From: Trish Spencer
To: Lara Weisiger
Subject: Fwd: [EXTERNAL] Protect our planet and vote NO on marine geoengineering Date: Monday, June 3, 2024 1:59:02 PM
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chris Rutherford <[email protected]>
Date: Jun 3, 2024 1:46 PM
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Protect our planet and vote NO on marine geoengineering To: Trish Spencer <[email protected]>
Cc:
Jun 3, 2024
Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer
Dear Councilmember Herrera Spencer,
I'm writing to you to ask you to prevent the highly contentious geoengineering experiment planned for the Bay Area from going ahead, when you meet to discuss the proposal on 4 June.
The experiment aims to test technology that would advance Marine Cloud Brightening -- a form of solar radiation modification that involves spraying saltwater particles into the air to thicken or brighten clouds, theoretically increasing their reflectivity and partially blocking the sun's rays.
Deploying Marine Cloud Brightening at scale would bring a host of new environmental and social impacts, potentially putting billions of peoples' human rights at risk. Like all geoengineering techniques, it is impossible to test for its intended climate impact without large-scale deployment, which would lock in any harmful consequences.
Small-scale experiments like this one therefore tend to serve as technology development.
Deployed at scale, Marine Cloud Brightening would not reverse the climate crisis but create a different climate change potentially exacerbating droughts, hurricanes, and flooding far from the deployment site. It would also result in increased and uncontrollable salt deposition on land and in waterways, corroding infrastructure and harming agriculture, while the use of huge volumes of seawater would kill substantial marine life with cascading impacts on ocean food chains, fisheries, and coastal communities.
While this is a local decision, it has far reaching consequences since the experiment risks legitimizing this highly speculative and harmful technology and everyone on the planet could be affected by large scale deployment.
You may already be aware that governments around the world have agreed to a global moratorium on geoengineering and are moving to introduce more restrictive regulations for marine geoengineering. Many civil society organizations around the world have called for an end to marine geoengineering experiments.
https://www.geoengineeringmonitor.org/2024/05/marine-geoegineering-statement/ As a citizen of California, I strongly urge you to consider the wider consequences of this project when you discuss the matter on June 4, and do the right thing by acting to ensure the experiment cannot go ahead.
Sincerely,
Mr. Chris Rutherford
1753 Park St
Livermore, CA 94551-2843
(510) 648-7838
[email protected]
From: Kelly Wanser
To: CityCouncil-List; Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
Cc: Tony Daysog; Tracy Jensen; Trish Spencer; Malia Vella; Jennifer Ott; Abby Thorne-Lyman; Alesia Strauch; Alexandra Reeves; Sarah J. Doherty; Laura Fies
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Agenda item 7-B of the June 4th City Council meeting: CAARE Program Engagement Overview Date: Monday, June 3, 2024 4:18:39 PM
Attachments: CAARE Engagement Overview-3.pdf
Dear Mayor Ashcraft, Alameda City Council Members and Staff, We are writing to share an overview of proposed exhibit, education and engagement activities for the CAARE program at the USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum.
We appreciate the remarkable opportunity that the unique environment of the Hornet and the vibrant community of Alameda offer for engaging many ages and types of people with both historical and new ways of studying the climate and atmosphere.
Kind regards,
Kelly Wanser
Executive Director, SilverLining
Senior Advisor, University of Washington MCB Program
Sarah Doherty
Sr. Research Scientist
Program Director, MCB Program
University of Washington
Alexandra Reeves
CAARE Local Coordinator
SilverLining
CAARE at the USS Hornet
Sea, Air and Space
Museum:
Engagement
Possibilities Overview
June 3, 2024
Alexandra Reeves, CAARE Local Coordinator, SilverLining Kelly Wanser, Executive Director, SilverLining
Sarah Doherty, Program Director, University of Washington MCB Program
Table of Contents
Introduction 2
1. Museum Exhibit 2
2. Educational Experiences and Opportunities 6
3. Field Trips 9
4. Community Engagement Events 11
4. Expert Visits and Workshops 12
1 Introduction
The Coastal Atmospheric Aerosol Research and Engagement CAARE Facility aboard the USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum is a program with two key elements: 1 scientific research on the atmosphere and 2 community engagement and education efforts. The CAARE team chose the Hornet as the location for the program due to its unique ability to support both missions.
As a Smithsonian Affiliate with a mission to utilize the USS Hornet and its collections, exhibitions and educational programming to promote awareness and understanding of history, science, technology, and service, the USS Hornet Museum provides an incredible opportunity to engage with students, educators, and community members. For the CAARE effort, it is highly valuable to leverage the Hornet Museum’s highly engaged network of students, educators, youth organizations, visitors, volunteers, and collaborators, and we hope to provide mutual value to their organization through high-quality educational and engagement offerings and the unique opportunity to engage with critical climate research and the world-class scientists who comprise the CAARE team.
The research at the CAARE Facility has also drawn interest from scientists, government officials, Indigenous leaders, youth organizations and members of the public from California and around the world. The unique opportunity to help people engage more directly with advanced climate research with implications for society creates many opportunities for educational experiences and events.
1. Museum Exhibit
The USS Hornet Museum is a spectacular example of an in situ museum experience, where visitors are able to experience the retired aircraft carrier in its original form, augmented and extended by educational exhibits. The CAARE team has deep respect for the Hornet Museum experience and is in the process of crafting a similarly intentioned exhibit, wherein visitors are able to visit the working research elements of the CAARE facility, and engage with educational materials to further their understanding of not only the CAARE research, but of climate change and climate science more broadly. They also can experience what 2 it’s like to be a climate researcher, and engage with the tools and instruments of climate research in a field research setting.
Flight Deck Experiences
The CAARE team developed the beginnings of our Coastal Atmospheric Aerosol Research and Engagement exhibit around the research installation on the Flight deck, beginning with a panel installation describing the real-world relevance, scientific context, and importance of engagement in these studies. This first panel is seen below, installed on the side of a storage container on the flight deck.
Program Director, Dr. Sarah Doherty, with youth climate leader Joshua Amponsem, in front of the CAARE education panel installed on the Hornet Flight Deck. 3 The CAARE education panel installed on the Hornet Flight Deck.
This panel is the first element of a planned, more extensive exhibit of installations across the Flight Deck, including both large panels and signage on instrument stations and on the Cloud Aerosol Research Instrument