Tag archives: Climate change
How appropriate that a Funk Zone locale dubbed the Bakery Block raised a lot of dough when the Community Environmental Council hosted its annual Green Gala for 250 guests raising more than $100,000 to help its work in protecting California’s Central Coast from the climate crisis. The boffo bash, co-chaired by Carolyn Fitzgerald, Katy Powers, […]
How can we use behavior science to persuade people to solve the Climate Crisis? I recently attended a UCSB Psychology talk on this subject. To me, facts and evidence should be enough. It takes a lot more than that for most people. It turns out that people who are most environmentally aware are often worse […]
Westmont hosted more than 70 evangelical students, professors, and nationally recognized experts from across the country for the second consecutive summer to address the global challenge of climate change on June 16-21. “Faith. Climate. Action. A Workshop on Christian Climate Advocacy” equips students who care deeply about the environment to become leaders in their communities […]
Climate change has accelerated the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. Insurers were on the hook for $108 billion in damages from catastrophes in 2023, down from $125 billion in 2022 but above the 10-year average of $89 billion. The long-term trend of increased catastrophes from climate change will show up in rising insurance rates. […]
Geoengineering is the controversial idea of altering the earth in some way to offset human harms to the climate. Some fear it could make us complacent about the real solution: Reducing fossil fuel use. “Can $500 Million Save This Glacier” was the title of a recent New York Times article. British glaciologist John Moore attended […]
My last article was about the need for direct government investment in solving the Climate Crisis. That getting rid of bad subsidies and incentives is helpful, but not enough. This point was made by Simon Sharpe, who worked on counterterrorism for the UK Foreign Office. But Sharpe made another vital point: A lot of climate […]
I have written before about bad subsidies and incentives that have gotten us into the Climate Crisis. But there is another way to view the problem. “Nobody thinks we made the transition from horses to cars by taxing horseshit. Nobody thinks that we created the internet by taxing letter writing. Why would it be any […]
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” This line from William Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2 is a widely spread meme on t-shirts and more. Those spreading the meme see lawyers as the enemy. But the original meaning was probably the opposite. The line is stated by “Dick the Butcher” who is […]
About 40 students and faculty from Christian colleges and universities learned about climate change and its widespread effects at an environmental conference June 25 – July 2 hosted at Westmont’s leafy 111-acre campus. More than two dozen top scholars spoke at “Faith. Climate. Action: A Workshop on Christian Climate Advocacy,” which included outdoor worship services, […]
On July 6th, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) celebrated the grand opening of its highly anticipated Environmental Hub. Located at 1219 State Street, this 10,000-square-foot space is set to revolutionize the way Santa Barbara approaches environmental initiatives, fostering collaboration, innovation, and community engagement. With its roots tracing back to the devastating 1969 oil spill, the […]
Santa Barbara nonprofit Community Environmental Council has long been on the forefront of the environmental movement ever since its founding more than 50 years ago. Among its groundbreaking accomplishments in those early decades, CEC founded one of the nation’s first ecology centers, as well as the first learning and research community gardens. CEC was instrumental […]
The Santa Barbara chapter of The Association for Women in Communications hosted its 15th annual Women of Achievement Climate Champions lunch at the Cabrillo Pavilion when Hillary Hauser, a founder of Heal the Ocean, and Dr. Leah Stokes, the Anton Volk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at UCSB, were honored. KEYT-TV anchor Beth Farnsworth, a […]
The 21st annual Conversation on the Liberal Arts explores how a liberal arts education can prepare us for the future, March 2-4 at the Global Leadership Center. “Educating for the Unknown: Liberal Arts in the Age of Climate Change,” sponsored by the Gaede Institute, attracts teachers, administrators, and students from around the country. “We’ll spend […]
Westmont is equipping evangelical students from across the nation who care deeply about the environment to lead their communities in answering God’s call to steward creation wisely. The college will be hosting “Faith. Climate. Action: A Workshop on Christian Climate Advocacy,” attracting about 40 students and faculty from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities […]
At my core I’m an optimist. Not to be confused with a Pollyanna. I try to stay open to ideas and sources of inspiration and innovation that could lead us to a better place – no easy feat. Which is why I enjoyed (or more accurately, had the enriching experience of) reading Ian Bremmer’s book, […]
The two of us have joined forces with many others in our community on a clear mission. We are running a race to protect a fundamental aspect of life on Earth: a safe, livable climate. A year ago, we heard the global community of scientists issue an unequivocal alarm bell by deeming our climate crisis […]
To get a clear picture of what the World Business Academy does, it’s a good idea to zoom out far above the Santa Barbara nonprofit’s home base – maybe to around 30,000 feet, suggests founder and president Rinaldo Brutoco. “With the exception of Direct Relief International, which is a massive charity that’s based here, we […]
The last two columns in this space revealed the ridiculousness of burning more natural gas as a way to combat climate change just because it is half the carbon of coal. In case everyone isn’t already aware, the time for half measures is way gone! Greece, France, and other major areas of Europe are on […]
Imagine being elected to serve in local government, only to find yourself in a global health emergency. That’s exactly what happened to Gregg Hart, then Chair of the County Board of Supervisors, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. “I was hoping to use my chairmanship to highlight the need for emergency and disaster […]
As a new resident of Montecito, I’m learning about issues and concerns in our community through reading the weekly Montecito Journal. Since the climate crisis is my major concern, I particularly appreciate articles by columnists Rinaldo Brutoco, Tom Farr, and Robert Bernstein, as well as frequent reports of news and opinions from local environmental groups. […]
