Voting like our planet depends onit

The Wisconsin primary will be on Tuesday, April 7, but Minnesota is part of the Super Tuesday line up. Climate candidates must do well in early primary states to go into the later season and convention with strength.

Now is the time choose your climate candidate and get to work. You can help from home. Donate, phonebank, do data entry, write to friends and family about the importance of voting. You may also choose to hit the streets -  canvass to educate and inform and get out the vote. Visit any candidates website for sign up information.

If you haven't decided yet who to support, there are several rankings of candidates' climate policies and plans that might help.

* Greenpeace
* 350 Action
* Natural Resources Defense Council
* League of Conservation Voters
* Grist

Now is the time to jump in. Not only must we elevate a strong climate candidate, we must also motivate a record number of citizens, including those who often sit out elections, to vote in November.

Another Climate Strike

Search "climate strike" and you will find that the upcoming September 20 Global Climate Strike is but one in a string of such events going back for several years. That we've known about this for several decades and are only now taking steps to force change is maddening. That the US government and fossil fuel industries have know about this problem since the 1950s and said nothing about it, seems criminal.

But, here we are, one step closer to the bottomless pit and still fighting for more coverage than the Country Music Awards or Packer's training camp.

A group of La Crosse area activists is organizing one or more community wide events for the latest day of global climate strike, Friday, Setember 20.

Watch this space for more details on or about August 1. And vow to participate and make the it most important thing. Because it is the most important thing.

Third Annual Climate Action Fair!

Please join us on Saturday, March 3 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church (Main Street and Losey Boulevard, La Crosse) for the Coulee Region's third annual Climate Action Festival! Meet up with and learn about local groups working on climate-related issues. Share ideas and network to amplify our impact. Learn about political action we can take to encourage our elected officials to take action on climate change.

Breakout sessions will include information on how weatherizing your home can be a low cost tool with high payback, how to get started with climate-friendly landscaping, and what the Sierra Club's Ready for 100 program means for you. Tablers include the Wisconsin Bike Federation, Citizens Climate Lobby, CARS (Citizens Acting for Rail Safety), Friends of the Marsh, Coulee Region Ecoscapes, UW-L Students for Sustainability, La Crosse Area Transit Advocates, Full Circle Supply, Sierra Club, Smith's Bike Shop, Hillview Urban Agriculture, Pearl Street Books, The La Crosse Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee, The Sustainablity Institute, and Ethos Green Power.

Food, door prizes, networking, information, action... and more!

Please download and post the event flyer.

La Crosse Citizens Climate Lobby Meeting

When: July 11, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, 401 West Ave S, La Crosse

Please try to listen to the recording of the  July CCL National Call before the meeting. The call features Andrew Jones, Co-Founder of Climate Interactive, a top-rated climate change think tank that creates the simulations used in the United Nations negotiations. An expert on international climate and energy issues, his quotes and interactive data stories appear frequently in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other media.

Jones and his team at CI and MIT Sloan developed “C-ROADS”, the user-friendly climate simulation in use by thousands of climate analysts around the world. He teaches Systems Thinking and Sustainability at MIT and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

If you have any questions, please email lacrosseccl@gmail.com. For more information on CCL and their efforts, check out this article from The New York Times.

Public input on La Crosse biking

[cross posted at Coulee Region Sierra Club]

Public Input Sought for Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements on Avon Street

City to host workshop for potential neighborhood greenway along 1.7-mile corridor

(LA CROSSE, WIS. - May 18, 2017) – The City of La Crosse is looking for public input on a neighborhood beautification and improvement project to make Avon Street greener, more walkable, and more bicycle-friendly. Citizens identified this route for potential improvements as part of La Crosse’s 2012 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Those interested in learning more about this project and providing design guidance during the initial concept plan are invited to the public workshop:

Black River Beach Neighborhood Center (1433 Rose Street) in the Maplewood Room

Wednesday, May 24th at 5:30 pm

City planners and Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee will host this public workshop, providing background information about neighborhood greenways and the City’s bike plan. The workshop will consist of an open house display about the city and how other cities have implemented neighborhood greenways, followed by a visual preference survey. The workshop will wrap up with a presentation and interactive discussion about what steps may be taken next in the planning process.

The visual preference survey breaks down neighborhood greenways into their various elements, including pavement markings, speed humps, curb extensions, miniature traffic circles, traffic signals, refuge islands, or even partial roadway closures. The intent is to communicate how these measures can be implemented on a sliding scale depending on how much traffic speed or volume reductions would be desired by the community.

Workshop participants will be invited to review different treatments, vote for those they like, and identify potential locations for solutions. The materials from the public workshop will be made available on the City’s website, as well as opportunity for additional comments. City Planners will prepare a memorandum that summarizes the public workshop for approval by the Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

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For more information, please visit www.cityoflacrosse.org/neighborhood-greenways or contact Lewis Kuhlman at kuhlmanl@cityoflacrosse.org or 608-789-7361

Don't Forget These Upcoming Events!

With Earth Day just around the corner, environmental events are popping up all over the calendar! Here are just a few in our area:

- La Crosse Area March for Science: April 22, 10-12:00. This is a sister march with the main event happening in D.C. Meet at Weigent Park (intersection of Cass and 16th St.) and march downtown to Cameron Park (across from the co-op).
- Film screening of "Sustainable", fundraiser for Midwest Environmental Advocates: April 27, film starting at 6:30. This event is at the Cavalier Theater in downtown La Crosse. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or in advance here.
- People's Climate March: April 29, 11:00. Another local sister march to a bigger event happening in D.C., the event will start at Cameron Park, then head to Riverside Park and back. There will be speakers, songs, and chants along the way!
- Earth Fair (and Recycling Fair): April 30, 11:00-5:00. This annual event at Myrick Park includes vendors, kids activities, demonstrations, music, and door prizes. The Recycling Fair will take place nearby behind Emerson Elementary School, from 10:00-3:00.

Feedback Requested

If you attended our recent Climate Action Festival, we'd like to hear from you! Please fill out the brief survey here - it will take less than 5 minutes, we promise. 😊

Thanks to our fantastic tablers, presenters, and all who attended - you are all making a difference in this community and inspiring others to do the same!