February 2024

As record temperatures continue into 2024 after the hottest year on record, there’s no time to waste in phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning to cleaner, renewable energy. The Arlington County Board started the year strong by supporting the purchase of additional battery buses and will face many decisions in the coming year to make Arlington a leader in climate action. Advocacy and individual actions combined can put Arlington on the path to a sustainable and prosperous future.

Let's Make 2024 the Year of Climate Action in Arlington

The County Board started the year on a positive note, advancing the transition of ART buses from polluting fossil-gas buses to zero emission battery electric buses with an agreement to order 8 battery electric buses and foregoing a proposed hydrogen bus pilot. Our letters and advocacy helped make this possible. Decarbonizing our transit fleet is only one of many decisions needed to accelerate action to address the climate crisis, and continued bold leadership by the County Board will be critical to advance a whole-of-government and whole-of-community approach to advance climate solutions.

Please write to the County Board members at countyboard@arlingtonva.us thanking them for their leadership advancing the transition of ART buses to battery electric buses and urging them to make climate action a priority for 2024 and beyond (see sample letter).

Sample letter to send to the Arlington County Board

Arlington 2050: Send a Postcard from the Future

Arlington County has just launched Arlington 2050: Envisioning Tomorrow Together, a year-long initiative to engage neighbors across Arlington on what the County should look like by the year 2050 and what challenges the County, and its residents, must address. You can be part of this effort by writing a postcard sharing your vision of Arlington as a sustainable Community that embraces key climate solutions that can make Arlington resilient, diverse, and flourishing.

Send a Postcard

Come Discuss Climate Priorities with County Board Member Takis Karantonis

Come join EcoAction Arlington’s Advocacy Committee and R4 Action Group on March 6 at 6:30 p.m. We will begin with a social where you can learn how to become a climate advocate with EcoAction Arlington. At 7:00pm, we will discuss climate priorities and advocacy opportunities with County Board Member Takis Karatonis. Registration required for the Zoom link.

Click here to watch the video on How to Save Energy Around The House

What You Can Do: Saving Energy and Money at Home

Energy not used is an important step in phasing out fossil fuels. There are many simple actions homeowners and renters can do to reduce their energy consumption and save on their utility bills from switching to LED lights, adjusting the thermostat or installing a smart thermostat, reducing water use, and unplugging appliances when not in use. You can watch a video that offers a number of tips here.

For more tips on saving energy, check out Virginia Energy Sense. Rewiring America also offers resources to help homeowners and renters electrify their homes.

What We're Reading: We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins At Breakfast, by Jonathan Safran Foer

Our food systems are the primary driver behind global deforestation and the leading source of methane emissions. If you're reading this newsletter, there's a good chance you already know this. But Foer's book is about more than just how agriculture is destroying the planet. He digs into what it really means to believe in climate change.

We Are the Weather is available at Arlington County Libraries or you can buy a secondhand copy at Thriftbooks.com.

"Changing how we eat will not be enough, on its own, to save the planet, but we cannot save the planet without changing how we eat.”

Jonathan Safran Foer

Zero Carbon Buildings Webinar

In case you missed our recent webinar on Zero Carbon Buildings, you can watch it here.

The EcoAdvocate is compiled by the EcoAct ion Arlington Advocacy Committee

EcoAction Arlington | Elenor Hodges, Executive Director | 703-228-6427 | volunteer@ecoactionarlington.org | ecoactionarlington .org

Support EcoAction Arlington

EcoAction Arlington's mission is to educate, advocate, and act to create a sustainable community by improving our natural environment, encouraging environmentally-friendly behaviors, ensuring environmental justice, and addressing the climate crisis.The EcoAction Advocacy Committee engages in public discussion and promotes civic engagement among its members to influence government action to support its mission. EcoAction Arlington is a non-profit and non-partisan organization.

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