Sarah Eazzetta from Environment Texas joins us to talk about their new campaign: Save Texas Renewables. Renewable energy is booming in Texas. We’re leading the nation in wind power, utility-scale solar energy, and rank second in battery energy storage. This growth is reducing air pollution, combating global warming, and saving water. However, renewable energy is facing significant opposition. Critics cite concerns about reliability, aesthetics, and impacts on natural areas, while vested interests in oil and coal are pushing back to protect their market share. Disinformation about renewables, including false blame for the 2021 Winter Storm Uri blackouts, has further fueled the backlash. Environment Texas is launching an exciting grassroots campaign to protect renewable energy in Texas. We’ll work to prevent harmful legislation, advocate for policies supporting clean energy, and build public support through events, petitions, coalition building, and more. Sarah shares information about how we can all get involved.

Rose Jones and Alex Holland present on Extreme Heat + Workplace Safety + Climate Equality: A Call to Action for Texans Rose Jones, PHD and Alex Holland discussed OSHA’s proposed heat standard and Texas House Bill 2127, two policies destined to shape the future of workplace safety in the era of climate change. OSHA’s proposed rule seeks to protect workers from dangerous heat exposure, a growing concern as the planet continues to heat up. At the same time, Texas HB 2127 eliminated basic heat protection and safety standards from workers, including mandatory water and shade breaks. Not only is Texas on track to see an increase in temperatures of 3-7°F by 2036, but it has the highest heat-related deaths on the job in the nation and is the single deadliest state for LatinX workers. Jones and Holland discuss the impact extreme heat poses for public health, workplace safety, and climate equity, concluding with a Call to Action for Texans. CALL TO ACTION! Dr. Jones will share information on ways we can get involved in this campaign, starting with this petition: OSHA is currently accepting comments on the proposed standard and we need your HELP! Please take a few minutes to show your support for a national heat standard at www.regulations.gov, Docket No. OSHA-2021-0009. The deadline for entering comments is December 30, 2024. Speaker Bios Rose Jones (she/her/hers) has a doctorate in medical anthropology from Southern Methodist University and extensive experience in academic medicine, community research, and public health advocacy. She has held teaching and research positions at UT Southwestern, Parkland Hospital, and Children’s Hospital. Dr. Jones’ research interests include health, extreme heat policy, climate epidemiology, and qualitative methods. Her research has taken her along the Texas/Mexico border, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Barbados, and Native America. Dr. Jones has published in peer-review journals and edited books on diverse topics, including climate change, HIV/AIDS, medical education, and pediatric trauma. She recently launched Rapid Anthropology Consulting, https://www.rapidanthropology.com/, to build awareness for policy change at the intersection of Heat + Heath + Human Rights. Alex Holland (she/her/hers) is a second-year PhD student in the School of Public and Population Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she is studying the effects of climate change and environmental injustice on the health of older adults. She is also a licensed social worker (LMSW), and previously helped lead the Dallas-Ft. Worth chapter of the Climate Reality Project, where she was involved in environmental advocacy in Dallas before moving to Galveston. She became involved in climate change advocacy after learning about how climate change and other environmental issues contribute to health inequities, and she hopes to educate and inspire others on how we can take care of ourselves, each other, and the planet while adapting to a changing climate. To close the November meeting, we will offer something a bit different. Beth Bando will lead us in a brief process to honor and ‘feed’ the earth through our gratitude. This practice is quite old and Beth has been given permission to share it from a Peruvian Elder/ teacher. (Have a glass of water handy to participate.) Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, it seemed appropriate that we explore the eco-spiritual side of environmentalism as our closing. This will be our final meeting of 2024. Happy Holiday Season!

October speaker: Bruce Mainzer and Tom Coleman from Chicago CRP, Combating Climate Disinformation: Tips for engaging truthfully in the midst of massive disinformation. Tom Coleman: For the last two years, Tom has led the Climate Reality Project’s Chicago Chapter as Chairperson and now he is Co-Chair. He also co-leads the Electric Vehicle Team and he leads the Solar Energy Team. Tom is a ProSci Certified Change Management Professional, an ABPMP Internationally Certified Business Process Management Professional, and is a certified leader by the Climate Reality Project Leadership Corps. Tom conducts environmental research, leads teams, and presents and writes on topics related to the sustainability and climate change and positive solutions for change. Bruce Mainzer: Bruce is co-chair of the Chicago Chapter and also of the EV Transportation team. After getting a master’s degree in transportation from Northwestern, Bruce worked for 10 years in public transportation, including stints with the RTA, Illinois DOT and Metro-North Commuter Railroad in New York City. He then worked in the travel industry for United Airlines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Vail Resorts, Hyatt Hotels and Carey Worldwide Chauffeur Services. Bruce retired in 2019, after serving for the last 13 years of his career as a marketing and pricing consultant for hotel owners and major travel industry brands. Since the passage of the IRA Act in 2022, significant progress has been made to address the climate crisis. But during this presidential campaign year, fossil fuel interests and climate deniers are intensifying their efforts to hinder adoption of effective climate solutions by households and businesses. From auto manufacturers, attributing the slowdown in new EV purchases to consumer markets instead of their own delays in introducing lower-cost EVs, to political leaders avoiding climate initiatives during an election year, 2024 has seen a surge in disinformation on social media and the mainstream news. This has made it more challenging to effectively communicate how the average citizen can reduce their carbon footprint. In this member meeting, we will review the current climate crisis and its urgent nature. We will summarize the top actions individuals can take to decrease their carbon footprint. Finally, we will divide into breakout groups to brainstorm ways to counter the current wave of climate disinformation. Equip yourself with the latest information to combat climate denial!

Our speaker this month is Joyce Mercado from the Alameda Chapter. Her talk is entitled, “From Working Mom, to Activist, to Columnist, and Book Author.” One woman’s story of becoming an environmental activist and what she learned along the way. Joyce created the Alameda Climate Protection Checklist and Resource List with 70 actions individuals can take, which she will share with us. "Save the Planet in Your Spare Time - A Climate Protection Handbook for the Busy Person," Joyce Mercado

Maureen McCarthy from the Fort Collins, Colorado CRP group presents: What’s SUP? From her 12 years working professionally in her local landfill and Recycling Center, she shares with us: - What do those recycling symbols really mean; - What happens when you wish cycle (you know, when you wish something was recyclable so you toss it in the bin anyway); - And the increasing use of SUP’s, single use plastic and what we can do about it. Maureen McCarthy, from Climate Reality Project in Fort Collins, Colorado, will share her years of experience working in anti-plastics. She will share methods of activism she has used and is developing, possibly including the idea of Flash Trash Mobs. To educate folks about the recyclability of items, she created a non-profit called FoCo Trash Mob and recruited a few others to begin this journey. Her group is now an Affiliate of Beyond Plastics, Core member of BFFP, 5 Gyres Ambassadors and partners with Upstream Solutions, among others.

A dynamic collaboration between Janie Cisneros, Verdigris Ensemble, and the Dallas Free Press yielded a stunning multimedia documentary and original music performance. In April 2024 Verdigris Ensemble performed ‘Mis-Lead’ featuring original choral music developed from interviews with Janie Cisneros, Luis Sepulveda, and West Dallas activists. Images, poetry, documentary, and song created a powerful vehicle for activism and social justice. Meet Janie Cisneros, Leader of Singleton United & Gaf’s Gotta Go; Sam Brukhman, Director and founder of Verdigris Ensemble; Kirsten Soriano, Documentary Producer & Composer; Keri Mitchell, from Dallas Free Press, Creative Collaborators. Janie updates us on the latest news of Gaf’s Gotta Go. Learn how Mis-Lead was created and the rippling effects from the production.

Cheri Cuellar, Urban Forester from the Texas Trees Foundation, highlights the Foundation’s work to develop and implement tree planting and preservation programs to maximize the social, economic, environmental, and health benefits trees provide. By prioritizing neighborhoods most in need of tree canopy, the Foundation addresses tree equity issues, enhancing the quality of life throughout the community. Since 1982, Texas Trees has planted over 1.5 million trees and has partnered with the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth to develop master plans for their urban forests. These plans provide a roadmap for the cities to protect, manage, and grow their urban forest to improve the quality of life for current and future generations.

Michael Martin, from Climate Reality Project DFW Chapter, speaks about all things Solar.

April Guest Speaker: Busting the Myth of Plastics Recycling, Adriana Kao Adriana Kao is the founder and owner of Usefull, the first refillery and zero-waste shop in DFW. Just like big oil knew back in the 1980s that CO2 trapped climate-warming greenhouse gasses, so did big plastics (which include the oil industry) know decades ago that plastic recycling would never work as a real solution to the plastic disposal problem. Nevertheless, they pushed it and sold it to consumers. Find out how the plastics industry perpetrated one of the biggest lies of the modern era in this anti-greenwashing presentation.