NORTHAMPTON — Climate Action NOW will call to action members of the public Saturday in a forum about mitigating climate change under Donald Trump’s presidency.
The forum will be held at First Churches of Northampton, 129 Main St., from 3 to 5:30 p.m.
In the face of a president who believes man-made climate change is a hoax, Brit Albritton, steering committee member of Climate Action NOW, finds hope in making a difference at the state level.
“To stop pouring that much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere we’re going to have to work together,” Albritton, also on the forum planning committee, said. “Our state can become a model.”
At the forum, the public will get a chance to learn about legislation surrounding climate change and renewable energy sources. State Senate President Stan Rosenberg and state Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose, both Amherst Democrats, will be present.
“I think we are going to need to let our state legislators know that we are going to need a whole lot more from them than ever before. They’re going to need to be the leaders in energy transition,” said forum moderator Lilly Lombard.
Community members will also be encouraged to participate in breakout groups, to actively discuss subjects such as environmental policy and how to talk about climate change.
“More than ever we need each other. We need to reassert our agency, our ability to move from despair to action,” Lombard said. She hopes the forum will inspire and inform the community.
For Albritton, planning the forum for the past month has been therapeutic and he hopes members of the public will feel the same.
“If you care about climate change, this is a wonderful place to live — lots of people are with you who feel the same way,” he said.
Smith College physics professor Nat Fortune and climate activist Marty Nathan will also speak at the forum.
Albritton believes that it is up to the blue states to lead climate reform.
“It’s scary, (but) at the same time, we’re pretty resilient as human beings,” he said. “I think we can make some real change.”
According to Lombard, one main goal of the forum is to communicate the severity of the climate issue. “If our national government is failing us, we still have an obligation to act,” she said.