DONATION: Carbondale Climate Action Network

This week, I'm making a donation to the Carbondale Climate Action Network.

http://carbondaleclimateaction.blogspot.com/

As some of you may remember, CCAN organized the Sustainable State of the City address in December of last year. This was both in response to the local State of the City address and the global climate conference in Copenhagen.

CCAN is still a very young organization, and I've been involved with the group since before it even had a name. Human-caused climate change is one of the most important issues facing humanity at this point in history. Our current levels of carbon emissions are rapidly shifting the global climate out of balance. This isn't some projection for the future; the negative consequences to human beings, and the ecosystems that all life depends upon, have already started. If you'd like more information on the science, check out websites such as Skeptical Science: Examining Global Warming Skepticism and 350 (parts per million of carbon dioxide).

Speaking on the state of the city was only the start of our community involvement. Since that day, we've been following up on some of the points mentioned in our presentation and looking into ways in which Carbondale and Southern Illinois can become regional models of social, economic, and ecological resilience.

Currently, I think the most promising lead is the Transition Towns initiative.

The Transition Towns initiative invites us to ask ourselves the following question: How can our community respond to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change? Once we ask ourselves this question, the Transition Towns network offers a variety of resources that many communities have used, and are continuing to use, in order to transition toward a more resilient community life that can take us beyond Peak Oil and Climate Change.

We've started a discussion group in order to examine the Transition Towns movement and what it might look like here in Carbondale. It will take us some time to read and discuss the material. In the meantime, we're working on other events such as a seed exchange coming up on February 20th.

Our expenses are minimal, but our budget is non-existent, so this donation may go toward securing meeting or event space while we study the Transition Towns material and develop future plans.

If you'd like more information on the Carbondale Climate Action Network, I encourage you to visit our blog at the link above. If you'd like to show your support with a donation of time, energy, or funding, I encourage you to come to one of our meetings or contact me for more information.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for any support you can send our way!