Overwhelmed by the thought of climate change? Want to do your part, but don’t know where to start?
A seat is awaiting you at the table of the Lakeshore Climate Action Network. This is a new initiative by two West Michigan groups – West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) and the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter – to bring together people and community groups along the West Michigan lakeshore interested in climate change, to amplify their local clean energy projects.
What’s the best and easiest way to explain climate change? It’s the result of many natural and human activities, one of the largest contributors being over a hundred years of burning of fossil fuels – coal and gas for example — and these emissions getting trapped in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect, warming the planet. The temperature of earth’s surface is a very delicate balance that makes it a life sustaining planet, but a rise in global temperature can be very harmful. In recent years scientists have discovered that the global climate has been changing at an alarming rate, challenging for humans and other species to adapt to.
There are many impacts from this warming, including extra moisture in the air that can result in heavy rain or snow events – such as the recent snowstorm on Halloween for many lakeshore communities. But it is important to distinguish between weather and climate. The changes in temperature from month to month and even year to year are known as the weather, which is much different than climate. Climate is the average temperature and weather patterns over many years. A simple way to think of it is that the climate where you live tells you which types of clothes you need in your closet, while weather tells you what type of clothing you should wear each day.
The Lakeshore Climate Action Network, with members from northern Muskegon County down to Holland, has been gathering regularly since 2021. It’s a way for people to share events and projects, network with others, and participate in discussions and training sessions to help find and improve upon ways to take positive actions.
One lakeshore group, SolarUp!, received assistance with their new effort, where homeowners with installed solar panels and their contractors presented their experience at virtual meetings up and down the lakeshore and interested attendees could get discounts on group buys. “We are glad to have supported the formation of this network to assist efforts like ours and others” said Peter Boogart, a co-leader of the Holland-based group, “and we were glad to be able to host several Solar Up events north of us with the help of its members!” Other participants include Grand Haven Energy and the White Lake Area Climate Action Council. Some members of the new lakeshore group are already actively planning the annual Lakeshore Earth Day Celebration, to be held in Grand Haven in April 2024.
If you are inspired by this work and passionate about sustaining the beautiful place we live in, please consider joining us! Not only does the group invite individuals and/or organizations working on projects along the lakeshore, it is also a welcoming place to learn about climate change and clean energy solutions. The next meeting is December 13,1 to 3 pm, at the Loutit District Library in Grand Haven.
For more information or to join the upcoming meeting, contact Tanya Cabala, WMEAC’s lakeshore outreach organizer at tcabala@wmeac.org or (231) 798-05196 or Jan O’Connell, senior energy issues organizer for the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club at jan.oconnell@sierraclub.org or (616) 956-6646.
