Climate Change and Faith: A Moral Imperative
By James Long, SanDiego350 (Originally published in the East County Magazine) On Monday, March 13, 2017, at the First United Methodist Church in Mission Valley, a panel composed of a climate scientist and representatives of the Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic faiths discussed climate change, each from their perspectives. The evening began with Dr. V. Ramanathan’s […]
One Million Letters & Underappreciated Ocean Effects Presentations
by Mark Hughes, SanDiego350 (Originally published in the East County Magazine on 3/5/2017) On the evening of March 1, the organization Stay Cool 4 Grandkids hosted speakers who presented on two climate change topics. Representatives from Kids 4 Planet Earth spoke about their goal to have school children send one million letters to President Trump […]
SECURITY & CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE REVEALS DISTURBING ATTITUDE SHIFT
By Mark Hughes, SanDiego350 (Originally published in the East County Magazine on 3/5/2017) On February 21, 2017, an audience of approximately 75 attended the Security & Climate Change: Issues and Perspectives conference, held in the Veterans Museum at Balboa Park. Organized and funded by The Center for Climate and Security (with the support of The […]
The Truth of the Matter
Originally Published in the San Diego Free Press on 11/24/16 by Mark Hughes One of humorist Will Rogers’ signature lines was: “Well, all I know is what I read in the papers.” In subtext, he’s saying he trusted what he read, so it seems reasonable to believe that in those days newspapers lived and died […]
Notes from a Climate Conference Junkie, Part 2
by James Long This post and my last one are about a journey that has changed my view of myself as a climate activist. That journey took me to two climate conferences in a month. I found new friends, a new awareness of how active the climate movement has become, and a lot of ideas […]
Notes from a Climate Conference Junkie, Part 1
by James Long I started my journey singing with Pete Seeger and ended it three weeks later with the fiery intellectual Cornel West! I just got back from Pando Populus in Claremont, California, and the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in Portland, Oregon. After 25 to 30 lectures — together with great music, stimulating presenters and a lot […]
Earth Fair 2015 Scrapbook
In early observance of Earth Day, dozens of SD350 volunteers, high on solar power and down on fracking, showed up Sunday, April 19th to work at Earth Fair 2015. (Officially Earth Day is April 22nd.) 60,000 fair-goers crowded into the park, many of them crossing Cabrillo Bridge and walking along El Prado where they […]
In Deep: Sea-Level Rise and San Diego
As we burn more fossil fuels, and thus pump more heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we are changing every aspect of earth’s climate system. One of the many consequences is that the sea is rising. On January 19, San Diego 350 will stage a simple action to help make people more aware of what […]
Student Fieldtrip: Environmental Justice vs Oil
Twenty-one seniors from King-Chavez Charter High School’s Environmental Justice class made the long trek to Kern County in California’s Central Valley to view the effects of the oil industry, and fracking in particular, on the land and the residents of the region. SD350’s Peg Mitchell recently organized an eye-opening trip to the oil fields of […]
Young Scientists: Hope from Climate Summit
“The world needs your voice. Use it.” Natalya Gallo, Ocean Scientists for Informed Policy As a middle-aged scientist who wishes our society would make decisions based on reality, I get discouraged watching middle-aged politicians play power games while we keep burning coal and oil, pumping heat-trapping carbon into the atmosphere, and hurting our children. […]