Climate Crisis Committee

MISSION STATEMENT

The CCC’s mission is to catalyze actions throughout the Belfast community for a sustainable future while adapting to climate change. We will:

A. Educate the community by means of expert presentations, imaginative performances or exhibitions, interactive demonstration programs, surveys, and the like;

B. Engage the community by providing citizen-science programs, opportunities to participate in CCC projects, and other means;

C. Collect local data, giving priority to data about relevant natural ecosystems;

D. Offer recommendations to the City Council based on such data, so as to assist it in making policy decisions;

E. Collaborate whenever possible and useful with other groups in Maine—or national and international groups—having compatible missions.

CCC Established:

The CCC was established by the City Council on March 20, 2018 with a 1-year term. On March 19, 2019, the Council modified the term of the Committee, in recognition of the long-term goals it is pursuing. Members are now appointed to staggered 2-year terms. For further background, see “CCC Context”, below.

CCC Context:

In 2007, the City of Belfast established an Energy and Climate Committee, which was very active for about 5 years. Among several projects it undertook during that time, it researched and issued Belfast’s first carbon footprint report, 2007 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Belfast, Maine (2008).

Since around 2014, that committee has returned to active status as the City’s Energy Committee, focusing on sustainability and cost-saving measures for our municipal operations and facilities. Its achievements have included approving solar arrays to power City operations, installing LED streetlights, and moving forward on weatherizing City buildings.

In contrast, the CCC has expanded climate-related work into the broader community, networking with other sustainability groups active throughout the state to help tackle the increasing complex impacts of climate change, especially for coastal communities.

Membership:

8 to 10 Members (including 2 Council members) with staggered 2-year terms, and a Student Member

Barbara Bell, Secretary
Term Expires: July 1, 2023
Jonathan Beal
Term Expires: July 1, 2022
Elizabeth Sterner
Term Expires: July 1, 2024
Bernard Baker
Term Expires: July 1, 2024
Beverly Roxby
Term Expires: July 1, 2023
Fred Bowers, Chair
Term Expires: July 1, 2023
Gerald Brand
Term Expires: July 1, 2023
Council Seat Vacant
Jonah Lovejoy - Student Member – term began November 2020

Meetings:

--First and third Monday of each month. On months with five Mondays, the committee may use the fifth Monday for work sessions or otherwise conduct extra business, per agenda.

--The committee reserves a certain flexibility in scheduling its meetings, however, due to various factors. Anyone wanting to visit a meeting should check the City Calendar to see when our next meeting will be.

--8:00am-9:00am

--City Hall, Conference Room A

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Belfast Shoreline Property Owners Meeting

The Belfast Climate Crisis Committee, an advisor to the Belfast City Council, facilitated a public meeting on July 6, 2022, at the Belfast Community Boathouse. The meeting purpose was to present information about the coming impact of our changing climate on shoreline properties. All of the property owners of record on the shoreline in the Belfast City limits were invited as the primary audience, but the event was advertised and open to the general public.

The afternoon began with presentations from a panel of experts, and was then opened to discussion with the attendees. It was well attended, with a ‘full house’ that was actively engaged. The presentations from two of the presenters, Peter A. Slovinsky, Marine Geologist, Maine Geological Survey and the Maine Climate Council, and William B. Gartley, P.E. of Gartley & Dorsky Engineering and Survey, are included below. Bub Fournier, Belfast's Director of Codes and Planning, discussed zoning and regulatory considerations in adaptation and hardening efforts.

This was the first of several meetings on the subject. Future meetings will center around detailed discussions on topics of interest to property owners.

The entire meeting was videotaped, and is available online: https://vimeo.com/727779405

The slides by Mssrs. Slovinsky and Gartley were supplied by their authors and are available online:

https://abcdbelfast.omeka.net/items/show/116

[All of Belfast: Climate Dialogues (ABCD) is a project of the Belfast Free Library. This project was made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. ABCD holds events, generates material, and engages independently with the Belfast community; it also works closely with the Climate Crisis Committee on planning or publicizing joint events for the community, as well as archiving materials of common interest to all.]

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Climate Crisis Committee

City Hall

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Planning & Codes