Over 60 concerned Napa residents came to the Napa Library on Friday November 22nd in the evening to learn about the serious impacts of climate change and what we can do to avoid them. Program organizer, Carol Glaser, told us how her personal desire to learn more and take action is driven by her deep love for her grandchildren and her worry about the climate crises they will have to deal with. “Tonight there are no dumb questions,” Carol said, “We are all learning.”
David Graves, a 2018 Napa County Climate Champion and Climate Reality Leader, described the causes of climate change and what we are experiencing globally and locally. Using the caladapt.org tool, he showed us that in Napa we can expect triple the number of extreme heat days and a sea level rise of more than 20 cm if current levels of warming continue. Graves, owner of Saintsbury Winery, explained how climate change will affect wine production by reducing our water supply, increasing average temperatures which stress grapevines, and by causing more extreme temperature events. However, vineyards can play a role in reducing warming by farming to increase soil carbon, removing carbon from the atmosphere.
Graves’ summary of his presentation was stated very simply: “It’s Warming. It’s Us. We’re Sure. It’s Bad. We Can Fix It.” The solutions will involve, not only reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but reducing the emissions of more warming pollutants (methane, black carbon, nitrogen dioxides, and refrigerants). We will need to decarbonize buildings by eliminating natural gas as a fuel and using hydrogen to power cement and steel production. We need to decarbonize transportation by using electric vehicles and by reducing how much driving individuals do.
Presenter Gopal Shanker, a 2019 Napa County Climate Champion and owner of Recolte Energy, introduced the web-based platform, Regeneration Napa County, which gives an overview of your personal carbon footprint and lists 66 actions you can take to reduce it. Shanker has pioneered solar array installation in Napa and is currently working on transitioning our mode of transit to be powered by clean energy. He said that the easiest action Napa residents can take to reduce their climate impact is to sign up with MCE for Deep Green electricity which is 100% renewable.
Audience members asked about solar installation, offsetting air travel, reducing waste, and other ways to lower climate impacts. There were so many questions and so much interest that Napa Climate NOW! will be working on a follow-up presentation on actions we can take.
Thanks to everyone who attended our Let’s Talk Turkey about Climate Change event! To learn more about climate change, subscribe to our newsletter.