More than One Day: This Must Be the Decade of Climate Action
C3 Electrify Your Ride Event (pre-COVID)
Every April, we celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd. This is the day each year when we are all called upon to take care of our planet which sustains our lives and the natural world around us. At C3, we know that one day isn’t enough. Every day we are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a more sustainable future.
This is the decade where we will win or lose the battle to prevent the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. In just nine short years, it will be 2030 — the deadline scientists have given us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 45%. No matter the day, we all need to start taking action on climate, and C3 is here to help.
Taking Action Right at Home
You and your neighbors are taking action in schools, businesses, homes, and in our community. In just a few short months, the C3 team:
Delivered 1200 Classroom Climate Action Kits to 4th graders in Albemarle County and 5th graders in the City of Charlottesville. Along with hands-on learning about climate and energy, these kits direct families to energy efficiency programs that will reduce emissions and lower energy costs right at home.
Awarded $3,000 in energy efficiency grants to five income-qualifying minority businesses to help them reduce emissions with lighting upgrades, new appliances, and more. Visit the Soul Food Joint, Little Manilla, Loyal Beyond Beauty, and Row Services, Mixed Beauty Bar to support these climate leaders!
Unified nine cities and counties, representing more than one million Virginians, in support of state legislation to expand access to electric vehicles in Virginia.
Youth in Climate Event (pre-COVID)
Climate Leadership on the Horizon
I am also excited to share with you a few projects that we are launching in the next few months. We are currently working to:
Launch our Green Business Alliance of 16 local businesses representing 2,300 employees. In May this group will make a public commitment to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Uncover barriers to local transit expansion through focus groups and community surveys and highlight how robust public transit must be a core component of equitable climate policy. Look for our final report in June of 2021.
Pilot a Climate Justice Summer program in collaboration with the Conscious Capitalist Foundation and the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. Local youth will be discussing climate justice and energy burden, measuring ground surface temperatures, and creating a climate justice mural.
We Still Need Your Support
It’s up to us. ALL of us. We can’t leave this fight to our children. It will be too late. The demand for C3’s work is ever increasing. More and more people are ready to take action, and we need to make sure C3 is there to help them.
With a gift to C3, you are choosing climate action and not just on Earth Day. You will be helping to ensure that every day our community is moving forward together for a livable community and a safer future for all of us.
—Susan Kruse