{"id":15320,"date":"2021-03-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=15320"},"modified":"2021-03-08T12:32:38","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T17:32:38","slug":"powering-up-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/powering-up-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Powering up Climate Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since moving to the Connecticut River Valley in 1981, Mass Audubon\u2019s Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary<\/a> in Easthampton and Northampton has helped grow our dedication to the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve hiked Arcadia\u2019s trails, canoed the marsh, sent our kids to summer camp, volunteered, and donated money. Perhaps most important, Arcadia has been playing a major role in our climate change advocacy, education, and action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We view climate change as an existential threat to the planet. The severe disruption to the environment has us freaking out and desperate for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are Morey Phippen and Brian Adams, and we\u2019re fighting for climate justice.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Morey Phippen and Brian Adams, Climate Champions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Married 40 years this summer and retired from our jobs as a family planning counselor and community college professor, we have channeled much of our time and energy into fighting for our planet at a local level. What we have been able to accomplish we credit to our parents, who left us an inheritance when they passed that has provided for us, our children, and the thrilling opportunity to contribute to charitable causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We decided to use some of this money to help nonprofits install photovoltaics (or solar panels).  Given the up-front costs that a solar system demands, we knew that nonprofits often have difficulty coming up with those financial resources. Solar energy\u2019s cost has also dropped<\/a> significantly, making it an affordable alternative to fossil fuel powered energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our plan was to install solar panels at no cost to organizations, and negotiate a six-year purchase power agreement with them at a much-reduced electric rate. After six years we\u2019d donate the systems in their entirety to the organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary was one of the first organizations we approached. With over 700 acres of forest, meadows, grasslands, marsh, and wetlands, their mission to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife was one we were totally committed to. It would be hard to find a better fit for our project!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2017, we \u201cflipped the switch\u201d on a 5.6 kW photovoltaic system at the sanctuary.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like other solar panels, it generates clean, renewable electricity from sunlight, about 8,000 kilowatt hours per year. But unlike other arrays, this panel uses a tracker<\/a> that follows the sun across the sky. It adjusts to the height of the sun above the horizon as it changes during the day and throughout the seasons, which makes it a terrific teaching tool for the thousands of visitors who seek solace at Arcadia\u2019s sanctuary every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date we\u2019ve installed over 550 kilowatts of solar at 34 locations including Arcadia, our local food pantries, homeless shelters, farms, environmental organizations, and social service agencies.  We\u2019re hoping for a dozen more installations this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are grateful to have such a wonderful sanctuary such a short distance from where we live, and to have the resources to help Arcadia and Mass Audubon in their quest to be carbon neutral and practice the urgent climate solutions that our planet needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Morey Phippen and Brian Adams, Mass Audubon Members, Donors, and Volunteers<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since moving to the Connecticut River Valley in 1981, Mass Audubon\u2019s Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton and Northampton has helped grow our dedication to the environment. We\u2019ve hiked Arcadia\u2019s trails, canoed the marsh, sent our kids to summer camp, volunteered, and donated money. Perhaps most important, Arcadia has been playing a major role in our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[178],"tags":[371,246,344,150,370,389],"class_list":["post-15320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","tag-clean-energy","tag-climate-action","tag-climate-champion","tag-climate-change","tag-renewable-energy","tag-solar-energy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/03\/Brian-and-Morey.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3Z6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12064,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/students-take-action-on-climate\/","url_meta":{"origin":15320,"position":0},"title":"Students Take Action On Climate","author":"Alexandra Vecchio","date":"December 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Climate change is the defining issue of our time. Perhaps no generation is more at risk to the impacts of this issue than those who are in school today.\u00a0 In a study presented to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2016, a survey revealed that 40% of Generation Z\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Climate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/youthclimatesummit750.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/youthclimatesummit750.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/youthclimatesummit750.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/youthclimatesummit750.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14875,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/planting-a-forest-with-the-climate-in-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":15320,"position":1},"title":"Planting a Forest with the Climate in Mind","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"November 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"More than 50 volunteers turned out in the last days of a mild October to help restore a floodplain forest at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Northampton. Together, these nature heroes planted around 1,500 of the 2,000 trees and shrubs going in the ground before winter. 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One strategy to accomplish this goal is to engage college students studying in the Pioneer Valley via a Climate Video\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Climate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/Arcadia-Solar-Tracker-600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/Arcadia-Solar-Tracker-600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/Arcadia-Solar-Tracker-600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10146,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/thankful-for-young-climate-leaders\/","url_meta":{"origin":15320,"position":3},"title":"Thankful For Young Climate Leaders","author":"Daniel Brown","date":"November 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As we head into Thanksgiving during this tumultuous political era, I find myself reflecting back on the challenges and progress of the past year, both close to home and around the globe. It\u2019s easy to get discouraged by the nightly news, but something that continues to inspire me is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Climate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Massachusetts Youth Climate Summit \/ Phil Doyle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/climateleader600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/climateleader600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/climateleader600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14077,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/climate-storytelling\/","url_meta":{"origin":15320,"position":4},"title":"The Impact of Storytelling","author":"Rishya N.","date":"May 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Our words hold immense power.\u00a0 We all learn this pretty early on. 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