Climate action, resiliency a team effort in Centre County
An inspiring event took place on Sept. 3 at The State Theatre in State College. Representatives from Penn State and the Centre Region gathered to share knowledge and resources with citizens and students regarding climate action and resiliency here in Pennsylvania.
Here is a summary.
As the fourth-largest carbon emitting state, by 2050 PA is projected to experience a 5.9 degrees Fahrenheit increase in average annual temperatures and more rainfall. This will impact our agriculture industry’s harvest seasons, transportation, and tick/mosquito borne illnesses. The Centre Region and Penn State are doing everything they can to curb these effects.
The Climate Adaptations Plan shepherded by Pam Adams, sustainability planner for the Centre Region Council of Governments, and Jasmine Fields, sustainability program officer for State College Borough, targets a 45% reduction in local carbon emissions by 2030.
Fields added that a Technical Advisory Committee including climate researchers from Penn State will meet monthly to go over the latest data and incorporate findings into the plan regarding electrification, decarbonization, transportation, and natural disaster relief. She has created a Climate Ambassador Program that gives both students and residents the opportunity to participate.
Penn State emits around 700 trillion pounds of carbon yearly. The university’s goal is to be at net zero carbon emissions by 2035 according to its chief sustainability officer, Lara Fowler. To do this, Fowler works in collaboration with Penn State Sustainability to electrify, develop partnerships, and shift systems to increase efficiency.
Penn State students play a role in this effort.
Jacob Seiler, chair of the Student Sustainability Advisory Council, advised students to get involved in climate awareness in any capacity possible regardless of major or political orientation. “My suggestion for each student is to add one thing. The next thing is to spread that one thing. The power of Penn State is in the 100,000 students.”
Brandi Robinson, associate teaching professor and co-director of PSU’s Local Climate Action Program, added that the U.S. is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, an international treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions. She said that the U.S. is not on target to meet our Nationally Determined Contribution. The focus must not simply be on personal action but on systems change.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby is working on systematic change. The bipartisan organization lobbies Congress for a price on carbon, permitting reform, and more quantifiable emissions data to be made public in the form of the Prove It Act now working its way through The House of Representatives. Sylvia Neely, co-leader of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby State College Chapter emphasized, “To deal with climate change it’s not just a matter of cutting back on our own use of fossil fuels, we need to transform the whole system from fossil fuels to renewable energy and that is a big undertaking.”
From joining CCL to lobby Congress to participating in the Climate Ambassador Program there are opportunities to get involved at every level. The tools involve action, education and advocacy.
“If you leave here and get only one idea let it be this, the problem cannot be solved by individuals acting alone. We will need to work together,” said Neely. Working within our communities to empower more systematic change is daunting but if we do not work collaboratively climate change will not be solved.
This problem we face is also an opportunity to unite and create a culture of care that will reform our infrastructure and strengthen our ability to care for each other and the natural world.
If you missed the stream, please visit cnet1.org to watch an archived version of the program and to find airing times on Comcast channels 7 and 98.