15 Minute Presentation Outline:

Intro: Introduce yourself, your training with the CM program and a sentence about your other
life to warm up the group.

I. Climate Change Overview (Share just A &B, or if time permits, C as well)

A. Climate Change 101: We have a carbon (dioxide) overload problem in the atmosphere.
This overload is causing increasing global temperatures that are leading our climate to
change so rapidly that species – including our own – will not be able to keep up with the
changes. Many scientists now think that it’s unlikely we can stick below the 2ºC
temperature increase (from pre-industrial times) deemed a safe threshold for preventing
runaway climate change and catastrophic impact.
B. This points to the need to not just reduce emissions immediately, as the cuts we make in
the next few years are the most important, but also to prepare for the likely impacts of
climate change.
C. Here’s a little more detail:
a. Greenhouse gases are increasing in the atmosphere: Since pre-industrial times, carbon
dioxide (CO2) concentrations have increased by 35% and methane concentrations
have doubled.
b. The rapid increase of these gases in the atmosphere is caused by humans – largely
from burning fossil fuels (gas, oil, natural gas); but also from agriculture,
manufacturing and changes in land use patterns – clearing forests for development.
c. These and other greenhouse gases absorb and radiate heat back to the earth’s surface,
acting like a heat trapping blanket that is growing thicker and thicker.
d. The result is an increase of global average temperatures of about 2ºF since pre-
industrial times, with temperatures expected to increase by about 4-8ºF as CO2
concentrations double in the atmosphere (maybe by the end of the century).
i. These numbers are deceptively small, as the planet reacts strongly to a
disturbance in the atmosphere’s delicate equilibrium.
ii. The scientific community calls 2ºC the threshold we should stay below in order to
avoid catastrophic and runaway climate change (like sea level rise that we can do
nothing to stop). Europe has already adopted 2ºC as a target.
iii. But, because greenhouse gases persist in the atmosphere for many years, we have
some level of warming built into the system already. Some scientists think it’s no
longer realistic that we can stay below 2ºC. If this is the case, we must not just
work to reduce our emissions, but also prepare for the projected impacts.

D. Impacts:
a. Locally, in the Upper Willamette Basin1:
i. Annual average temperatures are likely to increase from 2 to 4ºF (1 to 2ºC) by
around 2040 and an additional 6 to 8ºF (3 to 4ºC) by around 2080.

1See Climate Leadership Initiative’s March, 2009 report for more info: “Preparing for Climate
Change in the Upper Willamette River Basin of Western Oregon.”
http://climlead.uoregon.edu/publicationspress/publicationspress.html
 ii. Snowpack across the Pacific Northwest is likely to decline by 60% by 2040 and
80-90% by 2095 from current levels.
iii. With warmer oceans and more available moisture in the atmosphere, storm events
could increase in intensity, resulting in more flooding in all rivers in the Basin.
b. Fires in CA and droughts in the south are in line with expected changes in climate
c. Forest fires in the Pacific Northwest expected to increase by fifty percent by 2020 and
could emerge as the region’s natural disasters to rival the hurricanes of the Southeast.
d. Scientists are shocked by how quickly arctic sea ice is melting:
i. Last year (2008) summertime ice was predicted to be gone by 2030 – now some
are saying it could come even sooner, within the next 5 years even.
e. The lowest country in the world, Tuvalu, in the Pacific, is only five metres above sea
level at its highest point and along with other Pacific islands is at risk of being wiped
from the map completely.
f. Show pics for World Heritage Sites in danger if using Powerpoint
i. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2007/apr/12/1?
picture=329775674

C. Climate Risks
Climate change poses serious threats to our human and natural systems due to rising
temperatures, extreme heat events, droughts and storms, shrinking snowpack and water
resources, reduced stream flows, agriculture and forest resources, and rising sea levels.
Ask group: What additional impacts do a shrinking snowpack and water supply mean
for us locally?
Response: Impacts to hydro, salmon, agriculture, drinking water supply.

E. We Can Solve This Problem!

a. In the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 report they write that we
have the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the levels needed (at least 80%
for developed nations) with existing and emerging technology, and with known
behavior changes and policy tools.

F. Individual Responsibility and Opportunity

• While we often associate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the transportation and
energy sectors, individuals are the end-users of most energy production and the source of
most greenhouse gas emissions via home energy use, food, travel, and embodied energy
in products that households purchase.
• The scientific community believes that emission reductions in the next few years are
crucial, as GHGs released now will persist for decades in the atmosphere. Policy and
future technology will do little to help us reduce emissions in that timeframe, while
behavior change (including the adoption of existing technology) can lead to major and
immediate emission reductions! We can achieve a great deal of the reductions we need
with existing technology and known behavior changes.
• Because individuals can quickly and easily change their behaviors without waiting for
changes in policy or technology, potential exists for tremendous impact as our actions
collectively reduce emissions. Moreover, citizen involvement builds demand for low-
emission products, services and policy.
 I. How You Make a Difference:
A. Personal Carbon/Climate Footprint
In the United States, annual greenhouse gas emissions are about 20 tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per person. The Oregon per capita average is closer to 17 tons
CO2e per year. The Eugene per capita greenhouse gas emissions, as calculated by the
City of Eugene, amount to 8.6 metric tons of CO2e.i However, the Oregon and Eugene
numbers do not reflect the emissions associated with freeway travel, air travel, and those
emissions associated with the production of food and other goods brought in from other
communities and consumed here. Therefore, at CLI we have created the profile of a
“typical” Eugene household, which includes a broader scope of personal emissions than
does a standard community-level greenhouse gas inventory.

A resident in this typical Eugene household is responsible for the emission of 13.8
tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. This person heats with natural gas and drives a Honda
Accord for 12,000 miles a year. He or she takes one round trip flight to Santa Fe, New
Mexico each year to soak up some extra sunshine.

II. What You Can Do to Reduce Your Emissions

A. Understand where they come from and act to reduce them
a. Major sources: transportation, consumption (including food choices), home energy
b. The majority of our typical resident’s 13.8 tons of greenhouse gas emissions derive
from transportation. The emissions embodied in food and other consumption are
difficult to accurately calculate, but we conservatively estimate that they could
amount to 5.5 tons per person per year. Most of the emissions from home energy use
for this resident, living in a 2 person household, derive from the natural gas they use,
rather than the electricity (because EWEB and SUB provide relatively clean
electricity, with a large percentage of no-emissions hydropower). Of their home
emissions, the majority are from space heating, then lighting and appliances, followed
by water heating.
c. (There are still many emissions sources not included in our calculations, such as those
embodied in existing buildings we live in, in petroleum based pesticides and
fertilizers we use in our yards that cause the soil to release nitrous oxide, and the
emissions from waste decomposing in landfills (excluded because about 80% of
methane is captured for creating electricity at Short Mountain Landfill).)

B. The key strategies for reducing emissions at the individual level are below. I’ll also be
asking you some “Myth Buster” questions, and I’ll ask for a show of hands to get your
opinions.
a. Transportation: Drive less!
o Walk, bike, ride the bus, carpool
o Contact Commuter Solutions for carpool database, business bus passes, Smart Ways
to School program, emergency ride home program (for those in carpools) - (541)682-
6100 or commutersolutions@ltd.org
o Call 687-5555 to get a bus route scheduled for you.
o Check out bike map on City website – or get from us.
o Question to group: What is a more efficient means of getting from here to San
Francisco – flying or driving?
o Answer: Trick question! It depends on the vehicle and on how many people are in the
vehicle. (see graph below and use slide if doing PPT). Flying is more efficient than a
single driver in an SUV or inefficient vehicle. Carpooling is more efficient than
flying. Taking the train or bus is even better (although time consuming on our current
system). Better yet, try to avoid the trip by videoconferencing, combining trips, or
cutting out inessential travel.

http://www.sightline.org/maps/charts/climate-CO2byMode/?
searchterm=transportation%20emissions

b. Consumption: Embodied emissions in products and food. (Show shoe slide, if using
PPT)
o When you’re shopping, consider the energy (and emissions) associated with the full
lifecycle of products, and ask yourself if you really need to buy whatever you’re
considering. If so, can you buy an energy efficient product, a durable and/or used
item, a repairable item?
o Lifecycle emissions come from:
 Resource extraction (mining, drilling, growing)
 Production and manufacturing (energy)
 Packaging and waste that happens along the way
 Transportation all along the way (including to your home)
 Energy used by the product, to cook the food, to refrigerate during transportation,
to power the tv, etc.
 Disposal: landfills emit methane, a GHG 23 times more potent than carbon
dioxide.
o For example, the entire production process of a pair of Patagonia shoes uses as much
energy as an 18 kW lightbulb burning for 49 days straight, day and night and releases
nearly 50 lbs of carbon dioxide.
o Question to group: Are “food miles” the most important factor to consider if you
want to reduce the climate impact of your food choices?
o Answer: When it comes to food, some recent research has clarified the importance of
transportation. (Only share info in parenthases if they’re ready for this level of detail)
 It turns out that transportation all along the food chain accounts for only 11% of
the greenhouse gases associated with food. (4% total is the transportation between
farm and retailer, the other 7% is from transportation of resources to the farm
 (fertilizers, tractors, etc. and all the transportation involved in producing those
goods))
 The vast majority is from production (83%), (including methane associated with
livestock and)
 You can have the same impact in terms of reducing your food related emissions
by shifting to non red-meat and dairy protein sources one day a week as you can
by eating only local foods. (This is because of the large amount of production that
goes to feeds for livestock and because of the methane released from cows
belching and from their manure)

c. Home energy: Electricity and Natural Gas – Reduce your use! (show home
energy slide, if using PowerPoint)
o Here, electricity is smaller slice of the pie thanks to EWEB’s clean energy mix. But,
we’re part of a regional grid, so hydropower you avoid using can bump out the
natural gas or coal that’s flowing into the grid for use by someone else is using in the
region.
o Natural gas can be efficient (like on-demand water heaters), but is still a fossil fuel
that *in Eugene* typically results in higher emissions than electricity. In other parts of
the country, natural gas is often cleaner than electricity because of all the coal fired
power plants.
o Major efficiency measures (somewhat in order of impact, depending on personal
situation): See checklist.
 Investments: add insulation, solar hot water, upgrade heating system to ductless or
ducted heat pump, double or triple paned windows, replacing all your lights with
compact fluorescents, energy efficient refrigerator.
• Most of these actions are eligible for interest free loans or rebates from
EWEB, state and federal tax credits and rebates. Check in with your local
utility for more information.
 Behaviors: turning down water heater to 120, powering off and unplugging
appliances and lights when not in use, turning heat down a couple degrees/AC up.
o Question to group: Is it more efficient to turn your heat down at night and while
you’re gone, or to leave it on so you don’t lose energy in the ramp up?
 Answer: It’s most efficient to turn down the heat while you’re gone or asleep.
The same amount of energy is saved while the temperature is dropping as is used
while the temperature is going back up. That means that all the time in-between is
energy – and money – saved. You can cut your heating bill dramatically by
turning down the heat 10 degrees during the day and at night.

C. Change Behavior and Way of Thinking –

a. Take one step at a time.
b. Choose a behavior you want to change, consider all the positive aspects of changing
that behavior, make a plan and a commitment to change.
c. Once you’ve already started changing a behavior, like riding the bus, carpooling or
biking to work now and then, work on overcoming the obstacles. Reward yourself for
following through on your plan. (I gave myself a good chocolate bar or an extra hour
in garden if I remembered to turn off the hot water heater at night at the breaker for a
 week straight, until it became habit. Share a personal story of rewarding yourself if
you have one).

III. Our Household Outreach Programs: Climate Masters (CM)

• CM began as a research project of the University of Oregon Climate Leadership Initiative
• CLI is a research, education and technical assistance organization at the UO Institute for a
Sustainable Environment.
• The program is now taking off around Oregon and is beginning to spread nationally.
• There will be a program in the fall, but we’re not sure who will be running the program.
B. CM has different levels of involvement to meet people’s level of interest
• Climate Master class – 30 hours free training on emission reduction strategies, 30 hours
volunteer edu and outreach
• Household consultations – home visit to tailor plan for reducing emissions in the home,
transportation, food and consumption choices and yard.
• You can talk to Climate Masters when they’re tabling at events or doing other kinds of
outreach.
C. The Climate Leadership is currently piloting Climate Masters at Work for businesses
and developing curriculum for use in middle schools.
D. Contact climlead@uoregon.edu if you’re interested in receiving a household
consultation or taking part in the next Climate Master training.
iThe per capita numbers for Eugene are significantly lower than the nationwide average because we rely on hydropower for
so much of our electricity. The production of electricity from hydropower does not release greenhouse gases, as does
electricity production from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.