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!
At their June 16, 2020, meeting, the steering committee of the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley voted unanimously in favor of supporting Black Lives Matter with this resolution:
Resolved that the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley stands in support of Black Lives Matter, that we support a redirection of tax dollars away from policies that enable police brutality, and toward policies that meet community needs and link environmental and social justice.
Newkirk for SVEC Board
CAAV is endorsing Sally Newkirk for the Shenandoah Valley Electric Co-op Board of Directors. She will work to expand SVEC’s use of renewable energy, bring reliable broadband to the many residents of our area who lack it, and help residents who are having trouble paying their electric bill. More about her campaign here.
We asked, they answered! The 50by25 campaign, environmental justice concerns, recycling, transportation emissions and more are addressed by Harrisonburg’s five Democratic candidates for City Council. See their responses to questions CAAV submitted on issues impacting the environmental health of our city here.
We’ve updated this post to include responses from the two non-Democratic candidates running for Harrisonburg City Council this year.Find it here.
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.
Check out all the solar installations counted so far in Harrisonburg for the 2019 Harrisonburg Solar Census. If you have solar, be counted!
George Hirschmann (I) is retired from working at WHSV television station as their Chief Meteorologist. He is running for reelection to the Harrisonburg City Council after first being elected in 2016. According to a WHSV news report, “if re-elected, he will continue to focus on elderly and homeless needs in the city and the needs …
Kathleen Kelley (R) is a medical doctor practicing integrative and alternative medicine who is running for Harrisonburg City Council. According to an article in the Daily News-Record, she would like to help “make the city ‘crisis-proof’” by expanding business and education opportunities in the city, among other goals. CAAV has submitted its questionnaire to Dr. Kelley’s …
Special Event: Chautauqua Institution The theme at the Chautauqua Institution this week was climate change. Because of COVID-19 all of the lectures and other activities were moved online, instead of in-person. If you go to https://assembly.chq.org/ you can start a 90-day free trial, which provides plenty of time to see what happened this week, as well as …
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.
