Climate Action Alliance of the Valley

Things going on we want you to know about!

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The 50 by 25 campaign is a call for the city to take action on climate change, increase renewable energy, and make home energy costs affordable through energy efficiency programs. Learn about it here. Sign the petition here.

Tom Benevento has an opinion piece in the February 28, 2020 edition of the Daily News-Record about the importance of this effort.

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Check out all the solar installations counted so far in Harrisonburg for the 2019 Harrisonburg Solar Census. If you have solar, be counted!

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by Les Grady, Environmental Engineer, retired

Driven mainly by carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, Earth’s climate is changing.

• Evidence from diverse sources confirms climate change.
  • Atmospheric temperature reconstructions show that current warming is unprecedented within the span of human civilization.
  • Oceans are warming.
  • Glaciers are melting.
  • Sea level is rising.
  • The Arctic ice cap is shrinking, the ice is thinning, and its nature is changing.
  • Although East Antarctic ice is increasing, West Antarctic ice is decreasing much faster.
  • Weather is getting more extreme.
  • Ecosystems are changing more rapidly.
• Evidence for the role of CO₂ as the main cause of climate change is very strong.
  • Earth’s temperature is stabilized and regulated by the greenhouse effect.
  • The major greenhouse gases (GHGs) are CO₂ and water vapor.
  • Water vapor is responsible for 50% of the greenhouse effect, but its life in the atmosphere is short because it condenses as rain and snow. CO₂ is directly responsible for 20% of the greenhouse effect, but its indirect effect is much larger. Because it does not condense, it stays in the atmosphere for a very long time, thereby influencing the water vapor content and regulating Earth’s temperature.  It is Earth’s thermostat.
  • The level of CO₂ in the atmosphere is increasing because of the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas).
  • Satellites show a reduction in outgoing (i.e., cooling) radiation leaving Earth at the wave-lengths associated with CO₂ and other GHGs.
  • Land-based sensors show an increase in incoming (i.e., warming) radiation from CO₂ and other GHGs consistent with their increased concentration in the atmosphere.

We must release less ­­each year to stabilize Earth’s climate.

Compost your kitchen scraps at the downtown community Compost Drop-off bins! Drop-offs can be made anytime year round at the bins’ permanent spot on the edge of the gravel parking lot at S. Liberty and Warren Streets within sight of the Turner Pavilion and Municipal Building. See images below. In addition, learn more about what and how you can compost by dropping your compostables off at our Saturday Harrisonburg Farmers Market station, April-October.

Drop off compostables here at your convenience.

Anyone is welcome to drop off kitchen scraps to these 65-gallon Black Bear Composting bins at anytime. Your compostables can be dumped directly from another container or placed in a paper bag, paper box (remove any plastic tape and/or plastic labels) or BPI-certified compostable “plastic” bag.

Compostable bags to line containers for ease of collecting your scraps are available at the bins site and at the Market Compost Drop-off Station or Market Info counter during Market hours.