Our grassroots efforts have been keeping the climate conversation alive in Harrisonburg since 2008.
Action
From showing up at rallies to promoting solar energy, CAAV volunteers continuously take a stand for climate change resilience in our community and beyond.
Advocacy
Support for climate-saavy legislators and legislation that reduces our use of fossil fuels is critical to our mission.
News + Events
Stay informed by signing up to receive our regular roundup of climate-related news drawn from a wide range of reliable sources. Subscribe to our Community Events calendar of local environment-related programs.
Top photo by Matt Schmachtenberg for JMU’s The Breeze
Bulletin Board
Things going on we want you to know about!
Spring 2020 Film Series from the Center for Interfaith Engagement at EMU features “issues of climate, sustainability, and environmental justice.” On Wednesday, February 19 at 7PM at EMU’s Seminary Building Room 123, come view “The Need to Grow , a documentary about individuals fighting for change in the industry of agricultural food production in the race against the end of farmable soil.” Discussion with panelists will follow. More about this series here. All welcome to attend.
CALL TO ARTISTS!
OASIS Fine Art & Craft has a challenge for you!
Create art for the April 2020 show “Visions of a Sustainable Valley”. Art selected for this show will be on display at OASIS from 1-30 April, 2020.
This show will be part of a month-long celebration for Earth Day, and is co-hosted by Climate Action Alliance of the Valley.
Here’s what you need to know:
This is open to anyone, with any media.
Let us know your (non-binding) interest by January 15, 2020. Email oasisartandtea@gmail.com
Creations should be no larger than 3’x3’.
Preference will be given to artwork which incorporates an identifiable Valley landmark or location.
Creations are due at OASIS by March 15, 2020, ready to display/hang. Please submit items early, since we have limited space.
OASIS reserves the right to decide which pieces will be included in the show.
A picture is worth a 1000 words. Create a postcard online with I Love My Solar, and they will send it to your legislators for free.
Check out all the solar installations counted so far in Harrisonburg for the 2019 Harrisonburg Solar Census. If you have solar, be counted!
Joy Loving prepared this week’s edition. Politics and Policy Notwithstanding the Trump Administration’s actions to promote continued reliance on fossil fuels, there are many leaders, including in the President’s party, who favor putting a price on carbon. The Washington Post reports: “The fastest way to cut carbon emissions is a ‘fee’ and a dividend, top …
Politics and Policy In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Trump never mentioned climate change, whereas in the Iowa caucus the topic seemed to be foremost in voters’ minds. The Interior Department finalized plans on Thursday to permit drilling, mining, and grazing in areas of southern Utah that had once been protected …
Politics and Policy Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the Fed can help keep climate change from destabilizing U.S. banks and financial markets. The German government approved a bill Wednesday that will codify the country’s closure of coal-fired power plants by 2038, defending the plan against critics who say it’s not ambitious …
Click on image for a printable trifold version of this page.
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 tostabilize 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.
