2020 Quarter 3 Meeting
On Oct 1, carbon neutral households and businesses throughout Indiana got together for the first time ever. We played games, thanked everyone in our community, summarized our network's impact so far, looked ahead the next 6-12 months, did small group exercises, and announced The $50,000 Club:
Carbon Neutral Indiana on NPR's "All IN" Program
Matt Pelsor's All IN radio program explored recent climate legislation in Indiana (SB 368 / PD 3186). He invited State Senator Mark Stoops, Professor Jeff Dukes of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center, regenerative farmer Rick Clark, and Daniel Poynter Founder of Carbon Neutral Indiana.
It was broadcast to all NPR stations in Indiana on Sept 22, 2020. Listen to the recording online (mirror #1, mirror #2).
Our Third Purchase of Offsets
Each carbon offset has a unique serial number. That way, it can only be claimed by one person or organization against their carbon footprint. When they want to claim it, they "retire" it in a public database.
We purchased our third batch of offsets -- 132 offsets from the Afognak Forest Carbon Project. They were retired on Sept 14, 2020, and you can view the retirement record here.
Carbon Neutral Indiana to Present to State of Indiana's Study Committee (Sept 16, 2020)
UPDATE (9/18/20): See the recording of this hearing here.
UPDATE (9/22/20): See the discussion on all NPR stations in Indiana here.
On Wed, Sept 16 at 10:00 am EST, the Interim Study Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources will explore the following:
"Testimony on a mechanism by which corporations can voluntarily invest in conservation and reforestation of Indiana Forest land through the Benjamin Harrison Trust Fund or for promoting programs for agricultural soil health through 'carbon farming' funds administered by the Department of Agriculture, in order to achieve a corporation's carbon footprint goals."
Watch the hearing by livestream:
- Go to the Indiana General Assembly website: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2020/session/senate_video_archive/#
- In menu on the left, click "Senate Chamber"
Learn more about Indiana Senate Bill 368, see the meeting agenda, read documents and PowerPoints shared at the hearing, and explore the draft legislation.
Below, from left to right: Mary Bookwalter, Jeff Stant, State Senator Mark Stoops, Rae Schnapp PhD, Daniel Poynter, Tim Maloney.
Save the Date - CNI to Present at Bloomberg Midwest Climate Summit (Nov 6, 2020)
UPDATE (11/27/20): See the recording of this hearing here.
Carbon Neutral Indiana was invited to present at the upcoming Midwest Climate Summit on Nov 6, 2020:
"If the 12 states that comprise the Midwest were a country, they would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitting nation on the planet.
On average, Midwest states lag behind the rest of the country on energy efficiency, de-carbonization of the electric sector, transportation electrification, and green building. At the same time, the Midwest is home to states, cities, businesses, institutions, and organizations that are national climate leaders and can serve as models and partners for other Midwest entities to increase ambition and action.
The Midwest has the potential to play an outsized role in the coming critical decade by lowering emissions, creating a thriving green economy, and ensuring a just and equitable transition that does not leave any of our rural, suburban, urban, and indigenous communities behind."
More information below the fold.
Presentation to Bloomington's Sustainability Council
Thank you to Lauren Travis and Joseph Neukam for the invitation to share at their meeting. See full outline, including linked resources, below the fold.
Read moreVisualization of Website Traffic
The Carbon Neutral Indiana network is growing quickly. Our team experiments with visualizations to help show this growth. Below is an experiment showing our website traffic throughout the state.
Anonymous Testimonial
A carbon neutral household emailed this to us. We asked if we could anonymize it and post it:
"You were generous to respond with such detailed info last week when I expressed my hesitation about CNI, I wanted to let you know that I am happy about our decision as a household.
I found your responses very helpful, particularly the Team link on the CNI homepage and the new pages and links to CNI from the IFA website. You are doing everything right and then some, and I hope you don't quit.
Indiana needs you, and people like [my partner] and I would shrivel up and die (or more likely move to a new state) if there weren't people like you and organizations like yours here.
PS One of the many things I've noticed you do well, better than any .org I've seen, is to quantify, promote and communicate CNI's progress towards objectives and its lasting impact. I have learned a lot just seeing how you operate." -Anonymous Carbon Neutral Household
Op-ed in Indy Star Sunday Edition
100 Neutral Households in Michigan City?
We're writing a grant with the Michigan City Sustainability Commission. The grant would provide scholarships to low income families to become carbon neutral. In the video (at 28:40) they discuss and approve a goal of helping 100 households become carbon neutral in their city. Now it's time to win the grant!