Search
Close this search box.

July 2024 Newsletter

350 Contra Costa Action logo in orange, aqua, and green

Local Action for a Better World

A cooler future is possible
Let’s make it happen

It’s too damn HOT

You don’t need us to tell you it’s miserable out. This summer’s extreme heat is affecting all of us—from mail carriers to farm workers to kids whose soccer games are canceled. And temps are still rising: globally, every month in the last year has broken records for high temperatures.

Extreme heat events cost lives. For example, during two weeks in 2022, excessive heat “directly contributed to almost 200 deaths, 140 adverse birth outcomes, 2,000 hospitalizations and 4,200 emergency department visits” in California, according to this recent Mercury News article. Disadvantaged communities suffered disproportionately from these health harms.

A new report from the state’s Department of Insurance shows that extreme heat events have cost Californians more than $7.7 billion over the last ten years.

Rising temps fuel more wildfires

The warming climate has also brought a huge increase in the number and severity of wildfires in our state. A 2023 study published on drought.gov points to human-caused climate change as the cause of almost all the increase in burned acreage over the last fifty years.

We may not think about wildfires until winds blow the smoke and ash our way, but they are making our climate less and less livable—and the problem is accelerating. It’s a vicious cycle. Excessive heat dries out the forests and grasslands, so more fires start; as a result, there is less vegetation to cool the land and capture moisture. The air gets hotter and drier, and more fires start, burning more acreage, making the air even hotter and drier…

In fact, as CalFIRE recently reported, 2024 fires have already burned through about 220,000 acres—almost five times the average amount of land for this time of year, compared to the last five years. And it’s only July.

The cost in dollars is staggering. A 2023 report looked at the economic impact of California wildfires from 2017 to 2021; it estimates losses of more than  $117.4 billion annually.

Stop warming, start cooling

This is an emergency, and we know what to do about it. We have to stop burning the fossil fuels that are causing the climate to heat up. And California has taken steps in that direction: SB 32 mandates cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2030.

But we’re nowhere near on track. The 2023 California Green Innovation Index shows that the state must almost triple its rate of cutting greenhouse gases in order to meet that 2030 target. That means many fewer gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, gas heating and cooling systems, and other gas appliances like stoves and water heaters. And it means many more solar panels on homes and other buildings.

This is doable

Every community can—and must—take important steps to put less pollution into the air. City governments can set an example by shrinking their own carbon footprints—and making it easy for residents to do the same. For instance, they can simplify the permitting process for heat pumps and electrical upgrades.

Is your city doing all it can?

Focus on action

The climate emergency can seem too big for us to even think about, much less act on. But each of us has the power to act. The worst mistake is to do nothing because we can only do so much.

The time is now to take steps toward a livable climate for our children and grandchildren. It’s more effective—and more fun—to work together with friends and neighbors in your community.

Please email us at info@350contracostaaction.org. We’ll help you connect with other folks in your town and figure out where to get started. 

STOP Montezuma Carbon Hub

Risk a pipeline explosion? No, thanks.

The Montezuma carbon dumping scheme—proposed for southern Solano County and now under consideration by the US EPA—is a terrible idea for several reasons. For one thing, it’s seriously unsafe.

The project proposes to drill an injection well near the Montezuma wetlands, across Suisun Bay from Pittsburg and Antioch. Compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel facilities around the Bay would be collected and transported by barge and pipeline to the injection site.

Carbon dioxide pipelines are dangerous. Any rupture fills the air with CO2 gas, which hugs the ground as it spreads, asphyxiating people and disabling gas-powered vehicles. In 2020, a CO2 pipeline leaked into the small Mississippi town of Sartartia, mushrooming within seconds into a dense, deadly cloud.

For first-hand accounts of the Satartia disaster, as well as footage of a CO2 pipeline explosion, see this new, 7-minute video. For more information on the CO2 pipeline controversy, check out this NPR piece.

We don’t need a risk like this here in the earthquake-prone Bay Area—certainly not for an unnecessary, expensive scheme like carbon dumping. The Montezuma Carbon Hub project has got to be stopped.

Info session on Montezuma Carbon Hub

Wednesday, July 31, 6 to 7pm over Zoom

You’re invited to an Info Session & Petition Training to stop the Bay’s first proposed carbon dumping scheme: the Montezuma NorCal Carbon Sequestration Hub.

Join Communities Against Carbon Transport & Injection (CACTI) for this one-hour training session to learn more about the project. We’ll be petitioning in Richmond, Antioch, Benicia, Suisun, and Vallejo—and we could use your help!

Wednesday, July 31, 6 to 7pm over Zoom

Please register here.

CoCo Home Electrification Fair!

Saturday, September 14 in Walnut Creek

Register here

Getting our homes off gas is really important, but the task of sorting through the tons of information on new electric appliances—and incentives—can feel overwhelming. The Electrification Fair is the perfect place to get a handle on home electrification.

  • Eyeing a heat pump, electric water heater, or induction cooktop?
  • Eager to cash in on tax credits and rebates?
  • Concerned about your 100-amp electrical panel handling the load?
  • On the hunt for top-notch contractors and insider tips?
  • Wondering how to electrify if you're renting your home?

Vendors, contractors, and nonprofits will be on hand to answer all your questions. Enjoy a Calicraft brew while you chat with the experts!

There’ll be food trucks and children’s activities, as well. Admission is free, but registration is appreciated. Please sign up here.

Contra Costa County Home Electrification Fair

Calicraft Brewing Company

2700 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Saturday, September 14, from noon to 4pm

Walnut Creek Eco-Forum with the
candidates for City Council

Wednesday, August 28th , from 6 to 7:30pm

In the Fireside Room at the Gateway Complex, Rossmoor

Attention Walnut Creek residents! Here’s your chance to get a look at the five candidates for City Council: Cindy Darling, Craig DeVinney, Brendan Moran, Laura Patch, and Kevin Wilk. Find out where they stand on sustainability issues so you can vote for local climate action this November!

RSVP to carol4ofa@gmail.com to get your gate pass to enter Rossmoor.

 

Thank you —

Emily and Lisa


Follow us on Facebook and on X

Help with a Donation

The time for climate action is now!

©350 Contra Costa Action

This message has not been expressly authorized, requested, or approved by any federal, state, or local candidate, candidate’s committee or their agents, or by any ballot issue committee.

Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.