RadioActive 11/21/19: Bar Harbor Town Council Declares Climate Emergency and Commits to Create Climate Action Plan

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

At their public meeting on Tuesday, the Bar Harbor Town Council adopted a resolution declaring a climate emergency and a commitment to creating a climate action plan. Portland and South Portland have also recently declared a climate emergency, joining over 50 local governments across the US, including New York City, and 1182 worldwide.
Mount Desert Island High School and College of the Atlantic students spoke about the impacts climate change is having locally and presented a resolution to the Bar Harbor Town Council, which called for the town to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
While the council did not adopt that goal on Tuesday, councilors expressed commitment to immediate work to come up with an a town action plan, including numerous sectors in the town. A preliminary meeting between student groups and councilors was called for Friday.

Guests:
Student of Mount Desert Island High School: Thomas Korstanje (president, MDI Just Eco Team), Ayano Ismimura, Matilda Allen, Sirohi Kumar, Lawrence “Adam” Nuesslein IV, Lily Crikelair
Bar Harbor Town Councilors: Jeff Dobbs (Chair), Matthew Hotchman (Vice-Chair), Gary Friedmann, Jill Goldthwait, Stephen Coston, Erin Cough
Laura Berry, local organizer, director of research, The Climate Mobilization Project

Additional Resources:
A Climate to Thrive (ACTT)
Earth In Brackets, College of the Atlantic

Today’s program was co-produced by WERU FM/RadioActive and Sunlight Media Collective.