As a climate data assistant at the Office of Energy and Climate Change (OECC), my responsibilities are to make sure the utility data such as electricity, natural gas, and water are correctly and successfully uploaded to our energy tracking software (EnergyCAP). These tasks involve data collection from a variety of utility vendors, data processing in excel, and software deployment to keep track of the county statistics.
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.
Re-wear It is a UW Madison club focused on promoting conscious consumerism by encouraging ethical, sustainable lifestyles and purchasing habits. Yvett Sanchez started Re-wear It in 2020, fueled by her passion for fashion and climate change mitigation. The purpose of the club is to provide education about the negative environmental impacts of the fashion industry. I heard about the club at a Sustain Dane event and knew that I wanted to learn more. On October 30th they hosted their first clothing swap.
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.
Susan Millar has been concerned with the impending effects of climate change since she was a teenager. Over the last few decades her sense of urgency about climate change has steadily increased. With this frame of mind, she has become a trailblazer when it comes to energy efficiency.
On September 28, 2020 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the 2021 Green Power Leadership Awards. There were just five winners – Boston University, the University of California system, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Dane County, Wisconsin.
It’s been a pleasure to serve as a Climate Action Intern for these past three months. As a lifelong resident of Dane County, the work I’ve done has felt additionally rewarding as I am actively able to help the community that I call home transition towards a climate friendly future.
I’m really glad I got to spend my summer working with the Office of Energy & Climate Change (OECC). This internship has been fulfilling and it has taught me a lot about environmental work.
The vast majority of Dane County residents understand that climate change is happening. So what does it take to move folks to action? Local Girl Scouts are hoping that they can spur action by showcasing an issue we do not talk about a lot, the carbon embedded in our buildings.
As our nation emerges from the pandemic, some folks are asserting that governments at all levels should get back to addressing the climate emergency. I hope local stakeholders understand that here in Dane County we never paused in our efforts to address the climate crisis. Even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dane County was making progress on its ambitious countywide climate agenda.
