[Sustainability-listserv-f] FW: Urgent - need your help - please do this before 2pm

[Michael Dawson]

Dear sustainability colleagues,

Please see below.  If you have a few minutes to write, it will help raise awareness of the need for more action sooner.
Given you are the experts, please amend messaging per your understanding of the situation.
https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/jan22.html

-Mike



From: Adam Aron <adamaron at ucsd.edu>
Date: Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 2:21 PM
Subject: Urgent - need your help - please do this before 2pm TOMORROW

Dear All,

The Regents are meeting and if a bunch of people send in comments, and ask to speak by phone it is impactful.


1. Please email the Regents right now:

regentsoffice at ucop.edu<mailto:regentsoffice at ucop.edu>
Subject heading: Written Public Comment - Agenda Item B4 Discussion: Annual Report on Sustainable Practice

Use the text below, maybe make a few changes to put things in your own words [e.g. the part in bold]

Add your name here to let us know you did it: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fd9r6uLMD2aOCwU-zK6VhAhTbIK4mgpO8Jotf0J1WRw/edit#gid=798655159

2. Send this to 10 people you know

We need 40 to 50 people at least to make an impact

3. ADDITIONAL if you are free in the mornings. Ask to make a phone comment, instructions are here: bit.ly/RegentsJan2022<http://bit.ly/RegentsJan2022>

******************


Dear Regents,

I am writing to give public comment regarding the Agenda Item B4 Discussion: Annual Report on Sustainable Practices. As a faculty member deeply concerned about the prospect of climate breakdown I want my institution to immediately make plans to stop with fossil fuel combustion.

Despite the UC having declared a climate emergency in 2019, the UC’s emissions of approximately 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year, mostly from the burning of fracked methane gas, have not decreased in the past 10 years<https://electrifyuc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3-colors.png>! It concerns me that the UC is relying on carbon offsets to reach its goal to be carbon neutral by 2025, rather than making actual emission reductions. As a leading academic institution and one of the largest employers in California, the UC has a moral and intellectual obligation to decrease its own carbon emissions to help address the climate crisis.

I urge you, the Regents, and President Drake to:

- make plans now to stop fossil combustion on our campuses, to aim for carbon zero, instead of employing dubious carbon offset schemes. The issues, and an alternative vision of electrifying our campuses, is laid out in the documentary film, Coming Clean: A Demand for a Fossil Free UC<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N_dq9J7mDY>.
- make use now of the extra state funds allocated to the UC’s 2022 budget to pay for “shovel-ready” electrification plans for all 10 UC campuses.

Sincerely ….


************

Honorable Regents of the University of California,

In 2019, the UC declared a climate emergency. Researchers at our UC campuses have been raising the alarm about burning fossil fuels for decades. Yet, the UC continues to burn fracked methane to power its ten campuses, producing ~1 million metric tons of CO2 per year. Emissions have not decreased over the past ten years.

As an alumnus and staff member of the University of California, I strongly encourage the Regents and President Drake to:

  *   Prioritize climate justice in all decisions.
  *   Expedite the transition to clean renewable energy and phase out use of fossil fuels.
  *   Reject the goal of carbon neutrality (based on dubious carbon offsets) and adopt the goal of “fossil-free.”
  *   Create actionable milestones and accountability measures—during this critical decade—to electrify the UC campuses.
  *   Produce “shovel-ready” plans to electrify our campuses to make best use of state and federal funding for real climate justice.
  *   Watch the documentary film Coming Clean: A Demand for a Fossil Free UC<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N_dq9J7mDY>.
  *   Make the University of California a true global leader for climate justice.

In solidarity for real climate justice,
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