On a sunny evening last Friday, more than 1,000 people gathered in the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin (photo above) to hear one of the world’s foremost climate communicators, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, talk climate change along with an esteemed panel of scientists. Yep, that’s right — 1,000 people, stretched for multiple city blocks while waiting in line for tickets, all to attend a climate change discussion in the heart Texas. CCL helped partner with UT’s Energy Institute to help get the word out about the event and hosted a lively social next door afterwards where hundreds of new volunteers learned about CCL’s approach.

The next day, over 150 volunteers from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi gathered for the fourth annual Third Coast Regional Conference at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

The keynote presentation was given by Colin Powell’s former chief of staff, Ret. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, who laid out a powerful connection to national security interests. “For us in the military, this business of sea level rise is huge,” Wilkerson said. “Undoubtedly, climate change is the preeminent challenge of the 21st century.”

Overall, the conference brought Texans of all political stripes together to discuss the challenges posed by climate change. “There’s a growing amount of energy right now around engaging such a critical issue,” said Brett Cease, the Lone Star conference organizer. “This weekend’s conference in Texas was focused on positive, non-partisan solutions and what we as citizens can do about it.”

Diogo Castro Freire, the documentary filmmaker who created Facing the Surge about sea level rise in Norfolk, VA, is starting his next episode in the Adaptation Now project. You might recall that Facing the Surge premiered at our 2016 Citizens’ Climate International Conference & Lobby Day and then proceeded to be shown in 62 screenings along the east coast of the U.S. More than 2,300 people attended those screenings, and 800 of them registered to be contacted by.

This first film was created in large part due to the support of the CCL volunteers in partnership with other civic-minded organizations, and as a result, 6 new CCL chapters were launched.

Diogo is now beginning the second film, Saving Snow. This second episode will “document how communities whose livelihoods depend on winter sports are coping with climate change.” Saving Snow will “celebrate the unexpected successes in the fight against climate change at the summit: towns powered 100% by renewable energy, the emergence of passionate and creative advocates, and businesses setting a new standard for corporate sustainability.”

Both films are a part of the Adaptation Now documentary project, which was created to “see how climate change already affects us today and how different communities are working to address this challenge.” If you’d like to learn more about his new episode Saving Snow, visit this page.

We’ve set a goal of 300 in-district congressional meetings with members of Congress during the Spring Lobby Drive. Our purpose is to continue building political will for the passage of Carbon Fee and Dividend. Our next two webinars on CC University will help prepare groups for those meetings.

This Thursday (Feb. 9) at 8 p.m. ET, join Citizen’s Climate Lobby’s Director of Operations Amy Bennett as she shares best practices and walks you through the process of scheduling a meeting with a member of Congress.

1. Join the video conference

2. Or, join by phone: 408-638-0968 or toll-free 877-369-0926 and enter meeting code 2017201717 when prompted.

The following Thursday (Feb. 16) at 8 p.m., join Citizen’s Climate Lobby’s Legislative and Research Director Danny Richter as he helps us prepare for our upcoming in-district lobby meetings.

1. Join the video conference

2. Or, join by phone: 408-638-0968 or toll-free 877-369-0926 and enter meeting code 2017201717 when prompted.