Lancaster community gathers to tackle climate change - WGAL Susquehanna Valley Pa.
Lancaster community gathers to tackle climate change
See how Hamilton Park Climate Action Neighborhood suggested ways community members can start reducing their carbon footprint
A community is taking action on climate change in Lancaster.
Hamilton Park Climate Action Neighborhood hosted a gathering where community members learned ways to start reducing their carbon footprint.
This happened all while guests were accompanied with fun, including enjoying desserts, a Tesla display and learning tables on carbon reduction tips.
"We need people," Hamilton Park Climate Action Neighborhood Member Kate Lutz said. "We need all of us to really look at climate and take action."
RegenAll, a Lancaster-based organization implementing measurable C02 reduction programs locally, helped put together Saturday's event.
Founding member Joyce Burkholder believes this neighborhood approach is impactful to the cause.
"We need to be addressing land use," Burkholder said. "We need to be addressing water, we need to be addressing transportation, we need to be addressing everything that impacts our climate environment."
She said ways people can start doing this is by recycling plastic waste, like water bottles, reducing driving if possible, investing in an electric vehicle, and being cautious of the food they're eating.
"What you eat matters," Burkholder said. "Where it comes from...what emissions were created in production of that food. Eat locally... move as much as you can to a plant-based diet."
If you'd like to learn more about ways you can reduce your carbon footprint with the group, they meet every first Monday of the month at the Hamilton Park Church from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”