Climate Action Team

Urban forest

The Climate Action Team’s (CAT) mission is to plan and implement activities to educate and motivate BUUF members and friends to combat the climate crisis, reflecting our 7th Principle, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” CAT works with partners, such as Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) and others, to present solutions, increase awareness, and take action in our community and beyond. The Fellowship’s March, 2019 resolution, Responding to Climate Change, calls upon us to be a prominent and faithful voice of witness, advocacy, education, and protest, if necessary, in the public sphere, by supporting community partners and coalitions working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Team leaders are Sharon and Dennis Rockwood (dennisrockwood@gmail.com, sharonrockwood@hotmail.com) and we meet the third Monday of the month, from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, currently via Zoom.

Coming Events

How Would You Fix Climate Change? Here’s your chance! En-ROADS Climate Workshop

Presented by volunteers from Boise Citizens’ Climate Lobby, on Monday, April 18, 2022, from 7:30 to 8:30pm. Join the virtual meeting: https://bit.ly/3gQuHVg

The En-ROADS Climate Workshop is an interactive experience which will help you understand how your proposed climate solutions can interact with others to win a better future. The experience is hopeful, scientifically-grounded, action-oriented, and eye-opening. Participant climate solution ideas will be modeled using the En-ROADS Climate Simulator.  Everyone is welcome, spread the word!

Boots and Gloves Spring Community Project with Boise CCL

BUUF’s Climate Action Team is invited to join our April 2022 plate partner, Boise Citizens’ Climate Lobby for school garden preparation at Whitney Elementary, Saturday morning, 9:00am to noon, April 23rd. Boise Parks and Rec staff will direct the work that will enable students to grow vegetables used by the school. We’re looking for a maximum of 10-15 people, with boots, gloves, a favorite garden tool, and weather appropriate clothing. Please RSVP to sharonrockwood@hotmail.com if you’re interested.

Recent Events

Carbon Buddy Workshops 2021/22

“…I know that motivated individuals working together towards a very clear objective can achieve what seems to be impossible. Action is needed now.” Colin Hastings, author of The Carbon Buddy Manual)

The Climate Action Team was pleased to host four workshops by John and Paula Warren based on The Carbon Buddy Manual: Your Practical Guide to Cooling Our Planet by Colin Hastings (CBM).  More than twenty people attended the workshops and focused on developing actions they could take as individuals to address climate change, reduce their carbon footprint and inspire others to join them. In each session they discussed  different parts of the CBM and its applicability to everyday lives.  There were no lectures but interactive discussions focused on what each of us can do as individuals. 

If you weren’t able to participate, a one-page summary is available from our website.  In addition, we have resources to support using the CBM individually or with a group. These are available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kXyr1zTkTCwQX-P7svB84MG0HfXmooXX?usp=sharing

John and Paula can be reached at john@strategyplaybook.org  1.208.841.0310. The Carbon Buddy Manual is available at Rediscovered Books and other outlets. 

Earth Month 2021

Check out our YouTube playlist of last year’s events. Our CAT Resources page has information and summaries of some events, too.

Climate Emergency – Feedback Loops

On March 25, 2021, the CD Environmental Film Festival and the National Museum of Natural History co-presented the introductory film in the Climate Emergency – Feedback Loops series, with a recorded discussion with climate scientists whose research highlights solutions for a hopeful future. The complete Climate Emergency – Feedback Loops series can be streamed online.

Feedbacks Between Terrestrial Ecosystems and Climate Change

Presented by Marie-Anne de Graaff, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Boise State University, Department of Biological Sciences, Saturday, January 23, 2021, in conjunction with the Citizens Climate Lobby – Boise Chapter. Prof. de Graaff’s presentation was recorded, and is available on BUUF’s YouTube channel. A brief summary from Rick Groff:

The impact of soil on the warming of the atmosphere due to greenhouse gases is often overlooked. The soil holds nearly twice as much carbon as does the atmosphere and water combined.

Plants capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis and release CO2 and much smaller amounts of methane in the decomposition of plant material by microbes and fungi, in a continuous process.

As fungi and bacteria decompose plant material, about two-thirds of the carbon captured during photosynthesis is released back into the atmosphere. Carbon being removed from the atmosphere to a fixed form elsewhere is called sequestration.

Changes in the ecosystem may impact the carbon sequestration by the soil, for example: conversion of a biodiverse habitat to mono-diverse cropland, range fires, invasive species, and/or global warming.

Warming soil temperatures caused by global warming can increase the rate of microbial action and cause the soil to release carbon into the atmosphere.

There are farming practices that can help soil to not only maintain carbon levels but to increase the amount of carbon retained in the soil. Such practices may increase the health of the soil and make it more productive while reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Recent meetings