Election 2021 is upon us! As voters make their final choices and go to the polls to vote, CCAA firmly believes that a primary criterion for selecting candidates is their positions on climate change, especially the actions they would take from the offices they are seeking.

With that in mind, we reached out to candidates for the Onondaga County Legislature as well as Town positions in both DeWitt and Manlius. We made every effort to contact all candidates. In some instances, email information was not provided by county and town chairpersons; we did our best to obtain them. Here are the responses we received:

Sunny Aslam

Democratic candidate for Onondaga County Legislature, District 12.

My commitment to fight climate change has been both personal and in activism. I am a vegetarian, have owned three plug-in vehicles, installed solar panels on my previous two residences, and compost all food matter at my home. I grew up with a father who also has a plug-in vehicle and solar panels since the 1970s. I’ve been a leader in informing my fellow physicians how climate change is effecting our most vulnerable patients.

My lobbying efforts have been to fight climate change. I have lobbied for carbon pricing for years. It has taught me the importance of organizing and the difficulty in creating what seems like the most common sense change: how to protect our planet from devastation of an increasingly unstable climate. I’d love to represent the interests of CCAA members if elected to the county legislature. I want CCAA at the table when the county focuses on how to make climate friendly policy.

Max Ruckdeschel

Democratic candidate for DeWitt Town Board

Climate change is one of the most important issues facing the world today. Even though it is a problem with worldwide causes and impacts, many of its solutions are local. If elected to the DeWitt Town Board I will do everything I can to make sure that decisions made by town government are environmentally sustainable.

I will support mobility solutions that reduce our residents’ need for personal automobiles by promoting sidewalks, bike lanes, and public transportation. I will facilitate the expansion of renewable energy production and storage in the Town of DeWitt through both municipal projects and zoning reform.

Flooding is a recurring problem in the flatter areas in the north of the Town of DeWitt and needs more attention by local government. I will advocate for stormwater runoff and flooding mitigation projects within the town to combat the increased risks from stronger storms due to climate change. I also support mixed-use zoning in the areas of DeWitt where it is appropriate.

Please support my campaign for DeWitt Town Board to help keep DeWitt a leader in environmental sustainability and help combat climate change and its effects.

Sara Bollinger

Democratic candidate seeking reelection to Manlius Town Board

For many years I have used reduce, reuse and recycle practices in my personal and business activities. I was responsible for building the first LEED certified commercial building in Syracuse. I utilize community solar power at my home and own an electric vehicle.

If reelected to the Town Board, I will move forward with EVs for Town vehicles and EV charging stations. I support modernization of Town business to allow more work to be conducted electronically to avoid excessive use of paper. This requires investment in effective archiving technology, as some records need to be available in perpetuity.

If residents approve a new Town Hall, I will work to ensure that it uses environmentally sustainable materials and practices for the long term as well as solar power.

I am a member of Sustainable Manlius and will support the activities required to earn points as a Climate Smart Community and Energy Smart Community. As Co-Chair of the Comprehensive Planning Steering Committee, I support the principles of Smart Growth which concentrate development and leave plenty of undeveloped land. I am active with Onondaga County Farmland Preservation for the Town of Manlius.

Katelyn M. Kriesel

Democratic candidate seeking reelection to Manlius Town Board

In my first term as a Manlius Town Councilor, I have been a champion of environmental sustainability. As chair of the Town’s sustainability committee, I have developed and grown Sustainable Manlius to several hundred members, and together we have achieved certification as a NYSERDA Clean Energy Community. 

If reelected to the Manlius Town Board, I will lead the Town to be the first designated Climate Smart Community in Onondaga County. I will continue working to develop a Community Solar array on the Town’s retired landfill. This project will offset the Town’s electricity usage and provide solar energy to our residents and the community at large at a reduced rate. 

I will collaborate with my colleagues on the Board to install EV charging stations at Manlius Town Hall and to purchase two electric vehicles for the Planning and Assessment Departments. We will integrate sustainability elements into the Town’s comprehensive plan, including trails, bike paths, the preservation of our agriculture and more dense commercial and residential development. Climate change has defined my life’s work, and will continue to do so for the rest of my career. In whatever way I can support climate action as a Town Councilor, I will do so. 

Thank you for your consideration! 

John Deer

Democratic candidate for Town of Manlius Supervisor

We’ve seen that strong advocacy can move solar projects along and that if we ask the community to be involved, we can bring awareness and help people make the best decisions possible to ensure our Town is leading in sustainability.

The Sustainable Manlius solarize campaign is proof that the government can connect people with resources and accomplish awesome things. The folks that are committed to a sustainable future are empowered to help our Town find practical solutions to do our part to combat climate change. I would look to empower the committee and support future actions. 

As Supervisor, I will commit my efforts towards becoming a Climate Smart Community and pursue any grant money available for sustainable projects. It’s essential that we are mindful of sustainable practices in all aspects of government, from technology use to construction projects.

Matt Johnson

Democratic candidate for Onondaga County Legislature, District 3.

Climate change is very real, and a threat to all of us. There is so much more we have to be doing at the local level to play our role in combating this epidemic. As a young person running for office, this is near and dear to me. 

I support bringing renewable sources of energy to Onondaga County. There is so much potential not only environmentally, but also economically that it makes it difficult to deny. Onondaga County should also pursue obtaining the Climate Smart Community Certification, which would not only benefit our local environment, but also pave the way for grant opportunities from New York State to continue protecting the environment. Through doing so, we not only limit our overall energy use, but we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is absolutely critical that all local municipalities should be taking part in, for the future of our communities. Finally, I would love to work with the Office of Environment to bring back the Climate Action Plan, which has not been seen since 2017. The Legislature needs to be fully aware of what it could be doing to combat climate change here, in our own backyard.

November 2nd is Election Day.  Every eligible voter may vote in-person on November 2nd, or via early voting from October 23rd to October 31st.  Information on early voting sites can be found here: www.ongov.net/elections/early-voting.html.  Additionally, qualified voters may vote by absentee ballot.  Information on requesting an absentee ballot can be found here: www.ongov.net/elections/absentee.html.  Requests for absentee ballots must be received by October 18th.

Don’t Forget the Proposals!

By Sonia Kragh

If you’re voting in New York, don’t forget that in addition to choosing your preferred candidates, you can also vote on five proposals.  This is important.

A YES vote for Proposal 2 would add a broad new right to the New York state constitution: “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”

Environmental advocates want to push government officials into “making sure that the environment is given that highest level of recognition and protection,” said Maya K. van Rossum, CEO of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

Van Rossum says her group and several municipalities used Pennsylvania’s similar constitutional amendment in 2013 to successfully block provisions of a law that would have expanded fracking across that state.  CCAA advocates for keeping fossil fuels in the ground as one key to addressing climate change.

The simplicity of the language is a concern for some who oppose the ballot measure. They say the new proposal will invite a slew of unnecessary lawsuits.  However, advocates respond:

“If you’re not polluting the air or making water dangerous to drink, then you should not have any problems with the Environmental Amendment.”

CCAA says PLEASE VOTE and VOTE YES for Proposal 2!

You may also be interested in Proposal 1, for which a “yes” vote is intended to support removing partisan bias in redistricting; Proposal 3, for which a “yes” vote supports moving New York state closer to allowing same-day registration to vote; Proposal 4, for which a “yes” vote supports moving New York state closer to no-excuse absentee voting; and Proposal 5, for which a “yes” vote supports raising the claims limit on cases that can be heard by the New York City Civil Court, lessening the burden on New York Supreme Court judges.

By Gavin Landless

I discovered CCAA three or four years ago, when I ran into Pete and Jane at an ArtRage event in Syracuse, New York.  Actually I think they started talking to my daughter first, and who wouldn’t?  I am so glad I decided to show up for a meeting and begin to get involved though.  It is a great group with broad and deep experience.  So if you’re on the sidelines about getting more involved yourself, please join a meeting, virtually or in-person, and see what happens!

Anyway, I’m supposed to be writing about myself.  I’m from the UK, and my environmental awareness probably began when I was in my early teens, starting with an awareness of deforestation and the work that Greenpeace was doing.  By the late 80s, the concept of global warming was no longer considered a debate.  There was solid consensus around the science, even if physical signs were not yet noticeable to general population.  I was taught about the greenhouse effect and global warming well before I finished secondary school and went to university in 1992.

Fast forward to 1998 and I decided to move to the United States (love over the Internet you see, which explains twenty years of marriage and the aforementioned daughter).  It was somewhat perplexing to me that environmental issues were so much less in the public consciousness than I was used to, and that quite a lot of people didn’t really believe there was a problem at all.  Now we know the truth of course: a massive misinformation and misdirection campaign by the oil industry that continues to this day.  And wow, how effective it was!  Sadly this is why the US is still a decade or two behind Europe when it comes to awareness about the climate crisis, and it is why I believe groups like CCAA are so important.  Am I getting repetitive here?

Here’s a frightening statistic I heard yesterday.  A child born in 1960 will on average experience four significant heatwaves in his or her lifetime.  Heatwaves are serious.  People die, as we well remember from the recent heat dome over Washington, Oregon and western Canada.  But if we don’t change from our current fossil fuel habits, a child born today in 2021 can be expected to experience thirty significant heatwaves.  Don’t panic though, because things are changing.  Countries are doing stuff about greenhouse gases, right?  But here’s the really terrifying part.  Even if we manage to keep global warming to 1.5°C (which is looking increasingly difficult), a child born today will still likely experience eighteen major heatwaves in his or her lifetime.  From four to eighteen is the best case scenario.  We will all experience the climate crisis for the remainder of our lives, so for today’s young children that means their entire lives.  A problem of almost unfathomable consequences has been dumped on future generations, so we must do what we can to educate, campaign, change, and encourage others to think about how we treat this world.

Do you work for a company?  Talk to the owners or managers.  Start an environmental committee of some sort.  Talk to your family and friends.  Call politicians.  I promise you that there are a lot of people waiting for someone to make a move so they can follow.  They just don’t know who else to engage with yet.

A couple of weeks ago I had the humbling opportunity to head down to the city of Houma in Louisiana to help with hurricane Ida recovery efforts.  I was giving a week of my time to an amazing organization called Third Wave Volunteers, who provide disaster relief and medical aid wherever they can.  Check them out for sure!  Ida made landfall on the bayous of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast on August 29, so it had been about three weeks by the time I got there.  Remarkably, power was largely restored and most roads were cleared, but homes, businesses and livelihoods were shattered.  Full recovery is measured in years, not months or weeks.  It is impossible to describe in a paragraph or two what the people in southern Louisiana are having to rebuild from.  In the harder hit areas about 60% of the homes are uninhabitable.  Many have been destroyed completely.  Locals that have ridden out hurricanes for decades are in shock, unable to believe that they are dependent on charity, aid workers and other assistance to begin to piece their lives back together.

Everyone I asked agreed that hurricanes are getting more severe.  Not one person I questioned even paused to think about it. The data records back them up. The dry language of the recent major report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states “The proportion of intense tropical cyclones (categories 4-5) and peak wind speeds of the most intense tropical cyclones are projected to increase at the global scale with increasing global warming (high confidence).”

Dulac, Louisiana on Sept 25th, 2021.

I met a family of ten who had been living in a shed and tents in their backyard for three weeks.  I met a man whose grocery store/bar/restaurant/ATM/boat launch—the hub of the tiny community in which he lived—was mangled by wind and flooded by storm surge and mud.  He had been without power and running water since the storm.  Many will leave, and some communities will simply not come back the same, if at all.  Trailer parks are utterly devastated.  The shrimping industry is virtually shut down.  The local Houma tribe is in significant danger of having to disperse, just when its people are preparing to apply to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a second time for federal recognition.  That is a tragedy.

Yet I was met with wide-open arms and warm hearts everywhere I went.  These communities are proud and welcoming.  And my goodness, the Cajun food was amazing!  A local resident made me a vegetarian gumbo a couple of days before I left that I will never forget, despite all the problems he and his family were facing.  What hospitality.

I love this country. I have seen it from edge to edge and from top to bottom, and it is incredible.  But we have tens of thousands of Americans displaced by climate disasters right here today, a few of whom are now my friends.  And that is small potatoes compared to what is happening in the rest of the world, not to mention all the other species who share this blue orb with us.  Maybe we need to remember how to share it with them again.  We’re at the beginning of a very dangerous journey of our own making.  Please spread the word.  Please take your own action.  As the Third Wave Volunteers slogan says, “Everyone’s needed.”

CCAA holds its monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of every month. If you’d like to learn more feel free to email cc.awareness.action@gmail.com.

For a comprehensive list of events pertaining to sustainability and climate change, contact Diane Brandli with GreeningUSA to subscribe to the GreeningUSA listserve or to publicize an event you are organizing. dbdesigninteriors@verizon.net

The 2021 National Solar Tour is taking place October 2-3! For more information please visit https://www.nationalsolartour.org/.

News Bites

Indigenous protesters urge Biden to stop approving fossil fuel projects

Source: The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/11/indigenous-protesters-rally-end-fossil-fuel-projects

While Joe Biden laudably became the first president to officially mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day, he has not yet stopped approving fossil fuel projects.  This has not gone unnoticed by a wide coalition of groups known as Build Back Fossil Free.  With Native Americans leading the way, five days of protests were planned to demand that President Biden stops approving fossil fuel projects and declares a national climate emergency.

Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP26)

Sources: UKCOP26.org; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

https://ukcop26.org/; https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/conferences/glasgow-climate-change-conference

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP26, will be held in Glasgow, UK, from October 31st to November 12th, with Milan, Italy also hosting several pre-conference events.  The primary goal of the conference is to secure updated pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from member countries, thereby attempting to keep the world on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C.  The UNFCCC Climate Action Blog called 1.5 Degrees is worth a read.

Dealing with Climate Grief, with Luisa Neubauer

Source: Outrage + Optimism Podcast

https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/episodes/dealing-with-climate-grief-luisa-neubauer?hsLang=en

With something to listen to rather than read for a change, this episode of the podcast Outrage + Optimism dives into the impact of climate change on the mental health and future outlook of young people everywhere.  Two recent studies have examined the psychological impact of climate-induced anxiety, but the podcast also looks at The Earthshot Prize and other causes of optimism.

Extra News!

ASES National Solar Tour, 2021

The American Solar Energy Society kicked off October with their 2021 National Solar Tour from October 1st-2nd. This year’s Solar Tour was the largest in ASES history, with over 135 local solar tours and over 2,000 solar sites across 49 States! It’s not too late to check it out with Virtual Tours, photos, and videos being available for viewing until January 15th, 2022. Learn more by visiting the ASES National Solar Tour Website by clicking HERE.

Press Release: 19^th October 2021

Seneca Lake Scientists Probe Mystery Currents

By Lewis McCaffrey

Fishermen on Seneca Lake have long suspected that currents within Seneca Lake run fast and deep. Now civilian scientists are measuring the true speed and direction of water in the Finger Lakes’ deepest waterbody. Researchers from Le Moyne College in Syracuse are using drifting buoys equipped with satellite trackers to take measurements. The buoys are attached to suspended underwater ‘drogues’ at depths approaching 100 feet, where they catch rapidly moving currents. The results will allow scientists to better predict the movement of pollutants, harmful algae blooms and plumes of sediment and warm water.

The trio of drifting buoys was released on 17^th October, and the fastest travelled 9 miles in the first 48 hours. The probes are also equipped with temperature and light sensors, which may provide clues to the cause of the currents. The research is being carried out by Adjunct Professor Lewis McCaffrey and research students Birdem Oz and Jacob Stewart. It is thought that climate change will increase temperature stratification in many American lakes, ultimately causing currents to strengthen, with unpredictable consequences.

Seneca Lake has been in the headlines recently because a gas-fired power station on its shores has been increasingly used to generate electricity for a large Bitcoin-mining operation. The US Navy has an underwater research lab on Seneca Lake where it tests parts for deepwater sonar systems, but it has not released details of its work.

Other information:

1. Seneca Lake is the deepest and largest of the Finger Lakes, reaching a depth of 635 feet and holding 4 cubic miles of water.

2. The warm surface layer in the lake can reach depths of 100 feet in mid-summer. At the same time the bottom of the lake rarely increases above 40 ºF.

3. Research was funded by Le Moyne College, a Jesuit liberal arts school located in DeWitt, near Syracuse, NY.

4. A ‘drogue’ (also known as a ‘sea anchor’) is an apparatus arranged to produce resistance to movement through the water. In this case the drogues are made of 4 ft panels of HDPE plastic – selected for its unreactivity, abrasion resistance and recyclability.

5. Dr. McCaffrey and students are part of the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences. The students are carrying out the research as part of their undergraduate program.

6. In general the driving force behind deep currents is the wind acting on the lake’s surface, causing upper waters to shift in the approximate direction of the wind. Deeper water has to flow in the opposite direction to make up for this displacement.

7. The experiment is set to last for two weeks. The movement of the drogues can be seen live at https://maps.findmespot.com/s/WZ04, until they are retrieved from the lake.

8. Contact information: Lewis McCaffrey, mccafflp@lemoyne.edu, (315) 278-1530.

Membership Notice

We at Climate Change Awareness and Action need your help!

We are urging those who subscribe to our Facebook Page and our website to update their membership information.  Following membership suggestions from 350.org, we have created a 3-tiered membership structure for CCAA.  These tiers allow each member to select a level of engagement, to communicate interests, skills, and perspectives, and to develop our leadership.  Our reasons for adopting this approach are:

1. To facilitate good two-way communication among members
2. To identify growth and learning opportunities for interested individuals
3. To allow better participation from members in improving our climate
4. To create a stronger community

Please take a minutes to go to our website or Facebook Page, update your information and select the membership level that works for you.

Thank you!

Are you looking for an internship or know someone who might be?  Please get in touch!

If you are interested in volunteering with CCAA in any capacity, please contact us at cc.awareness.action@gmail.com or call 315-308-0846. Don’t worry about your skill level. We are all learning.  We need people who can:

• Post to our social media pages
• Update our website using WordPress
• Help with our newsletter
• Organize events
• Work on legislative campaigns
• Create email campaigns
• And lots more!

Staff Writer: Jacob Stewart

Publishing and Design: Yvonne Chu, Annalena Davis

Editor: Gavin Landless

We encourage you to follow our social media accounts to support CCAA and stay up to date on other environmental news.

Copyright © 2021 Climate Change Awareness & Action, all rights reserved.