I got involved when I saw opportunities to make a positive change. Before moving to Washington D.C., I worked for a public relations firm in Santa Cruz, California, which was supporting the launch of a community choice energy program. The program, which is very popular in California, procured only carbon-free electricity for three counties at no extra cost and reinvested all extra money into local climate and equity projects. Learning about energy markets and seeing the program galvanize a community response to climate change inspired me to work on energy policy that empowers people. Then, while interning for Congressman DeFazio, I assessed all of the carbon pricing bills from the 115th Congress. I was most impressed with HR 763, and learning that CCL was behind it from someone who also invited me to a chapter meeting, I decided to get involved.

Based on an example of a Climate Action Open House in Salt Lake City that Debbie (a leader in the chapter) found on CCL's social network, I organized a similar event at a local DIY space, Hole in the Sky. We had almost 50 people show up! There was food, drink, dancing, and lots of knowledge shared and excitement built for climate action! 

I also love collecting letters from visitors at the Lincoln Memorial. You talk to people with all kinds of views on climate change, and it reinforces why I'm in the fight every time. 

At the Climate Action Open House, I was amazed that so many volunteers from the DC CCL Chapter could show up, with barely any preparation, and answer questions and engage an audience on CCL's main issues. It showed me that by consistently volunteering at CCL events, you gradually (but quickly!) become an expert on climate action. 

The biggest setbacks, for me, are when industry experts predict the continued growth of global fossil fuel consumption. If the United States and other countries adopt meaningful prices on carbon, that could turn around. If they don't, those experts are probably right. 

I love that our chapter is expanding its activities based on what members want to do! When people propose a new way to advocate for a carbon price or educate people about climate change, others quickly volunteer to make it happen. We have more energy than our growing calendar of actions can exhaust, which is a testament to the enthusiasm of the membership.

My hometown in Oregon had clear skies in the summer for my entire childhood. Then, for two years in a row, we had so much smoke in the air that people were told to stay inside. Those fires would have been possibly 1/5 the size if we had had average rainfall and temperatures in the west those years.
 

I rafted the Grand Canyon with my family a few years ago. Only three people out of 17 had done it before, so we were nervous. I was in my dad's boat, and he had never rafted before. He almost flipped us on the first day, but it was smooth-ish sailing for the next two weeks. Day after day, we saw incredible geology and supernatural landscapes.

A cool fact for energy nerds: the Colorado River has tides because they let water out of the Glen Canyon dam to serve the increased load when Las Vegas turns up the air conditioning in the evening. The tides get significantly bigger in summer, and we were on the river when they switched to the summer schedule. The extra flow stirred up tons of debris! The time that you experience the tides changes as you go down the river, since the tide changes at the dam at the same time every day, but reaches you later and later as you float downstream.



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For those of you who would like to learn more about the open house party and the planning that went into it, catch Julia in a Citizens' Climate University webinar on Thursday December 5th, 2019 8pm