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Climate Change Conversation Featuring Kathleen Biggins, Founder and President of C-Change Conversations
Climate Change Lecture Featuring Kathleen Biggins, Founder of C-Change Conversations On Wednesday, October 17 , 2018the Land Alliance, in partnership with the North Country Garden Club, hosted an informative, non-partisan and balanced lecture about climate change. We were very fortunate to have Kathleen Biggins one of the founders and President of C-Change Conversations speak to more than 100 community members about the science of climate change. Kathleen Biggins, Katy Kinsolving, Carrie Dyckman and Pam Mount founded the nonprofit C-Change Conversations initially to help engage friends, family and colleagues on the topic of climate change through an informal lecture series. They found that many participants were searching for a more comprehensive overview that addressed the risks and opportunities associated with climate change. As a result, the organization has grown and through educational presentations and conversations with climate experts, they have informed more than 3,300 people nationwide about climate change and how it will affect their lives and futures. Kathleen discussed how the earth’s climate has always fluctuated for natural reasons, but today we are seeing a period of instability that would not be occurring naturally. While most Americans, across party lines, recognize climate change is happening, many do not understand how it will impact them directly and why there is an urgency to address it. The evening talk and multimedia presentation focused on the science of climate change and Kathleen answered the following five key questions: How do we know it is real? – scientists measure it every day. How do we know it is us? – climate models show climate change is not caused by natural events. What do scientists think? – 97% or more of Climate Scientists say human-caused climate change is happening. Is it dangerous? – climate change af fects natural systems and cycles we depend on for economy and jobs, health and personal security, geopolitical stability. Is there hope that we can meet the challenge? Yes, but we all need to do our part! Kathleen addressed each question with supporting facts and graphic illustrations. She showed a time lapsed film of the critical artic ice melting from 1990 to today and side-by-side image of Alaska’s Muir Glacier, which in 1941 was intact, and today is a fragment of its original size. The images were both difficult to watch and made it very difficult to deny there is, indeed, a change caused by humans. While the answers to questions one through four were eye opening and startling, Kathleen did answer yes to question five – there is hope that we can meet the challenge. However, we cannot wait on government or corporations to solve the problem. We all need to do our part now. What can we do to start the conversation in our community? Become an educated consumer and follow media outlets such as Climate Central, Scientific American, Financial Times and Bloomberg. Vote and contact your representatives. The voices of many can make change. Support non-profit organizations whose work helps to addresses climate change like the North Shore Land Alliance. Reduce your own carbon emissions. Be an active shareholder and informed employee. The Land Alliance will be partnering again in 2019 with other community organizations to help bring the C-Change Conversations back for another presentation. In the interim, please visit www.c-changeconversations.org to learn more about how you can help to stop the impact of climate change on our community and beyond. 25 Conservation News – #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
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Where Do We Go From Here? The Future of the Clean (Green) Economy Featuring Gina McCarthy
Where Do We Go From Here? The Future of the Clean (Green) Economy Insights from former EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy Gina McCarthy, former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, gave an inspiring and uplifting talk about the future of the clean economy to more than 100 Land Alliance supporters and friends on April 5th at the Explorer’s Club. Despite recent significant changes to the EPA, McCarthy was very positive about the future of clean energy. During her talk, McCarthy emphasized that public health and the environment are inextricably interconnected. Air quality, environmental justice and health equity are all tied to water, land and natural resource protection – and all are part of the climate picture. She discussed the importance of getting the current generation outside to play. “In my generation, we went outside to play and did not come back home until the street lights came on and it was time for dinner.” As a child, she had hula-hoops, rode bicycles, turned over logs and looked at the creatures underneath them. “We got our hands dirty and it was ok.” Today’s kids have Hulu and other electronic distractions and do not play outside. For the future of our climate, we need to get kids outdoors and connect them with nature. “If kids are not connected to the natural world, they will not see the importance in protecting it.” McCarthy believes the current administration’s attempt to “turn back the clock” on environmental protection and clean energy will not succeed in the end and that the U.S. may simply “lose a little time” combating climate change. She added that the U.S. economy and many individual businesses are already committed to the course of clean energy. “The clean energy train has indeed left the station,” she said. McCarthy cited the automotive industry as an example; the leaders of some of the world’s largest automotive suppliers have invested millions of dollars in the development of cleaner vehicles to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Automobiles are designed 11 years in advance and it does not make good business sense to change the design when it will all be changed back in four years. She added that it is not just about climate, it is about clean air and clean water and healthy land. “Republicans and Democrats all want clean water and clean air. Because in the end, that is what it is all about – it is about protecting our kids from pollution and keeping those precious natural resources in the quality and quantity we need to continue to live well. And that’s a value to everyone.” McCarthy thanked the room filled with Land Alliance supporters and friends for their efforts to protect open space, which she stressed is critical to clean water and a healthy environment. “We know what the science says. We know what we need to do to protect our kids and ourselves. Clean air and clean water are core values in this country. It doesn’t really matter that references to climate change have been scrubbed from the EPA’s website; our core values are not going to change. We must be more diligent about making sure that we are speaking out, and we’re doing everything we can to protect our kids. We all can and must make a difference,” said McCarthy. About Gina McCarthy Gina McCarthy – a career public servant in both Democratic and Republican administrations – has been a leading advocate for common sense strategies to protect public health and the environment for more than thirty years. In 2013, President Obama appointed McCarthy as Administrator of the E.P.A after she had served as the agency’s Assistant Administrator in the Office of Air and Radiation. Known as President Obama’s “Green Quarterback”, McCarthy led the E.P.A.’s historic progress in achieving the Obama administration’s public health and environmental protection goals and Climate Action Plan. In 2015, McCarthy signed the Clean Power Plan, which set the first-ever national standards for reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants, underscoring the country’s commitment to domestic climate action and spurring international efforts that helped secure the Paris Climate Agreement. During her tenure, EPA initiatives cut air pollution, protected water resources, reduced greenhouse gases and strengthened chemical safety to better protect more Americans, especially the most vulnerable, from negative health impacts. #gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-2 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */ Thank You to Our Supporters Sponsors Steven A. Denning, Robert G. Merrill Carter Bales, Naomi and John Bralower, Jack Foley and Stewart Title Associates Georgia and Don Gogel, Anne and Michael Golden, Stewart Greenfield, Lawrence Linden Bridget and John Macaskill, Avantika and Juno Madan, Edward Nelson, William C. and Joyce C. O’Neil Charitable Fund – Hollis Russell and John Crabill, Trustees Barry Osborn, Elizabeth and Douglas Paul, Carol and Nick Paumgarten, Ronald Shifton Donors Debra and Claudio Del Vecchio, Patricia and Hugh O’Kane, Patricia Petersen, Helen and Robert Pilkington Eileen and Thomas Pulling, Hope and John Reese, Cynthia and James Stebbins, Silda Wall Spitzer
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Climate Change and Its Impact on Bird Migration Lecture Featuring Scott Weidensaul
Climate Change and Its Impact on Bird Migration Lecture featuring Scott Weidendsaul The Land Alliance hosted a special presentation featuring Scott Weidensaul – worldrenowned lecturer, bird author and photographer on Friday, October 7, 2016 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at The Hoffman Center Nature Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary in East Norwich. Weidensaul (pronounced “Why-densaul”) discussed Climate Change and Its Impact on Bird Migration. Scott Weidensaul is a skilled presenter and one of the most sought-after speakers in the country on conservation and nature. He is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Bird Migration and Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul. His latest book, published in 2015, is the Petersen Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon magazine and coordinates ornithological programs for Audubon’s historic Hog Island Camp on the coast of Maine. In addition to writing about wildlife, Weidensaul is an active field researcher whose work focuses on bird migration. He has lived almost all of his life among the long ridges and endless valleys of eastern Pennsylvania, in the heart of the central Appalachians, a landscape that has defined much of his work and where he studies the migration of hawks, owls and hummingbirds. Weidensaul co-directs Project Owlnet, a cooperative network for more than 125 owl-banding sites across North America, and Project SNOWstorm, which tracks the movements of snowy owls. Thank you to our generous sponsors The event was co-sponsored by The Hoffman Center, The North Shore Land Alliance, The Nature Conservancy on Long Island, Volunteers for Wildlife, North Country Garden Club and the Theodore Roosevelt Audubon Sanctuary.
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Land Conservation & Financial Strategies Lecture featuring Stephen J. Small
Updates on Land Conservation & Financial Strategies for Professionals and Landowners featuring Stephen J. Small The Enhanced Incentive for Conservation Easement Donations was made permanent by Congress at the end of 2015. This was a monumental victory for the conservation community. There will be no more doubt about the value of easement donations or whether the incentive would be renewed by Congress for a short term, retroactively or at all! With this news so timely and its potential impacts so great, the Land Alliance invited Stephen J. Small, Esq., the nation’s leading authority on private land protection options and strategies, to Long Island for two days of seminars. He was great! On May 11th, Mr. Small spoke to nearly 60 landowners and their advisors about preserving land, reducing taxes and protecting quality of life in our community. On May 12th, Mr. Small taught a three-hour seminar for approximately 80 lawyers, realtors, wealth advisors, appraisers, accountants and conservation professionals. His presentation included an extensive and technical review of land protection tools, financial strategies for landowners and a thorough explanation of how the tax benefits of land conservation can help landowners. Mr. Small, who has helped the Land Alliance twice before, is a tax attorney at his own firm in Boston, MA and an author of three books. More than 150,000 copies of his book, Preserving Family Lands, are in circulation. His most recent book, titled The Business of Open Space: What’s Next? provides a forward-thinking perspective on the future of land conservation. Before going into private practice, Mr. Small was an attorney-advisor in the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C., where he wrote the federal income tax regulations on conservation easements. He has been counsel to landowners and easement holders in 45 states on 400+ transactions. He has been involved in the protection of more than 1.5 million acres of land including serving as counsel on the largest conservation easement transaction to date. Steve has worked tirelessly to educate conservation practitioners throughout his professional career, delivering in excess of 400 speeches to date. In 2015 Steve Small received the Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award, the highest award bestowed in the conservation community, for setting a national standard for donations he continues to facilitate to this day. Conservation has been Steve Small’s professional life’s work and the land conservation community, including the Land Alliance, is in his debt. He has made a vast difference in America’s landscape. The Land Alliance is most grateful to The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation for underwriting Mr. Small’s appearance and Ursula and Bill Niarachis of the Hoffman Center for hosting our events.
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