Anyone who knows me will attest that I am not likely to be sitting quietly in the corner, especially when people are talking about energy and climate issues.
Sometimes the easiest actions we can take to better our neighborhoods, communities, and natural ecosystems is doing less, not more. This spring, consider doing less by participating in No Mow May, an initiative with the best interests of pollinators in mind.
CMC is a local social services agency providing educational services as well as spiritual and cultural activities to the public.
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 2021 Sustain Dane Summit. This annual gathering, hosted by Sustain Dane and co-sponsored by the Office of Energy and Climate Change, was a clear call to climate action, providing me and the rest of the attendees with an actionable framework to reduce my carbon footprint and inspiring me to make changes to my everyday life.
The “Glasgow to Dane County: A Youth Climate Summit,” a local climate event in Oregon, Wisconsin was held in parallel to the COP26 proceedings last weekend. This one-day climate summit for local high school students at the Oregon High School showcased more than 50 local high school students, a handful of school green team advisors, and about a dozen volunteers.
There is a lot of talk about the ‘new normal’ as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. That “new normal” terminology is deliberate, recognizing that whatever happens next will be different from the pre-pandemic normal, the “old normal”.
The murder of George Floyd has prompted thousands of protests around the US and the world as well as millions of conversations about racism. Everywhere I look I see conversations about policing and community justice. I am hopeful this is the beginning of a long-overdue discussion about racism in the US. And I’m hopeful that we’ll address a comprehensive set of issues affected by racism, that we’ll address everything—including climate change.
COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, has quickly become a global health crisis, a pandemic. It deserves everyone’s full attention, collaboration and cooperation. I truly hope that you, your family, friends and co-workers are exercising extreme caution, are supporting one another, and are safe and healthy over the coming days and months.
Without overlooking the devastating impacts of coronavirus, perhaps we can embrace the opportunities afforded by a slower rhythm of life to better care for ourselves and our planet. In the past several weeks, our worlds have shrunk dramatically while impressing upon us the fragility and resiliency of life.
