Let’s Take Action on Climate Change Together
SF Village and Ashby Village members moving from enduring their concerns alone to exploring climate action together.
- Friday Morning Talks in April and May with climate action organization speakers, see full schedule below. Please RSVP to info@ashbyvillage.org for Zoom link.
- *SAVE THE DATE* Second large climate action session set Friday morning, May 14th, 10:00 – 11:30 am
“Climate change is a collective crisis,” said Village Movement California (VMC) Executive Director Charlotte Dickson. “It requires collective, not individual solutions. Our real power comes when we work together”.
Recently, members of Ashby Village (AV) and SF Village (SFV) joined forces to collaborate on how to respond to climate change. Seeking partners, SFV member Bill Haskell reached out to Ashby Village and was connected with Rochelle Lefkowitz, AV member and co-founder of ELDER ACTION. They began to plan how to leverage the power of older adults who are determined to leave their legacy for future generations: a planet that will sustain them.
The result? The first large group session of a new initiative, with the support of VMC, called “Let’s Take Action on Climate Change Together,” held Friday, March 5th. There were more than 65 members and volunteers of Ashby Village (AV), San Francisco Village (SFV), plus their guests from Carquinez, Claremont, and the Villages of San Mateo.
Bill and Rochelle tapped five existing Bay Area nonprofits already focused on climate action (see below). Here’s how the five climate organizations described themselves:
- 1,000 Grandmothers for Future Generations Bay Area: Older women working to address the climate crisis. Auxiliary members included - men, friends and relations, young and old. Particularly focused on climate justice.
- Active Allies: Advancing climate action and climate justice through youth employment and intergenerational collaboration. Sponsors, Mentors, Advisors, and Project Managers all work together to defend, repair, and regenerate our communities and our world.
- 350 Bay Area: Volunteers working to raise awareness of the climate crisis; mobilize to demand actions that protect us all from the worst impacts; support young people calling for a livable planet; and dig into policy options to get emissions reductions actions passed.
- Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter: One of our nation’s enduring environmental organizations, the Sierra Club practices and promotes the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources. Its mission: to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the natural and human environment, using all lawful means.
- Elders Climate Action/NorCal Chapter: Mobilizing elders to address climate change while there’s still time to protect the well-being of our grandchildren and future generations. Dedicated to using the power of our caring, wisdom and numbers to push for strong policies to reduce greenhouse gases in our atmosphere to a level consistent with life thriving on our planet.
To view the 80-minute video of this inspiring event click here: https://youtu.be/DHjmKlbHtcs, or through the video above.
What’s Next?
Friday Morning Talks with climate action organization speakers
Because there was limited time for questions and interactions with the presenters at the March meeting, and because some people were not ready or able to select one of the new small climate action groups to join, we have scheduled Friday Morning Talks with all the organizations on Fridays in April and May. Presenters can share upcoming activities, and explain the role older adults can play in the organization’s climate actions. Some of these may be working with younger, yet more experienced climate action leaders.
These talks will be open to anyone interested in an organization scheduled for a particular Friday. There will be time for dialogue with the presenters plus questions and answers. Please come to one, a few, or all! The schedule follows:
| Date |
Speaker |
Organization
|
|
4/9 - 11:00 am to 12 noon
|
Nan Farley
|
350 Bay Area
|
|
4/16 - 11:00 am to 12 noon
|
Felix Kramer & Costanza Gonzalo
|
Active Allies
|
|
4/23 – 11:00 am to 12 noon
|
Todd Weber
|
Elders Climate Action
|
|
4/30 - 11:00 am to 12 noon
|
Jacob Klein
|
Sierra Club
|
|
5/7– 11:00 am to 12 noon
|
Carol Rothman & Rochelle Towers
|
1000 Grandmothers
|
Please RSVP to info@ashbyvillage.org for Zoom link.
*SAVE THE DATE* Second large climate action session – Friday, May 14th, 10:00 to 11:30 am.
During this second large group session of this initiative, representatives of those in attendance at each of the Friday Morning Talks will share what they learned and what climate actions those on the call expressed interest in.
In addition, we will learn about the climate crisis from the point of view of a person of color and understand more what the goal of climate justice means. We will also learn about how climate change is already harming the health of California’s older adults, especially in Black and Brown communities.
Conclusion
During the isolation caused by the pandemic, many Bay Area older adults felt alone with their fears about the impacts of climate change already underway, from heat waves to raging fires. Climate change, according to Lifelong Medical’s Executive Director Emeritus Marty Lynch, is already harming the health of California’s older adults, especially in Black and Brown communities.
Well known climate writer and activist Bill McKibben recently announced his new focus: bringing older adults fully onboard for climate action. “That’s the hardest political bloc in this country to crack, and I think we need to do it”.
He added, “If you can get grandparents answering the call of the Sunrise Movement generation, then we’ve got a chance for political shifts that will make rapid progress easier”. Sounds like Bill McKibben needs to get to know our Villages!
While we still must stay apart because of the pandemic, we are no longer alone with our climate concerns. When we join together in taking climate actions, our power and impact will be a force to be reckoned with.
Send questions to Maryl Gearhart (marylgear@mac.com)