Dear Friends,

One of the worst effects of the climate crisis is the increase in the amount of air pollution around the world. It is estimated that 7 to 9 million people die from air pollution every year!  That is appalling. Equally appalling is that US neighborhoods with more people of color suffer worse air pollution.

In a Guardian article by Erin McCormick, graphics by Andrew Witherspoon, they identify the 10 worst metropolitan areas in the country for air pollution. Read their article entitled “Revealed: the 10 worst places to live in the US for air pollution” for their list of the top 10 worst areas. Surprisingly, the worst area in the country is not LA (ranked 2nd), or around Chicago (ranked 3rd), but Bakersfield California, which includes the Fresno area. I was blown away since we are talking about a predominantly farming community, not an industrialized City.

A very useful tool included in their article was a calculator that you can click on, enter your address, and it will display the air pollution rating in your area.  Take a look.

“Check your own neighborhood’s air pollution in our interactive tool.”  I strongly recommend you use this tool. We, here in the Villages in south east San Jose, California, for example, live in one of the cleanest areas in the country.  Amazing.

An often glossed over or forgotten aspect of the Climate Crisis is that it effects people of color far more than all other people.  Needless to say, rates of fatalities and disease are much higher in those areas. This is an injustice that needs to be addressed.  Regardless of wether we live in a clean air area, or dirty air area, we need to help the less fortunate.

Legislation is being written every day to address these issues and we all need to support this type of legislation.  Writing our legislators or emailing our concerns does help.

Let our voices be heard that we care and want environmental and racial justice enacted for the sake of their …

Children, Grandchildren, All Future Generations and All Life.

Bill

Dear Friends,

Thinking of buying an Electric Vehicle?  Or not?  Here is an interesting perspective.
A recent News You Times article (link below) talked about the expense and other issues surrounding the development of longer range batteries for EV’s.

This obsession with longer range capability is driving (no pun intended) the EV market.
However, you might ask yourself how often you actually need to drive 300 miles?  The answer may be — not very often.  With current supply chain issues driving prices of EV’s ever higher, more may not be better.  If you look at your daily driving habits, I would bet that 100 mile range would satisfy your needs 90% of the time.

Continue reading “Bill’s Climate News – Easing Into An EV”

Climate Change is an Emergency! — wondering what you can do?
SVC members, Lana Guiffre and Margaret Spatafore and many other SVC members, hosted a table at the EPC Fair this week and talked about what Villagers can do about this ever more urgent existential emergency.

For more pictures of the event, visit the photo album created by Villages resident photographer, Lou Alexander

Except the spots that are flooding

Lake Mead in Nevada, in normal times America’s biggest reservoir

Bill McKibben, founder on The Third Act, shares his perspective on the status of water (world wide) in his recently created Newsletter “The Crucial Years”. Read Here

New law Offers Energy Savings.
In case you missed it, the Mercury News did a recap on the new Inflation Reduction Act.  Click on the link to review the article as there are many parts that will affect our climate work. Take a look on our Vehicles Team page to read another article from SmartNews on how it affects electric car purchases.

Watch the video “I Will Be A Hummingbird: – Wangari Maathai 

Dear Friends,
I’m sure you’ve read all the hoopla in the press regarding the new clean energy bill that Senator Joe Manchin has agreed to support.  As usual with any political decision, there are gives and takes.  It is now called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and, if passed by the Senate, will provide almost $370 billion in funding to support the effort to curb climate change.  If passed, this legislation could help cut US emissions by 40% by 2030.  While it is short of Biden’s goal of cutting emissions by 50% by 2030, it is still a huge leap forward.  Biden can still achieve the 50% cut through executive action and aggressive city and state moves.

So, what’s in the bill?
Continue reading “Bill’s Climate News – Inflation Reduction Act”