January 2024 Green Happenings
Happy New Year!
We hope your year is off to a great start. Here are some green updates, programs and events…
Climate Science
America’s leading authority on climate change recently released their new report and notes that “In the 1980s, the country experienced, on average, one (inflation-adjusted) billion-dollar disaster every four months. Now, there is one every three weeks, on average.” The unimaginably extreme weather in 2023 (hazardous smoke from the Canadian wildfires, tropical storm flooding in California, 100+ ocean temps in Florida, Maui wildfire, Louisiana wildfire and scorching heat in most of the country) is happening because the Earth has warmed 1.1F. Though it’s hard to imagine how things could get worse, every fraction of a degree of additional warming will make extreme weather even more severe and brings the world closer to irreversible tipping points. The importance and urgency of your sustainability efforts cannot be overstated!!!
Celebrating Mayor Brainard’s Environmental Legacy
CGI dedicated a bur oak tree as a living tribute to Mayor Brainard‘s environmental legacy and climate leadership. As this baby tree grows, we hope it provides inspiration for our ongoing journey towards sustainability and resilience. Huge thanks to Alexia Lopez and Daren Mindham for coordinating the selection & planting of the tree. Read more.
How green are the new mayor and city council?
There’s lots of work ahead to build a more sustainable and resilient city. And, we’re very excited to see there is broad support for climate action among Carmel’s new leadership. Read more.
Get Ready for the 2024 Legislative Session
The 2024 session is underway! Get ready with a refresher on how a bill becomes law. And click here to find your legislators, and click here to see the district maps and contact info for Hamilton County. Also, OneZone Chamber hosts “Eggs & Issues” during the session which provides an opportunity to hear from Hamilton County legislators, click here to learn more.
IN This Together
On Tues. Jan. 16, 11 a.m. join the youth-led organization, Confront the Climate Crisis, for a climate rally at the statehouse. State Representative Carey Hamilton will bring a bipartisan coalition of youth, advocacy organizations, and legislators together to call on lawmakers to take common-sense action on climate change. Rep. Hamilton is authoring Read more and RSVP.
Indiana Sustainability & Resilience Conference
On Fri. Feb. 9, 8:30 a.m. join the IU Environmental Resilience Institute and IUPUI Office of Sustainability for an all day conference aimed at accelerating climate action in Indiana. Learn more and Register
Renewable Energy Day
On Tues. Feb. 13, 9 a.m. attend Renewable Energy Day at the Statehouse torally for your clean energy rights. Read more and RSVP.
Sustainable Living Seminar
Join us Thurs. Feb. 15, 6 p.m. at the Carmel Clay Public Library for a Mid-Session Legislative Update. Sam Carpenter, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council will provide an update on environmental, climate, and energy bills, and how you can take action to make a positive impact! Learn more and RSVP
Holiday Lights
Did you know that holiday lights consume enough energy to power 400,000 homes a year and that carbon pollution stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years? Thanks to folks who avoided excessive holiday lights this year. Doing something simple like this is a powerful way to show your kids and grandkids you care about protecting their future.
Earth Day Art Contest
The Earth Day Art Contest for K-8 youth is a fun way to celebrate our Earth through art while learning about sustainable living! Art entries will be displayed at several public exhibits for Earth Day to give our youth a voice. And, we hope it inspires our community to live more sustainably to protect their future. Art entries due Feb. 16. Learn more.
Help Wanted
Is Earth Day one of your favorite holidays? Are you looking for ways to make our community more sustainable? We need help with the Earth Day art contest which is a comprehensive community education program. Volunteers will help plan a fun and memorable recognition ceremony for our young people at the Carmel library. If this sounds interesting, here’s the webpage and program overview. For more info, please contact Linda at Linda@carmelgreen.org
Easy Ways to Go Green
Make sustainability your top priority to protect the future for kids and grandkids! Everything we do impacts our earth in some way. Change habits that will improve our environment. We can do this together! Here’s how to calculate your household carbon footprint and some easy ways to go green.
Sincerely,
Leslie Webb
President
Carmel Green Initiative
www.CarmelGreen.org
Become a member!