10:30 - 10:40
Introduction
Join the main zoom meeting and prepare yourself for a day of amazing environmental sessions!
10:40-11:00
Opening: Keynote Speaker
Aletta Brady will be our keynote speaker for the virtual summit!
11:00-11:45
Morning Workshops
Sign up for one of our workshops with speakers from across environmental fields
11:50-12:20
Discussions
Discuss controversial environmental topics in a structured, small-group discussion
12:50-01:35
Afternoon Workshops
More amazing workshops!
02:20-02:50
Closing Session
Speakers and a video will close out our second annual Bay Area Youth Climate Summit
Keynote Speaker
Keynote Speaker
Presenting: Aletta Brady (they/them)
Aletta Brady (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, bisexual organizer, futurist, writer, and narrative activist living on Dakota land in South Minneapolis. Aletta’s work is guided by Audre Lorde’s wisdom that, without community, there is no liberation. Everything that they do is grounded in the truths that we are more powerful together and that caring for community and caring for self are interwoven essentials to any change-making work.
Aletta is the founder and creative director of Our Climate Voices, an award-winning social justice collective humanizing the climate crisis through story. In 2019, they were the youngest recipient of the J.M.K. Innovation Prize for their work on the vanguard of social innovation. They have over 20 years of grassroots organizing experience for labor rights, queer liberation, freedom of movement, and climate action. They graduated summa cum laude from Wesleyan University in 2015.
Morning Workshops
11:00am - 11:45am
100% Green Energy & the Green Schools Campaign
with founders of the Green Schools Campaign
The Green Schools Campaign is a youth-led organization works to transition schools across the globe to 100% renewable energy by giving students the tools, encouragement, and support to directly lead change in their own communities and combat the climate crisis. This workshop will cover how the Green Schools Campaign has driven change globally, and how you can advocate for 100% green energy in your school, too.
Data for Progress: Data Can Change the World
with Danielle Deisiroth, Senior Climate Data Analyst at Data for Progress
If only politicians knew that 77% of voters think fossil fuel companies have a responsibility to address climate change and the vast majority support a $500 billion fee on fossil fuel companies to compensate for climate change, maybe they could tune out the lobbyists and confidently back the climate movement. In this workshop, Danielle will overview climate data and her incredible work at Data for Progress.
Environmental Ethics and Aesthetics
with Lance Gracy, PhD student in Philosophy at the University of North Texas
This summit, and the climate movement as a whole, mainly focuses on all forms of activism, but what is it about the environment that we fight so hard to preserve and protect? This workshop will take a step back and remind us of the beauty we are fighting for, giving an overview of environmental philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics.
Spring Into Climate Action: How You Can Participate in City Climate Planning
with Berna Idriz, Climate and Equity Associate at Greenbelt Alliance
Do you have an interest in participating in local climate action but don’t know where to start? The Spring Into Climate Action workshop will teach you all the basics about climate action plans, general plans, and other pieces of legislation cities use to enact climate policies. You will learn about how to get involved in the policy making process so that you can advocate for more ambitious climate change actions in your own city and make a difference! You will also learn about real life opportunities to participate in policy making in the SF Bay Area.
Climate Chaos and the Plastic Pollution Crisis
with Lisa Erdle, the Manager of Science & Innovation at the 5 Gyres Institute
"Climate chaos” is here, and new findings from the IPCC is an urgent call to action to end our dependence on fossil fuels. The plastic pollution crisis that devastates habitats around the globe is also a significant and growing threat to the climate. Current projections estimate that emissions from plastic production and use could reach 1.3 gigatons per year by 2030. We will explore the effects of plastic pollution on habitats and wildlife around the globe and discuss how the climate and plastic pollution crisis are inextricably linked.
Rethinking How we Make Stuff: Impacts on People and the Planet
with Dr. Ann Blake of Ann Blake Environmental & Public Health Consulting
Dr. Ann Blake will be going in-depth on her work with brands and retail companies like Costco, Walmart, Target, and more. This includes advising them in using safer materials in their processes. She will also be talking about how environmental issues can disproportionately burden different communities and how different groups are addressing this issue.
TikTok University: Science x Social Media
with Ashley Diedenhofen, Science Communicator
Social media has had a huge impact on the science community, both positively and negatively. Scientific knowledge is more accessible than ever but the abundance of information also results in a lot of misinformation and pseudoscience. Therefore science communicators exist as key players in forming the bridge between scientists and the general public - spreading education and awareness in ways that are captivating, accurate, and accessible.
Berkeley Labs: Energy Geosciences
with scientist Robert Crystal-Ornelas of Berkeley Labs
Though you have probably never even heard of them, current research studies being conducted in energy geosciences are going to our future. From the sustainability of current oil and natural gas sources to the safe disposal of nuclear waste, energy geosciences are cutting edge. This workshop, led by a scientist at Berkeley Labs, will take you through the steps, processes and methods to why energy geosciences are so useful.
Afternoon Workshops
12:50am - 1:35am
Bye Bye Plastic Bags
with the founders of Bye Bye Plastic Bags California
Imagine a world without plastic waste. Clean oceans and clean streets. A world no longer infested with micro-plastics and deteriorating into polymers. With over 50 locations around the world, Bye Bye Plastic Bags is one of the largest youth climate organizations and is at the forefront of the fight against plastic waste. Learn about the history of plastic pollution, what we can do now, and what the future holds.
Particulates Matter. Protect Your Community from Air Pollution.
with Felix Fein and Alex Mader, co-founders of the Particulates Matter project
Particulates Matter is a youth-led project aiming to address the disproportionate impacts of air pollution on San Francisco youth. Funded $10,000 by BLING for the 2021 year, they are partnering with schools and organizations in the Bayview district to provide air purification systems, N95 masks, and educational workshops. Through evidence-based and community-supported strategies, they hope to mitigate the dangerous short and long term health effects of air pollution on children.
Fighting Invasive Species with Sutro Stewards
with Kelly Dodge, Stewardship Coordinator at Sutro Stewards
San Francisco has some beautiful parks, but there is no other like Mount Sutro. One of the largest and wildest green spaces, Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve is a vast, mountainous, forest with no signs of the massive city it sits in. Learn how Sutro Stewards mobilizes the largest organized independent volunteer pool in San Francisco to protect Mount Sutro from invasive species and preserve this unique park.
Open nanoCarbon: Climate Matters & Beyond
with Shannon Fiume, decarbonization entrepreneur and citizen science climate forecast modeler
Hot climate topics before Glasgow, covering highlights from the recent IPCC report, and backdrop of recent climate news. Introducing climate modeling to match preindustrial. Lastly provide pathways to study in clean energy and storage, carbon removal and utilization.
Climate Cents: Everyone Can Make Change
with Nick Karno, president and founder of Climate Cents
Roughly 5 years ago, Nick started Climate Cents with some friends to inspire people to support local projects that fight climate change and to provide an easy way to take meaningful action. Climate Cents educates the public that carbon can be drawn down anywhere - especially in our local communities. It provides positive and hopeful information about our fight against global warming, and it demystifies science by demonstrating how our projects reduce carbon in the atmosphere and tracking the progress of our work.
Rethinking How we Make Stuff: Impacts on People and the Planet
with Dr. Ann Blake of Ann Blake Environmental & Public Health Consulting
Dr. Ann Blake will be going in-depth on her work with brands and retail companies like Costco, Walmart, Target, and more. This includes advising them in using safer materials in their processes. She will also be talking about how environmental issues can disproportionately burden different communities and how different groups are addressing this issue.
Mighty Microbes – The Bacteria that Break Down Toxic Pollutants
with Dr. Abigail Porter, microbiologist and Assistant Teaching Professor at Rutgers
In this workshop, we will discuss water pollution and naturally occurring organisms that can degrade pollutants for food or energy. Topics include learning what emerging contaminants are, why microbes degrade these chemicals in the first place, and how we can apply this information to clean up contaminated sites.
Everland Marketing - Why REDD+ is the Most Effective Way to Combat Climate Change
This workshop, led by Everland Marketing, focuses on REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) projects and how protecting our standing forests is the key to stabilize climate change. Everland currently funds projects all around the world that are protecting different forests and wildlife. With current projects in Kenya, Peru, Cambodia, Indonesia and the DRC Everland is reducing carbon emissions, protecting the forests and helping communities become self-sustainable.