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Undaunted, They Showed Up

Promise flower ceremony_crop.JPG — Promise flower ceremony at the SF Walk to End Alzheimer’s – November 10, 2018

Last Saturday I participated in my 19^th Walk to End Alzheimer’s in San Francisco, in honor and memory of my mom, Polly. I wrote about her on this blog a few months ago, as part of the content I provided for the Alzheimer’s Association Walk newsletter.

When the date for this year’s event was set for November 10th, my immediate concern was the possibility of rain. That occurred in 2013, the only time in my years with the Walk, which was pretty miserable – and it was only September! Besides fundraising, the goal is to get lots of folks out and be very visible in order to raise awareness, so good weather is key.

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A Scientist Circles Back to the Farm

DamNHyYUMAEAVSd — Dr. Arianne Cease and friend ©2018 Arizona State University, used with permission

Last month’s Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco offered a rich cornucopia of affiliate events across the Bay Area that were open to the public. I was fortunate to experience eight events over the course of the week, each one enlightening and hope-inducing.

One thought provoking discussion I attended was Women in Climate Action Leadership at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito, CA, co-sponsored by the church, The Asia Foundation, and the Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

There are ample reasons why women are uniquely qualified to lead when it comes to climate change adaptation. Panelists here spoke of the critical role women in developing nations play in the sourcing of food, fuel and clean water for their families, making them ideal leaders in the effort to conserve resources and practice adaptation. Also true is that cultural and societal norms often work against women’s ability to ‘own’ leadership; for example basic education for girls is poor or nonexistent in many such populations.

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What Happened at the Global Climate Action Summit?

Debrief panel Sept 2018 — Moderator Anya Deepak and panel members Laura Stachel, Lisa Craig Gautier, Shahira Esmail and Mary Creasman Source: © Alison Brown Photography

This piece was published by the Women’s Environmental Network in October, 2018. Please visit the group’s website to read more about its work.

Last month California Governor Jerry Brown hosted the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in San Francisco. Thousands of believers in the urgent need to address climate change traveled from near and far to participate in official GCAS sessions (open only to the credentialed, but live-streamed for all), hundreds of official “affiliate” events, and even more side events.

With so much to choose from, participants planned their daily schedules the way some people put together fantasy sports teams—very strategically. I know this because I was calculating how quickly I could speed walk between events of interest. Information overload alert!

That’s why I welcomed the Women’s Environmental Network GCAS debrief at San Francisco Department of the Environment on September 24th.

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