‘Changing the Course’ will create vision for energy future

Following the hearing about fracking in Cullowhee with over 80 people speaking eloquently against it, the historic people’s climate march attracted over 400,000 people in New York.  At least 75 people from Western North Carolina attended that march and a support rally in Pack Square.

I rode that bus to New York, and it was thrilling to see the diversity of support for a clean energy future, from indigenous peoples to trade unionists to inner city youth. There is unprecedented momentum in the effort to stop fossil fuels and win climate justice.

Now it’s time to ask, “What would the world look like with a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy?”

Rainforest Action Network is launching a new program to do exactly that. It’s an invitation to think hard about what it would actually take to stabilize the climate and create a just transition to a post-carbon future. This program is kicking off with a series of climate-focused workshops and visioning sessions called “Change the Course” in 14 cities across the country, including Asheville.

Put all together, a detailed vision will emerge of what a sustainable and just future would look like  as well as the strategies and tactics that will get us there.

“Change the Course” is co-sponsored by Lenoir-Rhyne University and will be held in its board room upstairs across from the Asheville Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, Oct. 25, and Sunday, Oct. 26, from 1-6 p.m.To register for this free weekend event,  visit ran.org/changethecourse. For more information, contact me at cathyfholt@gmail.com.

Cathy Holt
Asheville

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4 thoughts on “‘Changing the Course’ will create vision for energy future

  1. JFC

    With 60+ BILLION food animals on the planet, this should be our first step in the Climate March! The best chance to mitigate climate change is to severely reduce consumption of animal foods. More than 1/3 of human induced warming is attributable to animal agriculture. Methane is 24 times more potent than CO2 but takes only 7 years to cycle out of the atmosphere. CO2 takes around 100 years to come out. Human pursuit of animal protein is the leading cause of methane release and a primary cause of CO2 concentrating in the atmosphere. Check the facts and act!

    “As environmental science has advanced, it has become apparent that the human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future: deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.” Worldwatch Institute, “Is Meat Sustainable?”

    “If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains… the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.” Environmental Defense Fund

    “A 1% reduction in world-wide meat intake has the same benefit as a three trillion-dollar investment in solar energy.” ~ Chris Mentzel, CEO of Clean Energy

    There is one single industry destroying the planet more than any other. But no one wants to talk about it… http://cowspiracy.com

    Step by Step Guide: How to Transition to a Vegan Diet http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/step-by-step-guide-how-to-transition-to-vegan-diet/

  2. Fracking in NC should be a NON-ISSUE especially in WNC.

    See the following articles: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/06/09/3923566_fracking-forget-about-it-in-nc.html?rh=1, ,
    http://www.wlos.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/no-more-fracking-tests-mountains-17615.shtml#.VDIbRxaPxD1
    & http://www.nchouse116.com/fracking-awesome/

    Want to see the chemicals used in Fracking see: http://fracfocus.org/chemical-use/what-chemicals-are-used

    Here are some videos on Fracking ALL should watch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY4ol5DUfNY, ,
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXCUk0WTNuQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giwRvzHs5oA
    Ask yourself do you wish to live in the 1700’s? In a world that could not sustain the world’s population of today? A world that could not grow and transport the food the people needed? Do you wish millions and millions of people to die? Do you even know now dirty and hard your life would be without coal, gas and oil? We do not live in the 1700’s and you know WHY? ENERGY!!!! The marvels that were not available then are possible today because of coal, gas and oil. Yes, its about our future and I for one wish to continue to live in this period because of the marvels coal, gas and oil enables us to have safely. Many people do not understand how much coal, gas and oil goes into making items like wind mills and solar panels. They do not know how many birds windmills and solar farms kill each year. For, that matter that without coal, gas and oil many things that make your life easier today would not be possible. Many do not know that much that was stated in the video GASLAND was been debunked? Did you know that fracking has been going on since 1947?

    I went to the Fracking Hearing in Cullowhee and all I heard were people that did not know that there is NO SHALE in WNC, so no gas to drill. And they did not know that the gas in the center part of the state in three counties did not contain enough gas to make fracking worth while.

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