ABOUTSCC / CURRENT / SIGNUP / ARCHIVES / DISCUSSION GROUP
Click on the LINK next to each topic to go to dedicated page where a Video Recording resides, along with PDF of presentations, notes, and links to other resources. Contact Tor at Carbon@rahus.org with any questions.
Spring 2024
[June 5th, 2024] SOLAR
SOLAR – New Solar Strategies for managing your home energy costs. How to optimize a rooftop solar system, build resiliency, improve economics, and reduce greenhouse gases… in the age of Net Billing? Learn about NEW strategies to utilize more solar generation onsite through the use of a battery, switching to electric appliances, and shifting loads. Eliott Whitehurst, from Sonoma County’s Climate Action & Resiliency Division, provided an update on the local rooftop solar scene and how one can still invest and enjoy the benefits of solar energy. Local Solar vendors participated in the event, tabling and during the Q&A session.
SCC24: SOLAR [June 5th, 2024]
[March 6th, 2024] Reuse & Repair
Reuse & Repair – Exploring climate & local resiliency benefits of these core circular economy ingredients
Reuse & Repair – Exploring climate & local resiliency benefits of these core circular economy ingredients
Each time we stop to repair a shirt or a table lamp, instead of buying new, we’re making a small contribution to reducing carbon emissions. We’re also building community resiliency by learning fixit skills, reducing pollution, and supporting the local economy.
Phoebe Schenker, the Executive Director of Reuse Alliance, a Santa Rosa based non-profit focused on nurturing a Reuse Centered Regenerative Circular Economy, presented at this carbon conversation. plus a variety of organizations and businesses shared their resources.
SCC24: Reuse & Repair [March 6th, 2024]
Fall 2023
[November 1st, 2023] Water Resiliency
Water Resiliency – Understanding the impacts of Climate Change on our water systems and what is being done to improve resiliency going forward. Speakers/Topics. Tor Allen, Rahus Institute/Grange, Introduction , Mira Sugino, Summerfield, “Water Resiliency: Discoveries of a Sebastopol Teenager”, Ryan Pedrotti, Sonoma Water, Russian River Watershed System, David Noren, Santa Rosa Groundwater Sustainability Agency & EBA Group, Groundwater
SCC23: Water Resiliency [Nov 1st, 2023]
[October 4th, 2023] Compost as a Climate Solution
Compost as a Climate Solution – Xinci Tan of Zero Waste Sonoma and Stefan Stehling, Garden Teacher at Apple Blossom School, share how composting has a climate impact and benefit.
SCC23: Compost as a Climate Solution [October 4th, 2023]
[September 6th, 2023] Bikes as Transport & Cycle Showcase
Bikes as Transport – included presentation on existing resources in Sebastopol and details on the process to update the Countywide Active Transportation Plan (ATP). PLUS the Cycle Showcase – Check out interviews of several cyclists.
SCC23: Bikes as Transport [Sept 06, 2023]
Summer 2023
[July 29th, 2023] Walking Tour of Solar Sites in Sebastopol (recorded) as part of Sebastopol Walks
As part of the Sebastopol Walks series, Tor led this tour of solar sites installed over the last 25 years, sharing stories of how they came to be, and how they’re working today. Did you know it was a student that started the process that became a 500kW solar array at Analy HS? What’s that pole with 2 panels on it in the plaza doing? Solar Heat plus electricity – how does that happen? Electric deregulation bad behavior fines helped fund the first solar array on the Analy Tech building. What role did Solar Sebastopol have in the city? And what about batteries? We asked Kenna Lee about her experience. ….
SCC23: Walking Tour of Solar Sites. Sebastopol [June 29th, 2023]
Winter-Spring 2023
[June 7th, 2023] Drive Electric
Super thanks to Tor & Jannike Allen, and Brant Arthur & Scott Lawrence (Sonoma Clean Power) for sharing their experience, info & projects. Click on the link below to view the recordings, view slides, and additional resources. Resource links are found in the presentation pdf.
SCC23: Drive Electric [June 7th, 2023]
[May 3rd, 2023] Campus Climate Connections
Super thanks to Noa Schwartz, Maida Thompson, Dan Karbousky, Athena Ryan, for sharing their experiences and projects. Click on the link below to view the recording, views slides, and additional resources.
SCC23: Campus Climate Connections [May 3, 2023]
[April 5th, 2023] Electrify Your Home
Super thanks to Sean Armstrong of Redwood Energy for sharing his expertise on electrification. Click on the link to below to view the recording and to access additional resources.
SCC23: Electrify Your Home [April 5, 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.
Rainwater Cisterns – The Salmon Creek Experience
[Feb. 1st. 2023]- Sonoma County Climate 2050.
SoCo 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