Our Changing Climate

Editors note: An earlier version of this story has been corrected to state the Department of Water and Power will pay $1,500 (instead of $150) to put a charger in your home for an electric vehicle. 

And what individuals can do.

Both society and individuals, through small changes and big systemic changes, can fight climate change.

That was the basis for “Our Changing Climate,” a discussion organized by environmental educator John Zavalney at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Jan. 6. Featured speakers from climate organizations discussed what both society and individuals can do to help fight climate change.

The discussion also focused on the benefits available to individuals through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Zavalney led off the discussion, stating, “I’m a science teacher. I believe in data and evidence.”

The educator participates as a teacher, trainer, facilitator or representative for global, national and local environmental education programs including Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots; GLOBE; Project Learning Tree; Project Wild and Project Wet. Recently he was named as assistant district manager for The Climate Project. Zavalney has won Jane Goodall Global Leadership award, Teacher of the Year award among many others. He has served as the secondary school science advisor for the Los Angeles Unified School District (now retired). He’s made more than 200 global warming presentations throughout the US and Mexico. 

A chance meeting with Dr. Jane Goodall, in 1996, at a speaking engagement for educators had a profound impact on Zavalney’s career. Dr. Goodall personally selected Zavalney to spend three months in Tanzania as a volunteer educator for her Roots & Shoots humanitarian youth program. During his stay, Zavalney negotiated a bilateral agreement with the Ministers of Education in Tanzania and the US, making Tanzania part of the GLOBE Program, whereby students worldwide collect local environmental data and share it with the world’s leading scientists.  

Zavalney said the impetus, other than the climate, for this discussion happened at an event in Long Beach where Zavalney was tabling for Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program. Pete Marsh, who also spoke, from Citizens Climate Lobby was there tabling. Zavalney had seen him before at Alta Sea and other events. They talked and agreed that they should do this work together. He said some organizations are doing good things but they do it in isolation.  

“Together we can make a bigger difference because we have the same shared values and common goals,” said Zavalney. “So why not work together? It would be a great partnership. I could discuss individual changes and they can talk about systemic changes and legislation that need to happen.”
 

A Few Programs

Zavalney said that the business model of public utilities is to have customers use less of their product and save money too. People are not taking advantage of that. He noted that the Department of Water and Power will pay $1,500 to put a charger in your home for an electric vehicle. Customers can also receive rebates for clothes washers, refrigerators/freezers, lighting, heat pumps, air conditioners, programmable thermostats, building insulation, windows, roofs, reflective roofs, pool pumps and LED lighting. He explained the same way that we changed our light bulbs from incandescent to LED’s, the same kind of changes need to happen with other things like public transportation. He called these environmental stewardship projects people can do with their families.

One of Marsh’s recommendations was to replace utility boxes with an electrical panel, “before they go out,” he said. In September, Forbes reported investing in this upgrade ensures your home can handle your home’s power needs and reduces the chances of future electrical problems. It improves your home’s functioning and helps ensure your space is safer. 

Andrew Ellis, who is with several environmental groups including Climate Reality Project, spoke about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and Inflation Reduction Act or IRA Ellis said these acts were made to help the United States catch up and be competitive on the global environmental stage. The Climate Reality Project focuses on helping small businesses access funds through the IRA, and identify opportunities and risks. Ellis pointed to, Rewiring America, an electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying homes, businesses, and communities. On its website, those interested in energy efficiency and electrifying appliances can discover what rebates they are eligible for. 

During the talk, I had one concern I couldn’t shake; what about fossil fuel lobbyists? How do we combat the climate destruction that they advocate, all to keep us in the grips of coal and gas? It turns out Citizens Climate Lobby attends congressional lobbying events, where they are fighting too, but for climate solutions. The organization holds Wednesday Zoom Meetings where you can learn how to make a difference in your community, but also, how to get Congress to lead on climate solutions.

Further, Zavalney recommends the new documentary, Common Ground — now working its way towards wide release. The film profiles a movement of white, Black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy.

I spoke to Zavalney after the event, when he revealed that for nearly two decades he’s worked on Al Gore’s climate reality presentations, based on his film, The Inconvenient Truth. He was invited to go see Al Gore’s slide show, for the film, prior to the film’s release. One of the top presenters, Zavalney’s position as a teacher helped. While running the science center in San Pedro, Zavalney was able to visit schools and make the presentation part of his job. In the beginning, he said, it was about catastrophe’s and grim predictions. Now it’s about solutions.

Recently, Zavalney has been meeting with Rotary Clubs to discuss collaborating through partnerships. The Rotary Club just started a new peace initiative with its first International Day of Peace event last year, a music event with musicians from around the world streaming in, live. 

Zavalney is now working with the Rotary Club on a United Nations peace day event, along with the student and project driven Roots & Shoots. 

“Sept. 21 is the UN day of peace,” Zavalney said. “For Roots & Shoots, we look at peace a little differently. You create peace with animals when you do a project for animals. You create peace for the environment when you do a project for the environment. And you create peace in the human community when you do projects for the human community. It’s a holistic peace. It’s not just war and guns and violence. For peace day, our different groups bring in their projects, we celebrate what they did, and to inspire others to do more.” 

Zavalney hopes everyone came away from the event with knowledge and inspiration. Most importantly, he hopes people left with information to help them become more energy and more water efficient, reduce their environmental footprint, be informed about policies, and to take advantage of the environmental programs available that people aren’t aware of or don’t understand.

“I hope they feel like they can do something [to help fight climate change], he said. “So many feel hopeless because it’s such a big problem. If you break it down, you can take a baby step, do something and [then] do something else. But don’t just feel overwhelmed.”

Details: http://tinyurl.com/Jane-and-Roots-and-Shoots