climate change in this year’s wildfire season.