ABOUTSCC / SIGNUP / ARCHIVES / DISCUSSION GROUP

Winter-Spring 2023
[March 1st, 2023] Rainwater Cisterns – The Salmon Creek Experience.

Thanks to John Green from Gold Ridge RCD for the great presentation!
Follow this LINK to view the recording, slides, and additional resources shared at the event.
[Feb. 1st. 2023]- Sonoma County Climate 2050.

Click link above to view the Video and additional Resources
Winter-Spring 2021
In Winter-Spring 2021 we attempted several Zoom based conversations based on 2 of our favorite podcasts. The discussions were not recorded, but the podcasts are still accessible. – How to Save a Planet (HTSAP), with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Alex Blumberg; and A Matter of Degrees(AMOD), with Drs. Katharine Wilkinson and Leah Stokes.
Feb. 3rd, 7pm: 100% Renewable Energy by 2035. Can it be done?
Our conversation will include exploring the local connections to this topic.

AMOD (Ep3): An Electric Number: 2035 [click here to access the podcast in a new tab or window]. When talking about climate change, we often get deep into the weeds quickly and throw a lot of numbers around. And these numbers can feel really disconnected from our lives: Two degrees, 415 parts per million, 36 billion tons of carbon dioxide. In this episode, we’ve got one number we really want to focus on: 2035. It’s a date that carries a lot of hope and opportunity. If we can make progress by 2035, then we can actually make a lot of changes to our energy system and really our entire economy.

HTSAP: Should we go Nuclear? [click here to open the podcast in a new tab or window]. When it comes to nuclear energy, many people have strong opinions. Some say that if you’re not on board with nuclear energy, then you aren’t serious about addressing the climate crisis. Nuclear, after all, produces a lot of electricity and doesn’t emit greenhouse gases while making energy. Others say that nuclear power tries to solve an illness with more of the disease. They say that nuclear energy, like fossil fuels, is a product of old thinking that ignores the full suite of its environmental impact – the persistence of nuclear waste, and the harm caused by mining for materials, like uranium, that power nuclear energy plants. In this week’s episode, we wade into the debate. We look at the history of nuclear energy, how it became so polarized, and whether it holds the promise to get us off fossil fuels now, when we most need to
March. 3rd, 7pm: Breaking Building’s Addiction to Fossil Fuels
And the new “Pocket Guide to Home Electrification Retrofits
Our conversation will include exploring the local connections to this topic.

HTSAP: Breaking Building’s Addiction to Fossil Fuels [click here to open the podcast in a new tab or window]. If we’re going to deal with climate change, we’ve got to talk about buildings. Thirty percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to our homes, offices and other buildings – how we heat and cool them, how we insulate them (or don’t) and the electricity we use. But greening buildings is really hard. Donnel Baird is on a mission to change that. He founded the startup BlocPower to prove that we can green America’s buildings while creating good jobs in low-income neighborhoods – and he wants to build a billion-dollar business while he’s at it.

the Pocket Guide to All-Electric Retrofits of Single-Family Homes, from Redwood Energy, available for Free download here.
[Feb 27, 2021]
April. 7th, 7pm: Planting & Protecting Trees
Our conversation will include exploring the local connections to this topic.

The Yurok tribe is reversing centuries of ecological damage to their land and making it more resilient to climate change by marrying two systems that might seem contradictory: indigenous land management practices and modern Western economics. In this episode we talk to Yurok Tribe Vice-Chairman Frankie Myers about how the Tribe recovered stolen land with the help of a carbon offset program, the creative ways they’re bringing the salmon back, and the role beavers play in the ecosystem.
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HTSAP: What’s up with that tree-planting search engine Ecosia [click her to open the podcast]– is it for real? [from beginning to ~ 19min]
May. 5th, 7pm: Regenerative Agriculture Part2: SOIL – The Dirty Climate Solution
Our conversation will include exploring the local connections to this topic.
How can we apply these lessons to the wine/diary/farming sector in Sonoma County?

HTSAP: SOIL- The Dirty Climate Solution [click here to open the podcast in a new tab or window]. In this episode, we meet two farmers who, at first glance, seem very different. One is a first-generation farmer in upstate New York raising fruits and vegetables for the local community. The other is a third generation farmer in Minnesota who sells commodity crops—corn and soybeans—to big industrial processors. But they share something in common. They’re both bucking modern conventions on how to farm. And they’re paying close attention to something that is frequently overlooked: the soil. We explore how making simple changes in the way we farm can harness the incredible power of soil to help save the planet.

Sign in here to receive the link to view online. The shorter (45m) version of Kiss the Ground (4 farmers) adds additional information specifically for farmers. Learn about regenerative agriculture and it’s role in carbon sequestration.
2019-2020 Archives
March 4, 2020:Drive Electric : Road Trips, Vehicles & Infrastructure.
Presentation Slides: Cecelia Sullivan’s US/Canada Road Trip. Tor’s Bolt road trip etc.
Feb. 12, 2020: Hike the Divide. A conversation about Climate Action on the Continental Divide Trail. Film Shown at Analy High School.
Watch the film online at http://www.hikethedivide.com/film
Carbon Pricing. Feb. 5th 2020.
Dr. Peter Joseph, Citizen Climate Lobby, shares details of the Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal as a means for accelerating climate action at the national level. https://citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-and-carbon-dividend-act/
Regenerative Agriculture – a Natural Climate Solution. Jan. 15, 2020
Video Recording of Jan 15th, 2020 Sebastopol Carbon Conversation, themed Regenerative Agriculture – a Natural Climate Solution. Featuring Lauren Lum (California Climate Action Network), and Elizabeth Kaiser (Singing Frogs Farm). with Q&A following the presentations.
October 2019: Mary DeMocker – The Parents Guide to Climate Revolution
Workshop Video (from 10/20/19)
Additional resources from Mary’s talk
Sept. 4, 2019: An Introduction to Drawdown with Crystal Chissell .
Crystal Chissell presents an Introduction to Project Drawdown in the first Sebastopol Carbon Conversation, on September 4, 2019 @ Sebastopol Grange. Crystal also provides an update on how the Drawdown resource ( with 100 solutions for reversing Global Warming ranked) is being used around the world to help shape Climate Action plans. And what new research directions the organization is pursuing – for example: modeling Oceans, Peace (ie. the cost of war), Reducing Consumption, and Equity. The first 30 minutes is Crystal’s presentation (after ~ 3 min Introduction by Tor), followed by Q&A from audience. In future Sebastopol Carbon Conversations, we’ll dig deeper into the specific solutions identified in Drawdown.
Drawdown solutions are available online and also in book format. https://www.drawdown.org/solutions