“There is hope, and there are solutions”:

JBR talks with climate activist Leslie Sand, of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (NE Iowa Chapter)

Leslie Sand is an Iowa native and was a biology major at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. She is a wife, mom, and grandma to four wonderful boys also growing up in Iowa. Her science background, her Lutheran faith and her concern for her grandsons’ futures are reasons for her concern about the climate. She became a climate activist after hearing about Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) – “a non-profit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization empowering people to experience breakthroughs exercising their personal and political power” (citizensclimatelobby.org) — at the Oneota Film Festival early in 2019 and has been energized and hopeful ever since.

JBR: First of all — “Climate change,” or “global warming”?

LS: Good question. NASA gives a better answer than what I considered using. Their definitions are as follows – “Global warming: the increase in Earth’s average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases”; “Climate change: a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth.”

JBR: The massive wildfires and now these derechos — are these occurrences really attributable to climate change? How does that work?

LS: I recently heard a helpful analogy from climatologist Katharine Hayhoe. With one dice, you have an equal chance of rolling any of six numbers. If you replace the 5 with a second 6, you will have double your chances of rolling a 6, but you will not know whether or not the 6 you rolled was due to the replacement 6 or the original one. So, we have more intense, more frequent extreme weather events (i.e,, 2 sixes), but it’s difficult to prove that any one event is due to climate change.

JBR:  What are the main causes of climate change?

LS: In the past, warmings and climatic changes were seen due to changes in the earth’s tilt or orbit in relation to the sun, or by emissions of gases due to widespread volcanic eruption. However, since we began burning coal during the industrial revolution in the 1850s, the planet has warmed more rapidly, and scientists have ruled these previous causes out. So now the changes we see are due to the activity of humans.

JBR: Why do some people deny that climate change is a serious problem? On what are they basing their thinking?

LS: There are so many reasons. Katharine Hayhoe refers in her book, “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World,” to solution aversion. We are more afraid of the cure than of the disease. It’s hard to consider all the changes we need to make. And until the last year or two, with an increase in extreme weather events and wildfires, the terrible effects of climate change are often thought to be years or decades out, making them difficult to relate to. Many of us have not seen more tornadoes or extreme snow events or flooding; therefore, day-to-day concerns like paying the hospital bill or college tuition or putting food on the table crowd out the climate issue.

Another reason is that it’s hard to know what to do about something as big as climate change, so it’s easier to deny it. And then, of course, there’s the misinformation that has been perpetuated by fossil fuel companies (amongst others), very much how the cigarette companies denied for decades that their product was harmful.

JBR: How do you answer them?

LS: I try to listen to their concerns and relate that we do have workable solutions; there is hope. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, a great resource, has defined “Global Warming’s Six Americas”: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive. People in the last categories are entrenched; I try instead to move people who are concerned or cautious into taking action.

JBR: Does making an effort to reduce one’s own carbon footprint make much of a difference?

LS: The “carbon footprint” concept was [popularized] by one of the fossil fuel companies, to deflect blame from them to all of us. Having said that, personally I think it depends upon how big your footprint is. If you have a smaller footprint in the first place, i.e., you don’t fly and you have one moderate-sized home and don’t have a long car commute, it will be harder for you to make a big dent. On the other hand, if you can afford solar panels or to drive a used hybrid, it all helps.

JBR: What should we, as individuals, be doing?

LS: Find a group of concerned citizens, an organization that fits your values and abilities, and support it. Join, volunteer, donate what you can. Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Interfaith Power and Light, Climate Reality Project, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Earthjustice are several that I’m aware of. Read or watch or listen. And, most importantly, VOTE, and let your DC delegation know that you want action. You can sign up for a monthly reminder to call or write here.

JBR: What role can agriculture play, with the ability to store carbon in healthy soils?

LS: It has a huge role. There is a bill right now that CCL has lobbied for, and the US Senate has passed; now we need to tell our US representatives to support it and get it out of committee. It’s the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which will help farmers to better implement regenerative agriculture techniques. No till, cover crops, rotational grazing, buffer strips all will help restore depleted soils that are much more prone to wind and soil erosion and flooding.

Crops such as perennial wheatgrass are being touted, with deeper root systems that better sequester carbon to take it out of the atmosphere and aid in crop growth. When more carbon is sequestered, there is better soil health; it requires less fertilizer and is more resilient against flooding and drought. It will also provide clean water, and pollinator forage and habitat.

Farmers who have implemented these techniques have seen the changes first-hand. A year ago, an NPR article stated, “Currently, agriculture is responsible for about ten percent of the country’s emissions of heat-trapping gases. According to some estimates, a reduction in greenhouse emissions from agriculture combined with an increase in forests could get the country 10 to 20 percent of the way toward net zero emissions in 2050.”

JBR: Is it too late?

LS: NO, but we need to act NOW. CCL provides a vehicle for citizens to act together in a respectful bipartisan manner. There are several other worthwhile organizations doing this work. Join one! Sign up for the free monthly calling campaign that I mentioned earlier; no membership is needed anywhere.

JBR:  Is climate change an environmental justice issue? If so, how/why?

LS: Yes it is, absolutely. The most marginalized communities and the poorest countries are most affected. In this country, black and brown communities have poorer air quality due to living near oil refineries, for instance. They have fewer resources with which to insulate their homes or enjoy air conditioning, and they are more affected by the severe weather that we are experiencing. Poorer countries have more coastal flooding and hurricanes. Poorer countries and people have done the least to contribute to climate change but are most affected by it. Some solutions, however, will put $$ back into pockets to help alleviate the effects of the solutions themselves. https://skepticalscience.com/carbon-fee-dividend-reduce-poverty.html

JBR: What would you most like us to take away from this interview?

LS: There is hope and there are solutions; but we need to ramp up the speed at which they are being deployed, and we need to use all of them, including a carbon price. A carbon price is the most effective, fastest tool we have; it will make the polluters pay and can put proceeds back into YOUR pocket. Join the organization that most fits and learn more. VOTE. They need to hear us in DC. We make the political will to do this.

JBR: Do you have some suggestions for further reading or learning?

Check with your local libraries. Some of the more recently published titles are the following:

“Saving Us,” by Katharine Hayhoe” (I mentioned her earlier)

“Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future,” by Mary Robinson (former president of Ireland)

“All We Can Save; Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis,” by Ayana E Johnson

“Speed and Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now,” by John Doerr

“The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet,” by Michael Mann

“Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation,” and “Project Drawdown,” both by Paul Hawken — and a website by that name about solutions in use right now, with a free six-unit video series, filled with the latest need-to-know science and fascinating insights from global thought leaders.

En-ROADS is an engaging interactive climate solutions simulator that offers free training.

“Earth Emergency” is a new documentary out now on PBS.