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Environmental Justice and Equity Implementation Committee

The vision for Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan is to implement just and equitable solutions to reduce the city’s emissions contributing to global climate change and prepare for the local impacts of increasing temperatures and precipitation. In Bethlehem and across the world, low-income populations and black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) have contributed the least to the problem of climate change but are already bearing the brunt of its impacts, including extreme heat and flooding. The disproportionate exposure of these frontline communities to climate-related harms is only projected to increase as global temperatures rise. In this way, every failure to act quickly and decisively on climate is an environmental justice issue.

The Environmental Justice and Equity Implementation Committee meets with the ideas and goals from this section in mind.

Phases

Phases overview

Phase 1: Identify Year 1 & 2 Goals

Identify Year 1 & 2 Goals

Phase 2: Implement Year 1 & 2 Goals

Implement Year 1 & 2 Goals

Phase 3: Identify Year 3 Goals

Identify Year 3 Goals

Phase 4: Implement Year 3 Goals

Implement Year 3 Goals

Phase 5: Identify Year 4 Goals

Identify Year 4 Goals

Phase 6: Implement Year 4 Goals

Implement Year 4 Goals

Phase 7: Identify Year 5 Goals

Identify Year 5 Goals

Implement Year 3 Goals

January 1, 2024 5:00 AM - November 11, 2024 5:00 AM

Year 3 Achievements:

Significant park improvements in Madison Park, Northdale Park, and Saucon Park
Planted a total of 25 trees
Grant confirmed for Lehigh University’s Climate Resilience Center with City of Bethlehem as a partner
Partnering with Zoellner Arts Center to apply for the 2025 “Our Town” (3 year) grant
Health Bureau’s “Better Blocks for Bethlehem” research informs our EJ Framework to guide current and future resident council

4 ideas

Charissa West2 years ago The City of Bethlehem should follow recommendations from Doug Tallamy, The National Wildlife Federation, Homegrown National Park, Xerces Society, The National Audubon Society, The Center for Biological Diversity, UN Biodiversity, and the like to encourage each resident to plant native plants and trees, avoid pesticides and herbicides and avoid gas powered leaf blowers. Yards that use native plants are sustainable, save water, and provide habitat for pollinators and wildlife. Native plants evolved with our local climate, soil types, and animals. We need to plant more keystone native plants in our yards and community for the greatest impact. https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion See a list of the most beneficial native plants to our region here: https://www.nwf.org/-/media/Documents/PDFs/Garden-for-Wildlife/Keystone-Plants/NWF-GFW-keystone-plant-list-ecoregion-8-eastern-temperate-forests.pdfFrom USDA.gov, Native Plant Materials are Advantageous because: Are unlikely to be invasive or overly competitive with other native plants Return to or maintain more normal fire intervals and fuel loadings Provide food sources (nectar, pollen, seeds, leaves, and stems) for native butterflies, insects, birds, and other animals Reduce energy consumption and pollution (limited need for mowing) Reduce the need for pesticides Enhance aesthetics and visual quality Protect at-risk species Protect biodiversity and stewardship of our natural heritage When selecting native plant materials, it is important to have knowledge of the geographic origin and genetic diversity of the plant source. A good practice is to choose plant sources from an area that matches the restoration site conditions as closely as possible. This helps ensure project success because the stock will be adapted to local climate and soil conditions, and more resistant to damage from freezing, drought, common diseases, and herbivores. The maintenance of genetic diversity in plant sources will enable plants to adapt to changing climatic and environmental conditions. Plant populations with low genetic diversity may be more susceptible to pathogens and environmental stresses, and less competitive with introduced invasive species.https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/Native_Plant_Materials/whyuse.shtml#:~:text=Return%20to%20or%20maintain%20more,Reduce%20the%20need%20for%20pesticidesHomegrown National Park has created an easy way for everyone to participate. Even if you only have an exterior front door with a potted native plant, that is better than nothing. And, you can volunteer to plant community native plant gardens.You can also follow National Wildlife Federation's guidelines to make your yard a NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat. Once native plants are established, they need far less water and upkeep than lawns or exotic plants, and native plants require no "cleanup" as the birds, pollinators and other wildlife use their seeds and stems for food and habitat year round. As for fallen leaves, simply rake those into your garden beds and wild areas of your yard. The pollinators and wildlife need fallen leaves as habitat to overwinter. Also last year's native leaves will break down and enrich soil health, which is also in decline from lack of native plants and natural areas in yards. Two other important considerations: Gas powered leaf blowers have zero benefits and dozens detriments to soil health, pollinators, wildlife, birds, children, pets and humans. Pesticides and herbicides are equally detrimental for all the reasons listed above. Fireflies and native bees nest in the ground. This is why we are seeing less and less of them. Studies from Tufts and Purdue have proven two types of cancer in dogs are caused by common lawn treatment. Let's get these off our lawns and out of our city!

Greg Zahm2 years ago IDEA: Make rapid adoption of comprehensive compulsory Climate Change Education (CCE) and Sustainability Education (SE) curriculum a priority. While working with the BASD on its 2014 commitment to "climate and sustainability" education is included in the CAP, there are many barriers to appropriate implementation, and far too much time has already passed toward meeting the IPCC's existential, 2030 and 2050 GHG emissions goals.As such, include the recommendations at the bottom of this statement and accelerate that process.-----BackgroundIn spite of numerous surveys including by NPR/Ipsos (2019) indicating that a strong majority of citizens, parents, students, teachers, and members of ALL political parties support CCE in schools, Pennsylvania is evaluated as having the poorest Climate Change Education (CCE) standards of any state in the nation ("Making the Grade?", 2020). We have no effective standards.While the state has finally adopted new standards (20 years after the prior standards and 12 years after the Next Generation Science Standards recommended climate education), they do not become effective until the 2025/26 school year and are considered significantly watered-down, despite the urgency for education on CC.Our Bethlehem Area School District, unfortunately, as well, has not adopted any CCE or Sustainability Education (SE) curriculum in spite of the 2014 "Bethlehem Climate and Sustainability Commitment" to plan exactly that. It is most likely, currently, that students in Bethlehem will complete high school without any required instruction in Environmental Science and, definitively, regarding CC or Sustainability.While the Bethlehem CAP was completed in 2021, three+ years have past without any compulsory CCE requirements - district-wide, or otherwise, of which I am aware - to provide this instruction.Considering the urgency for combatting CC as expressed by the UN, the IPCC, UNESCO, and many institutions of higher education as well as scientific organizations, and in spite of the disproportionate impact on our students and families of lower income and/or our Frontline/BIPOC communities, it is a failure on our part as citizens and leaders still to require zero CCE and SE instruction.Include the following recommendations in that process.RECOMMENDATIONS:1. Rapidly adopt and implement comprehensive CC Education (CCE) and Sustainability Education (SE) modifications to the district’s curriculum, ie “for all students, at all levels” (as written in the “BASD Climate and Sustainability Commitment”), and across disciplines.2. Commit to calling for and supporting significant, feasible District-guided AND teacher-driven CCE and SE adjustments to instruction in the 2024-25 school year .§ There are many qualified experts in the valley to help guide this, such as but not limited to Peter Crownfield (Alliance for Sustainable Communities), Drs Ben Felzer, Breena Holland, Alec Bodzin, and Kate Jackson (Lehigh U), Dr Anita Forrester (NCC), Dr Kate Semmens (NNC), all from the science and higher education fields.)3. Recommit to fulfilling the 2014 “BASD Climate and Sustainability Commitment”; Update the Commitment to represent new science and appropriate urgency.4. Restart the twice-halted BASD District Sustainability Committee/Task Force, actively recruiting and involving all community stakeholder groups, including parents, students, and staff, and hold frequent meetings on a continual basis with the goal of informing the process of rapid adoption of CCE and SE curriculum. 5. Until a more appropriate HS course covering the Earth and Environmental Science of CC and Sustainability can be approved, make HS Environmental Science (HSES) a required course for HS graduation, or at minimum, make HSES a prominent option to Chemistry (or Physics) in the HS Programs of Studies as the second year course in the science sequence.6. Engage a consultant immediately to guide transition of the district to rapidly including comprehensive CCE and SE; and hire a permanent, additional long-term staff person to head up this effort.

Daiyana Rodriguez2 years ago The city should only allow projects aligned with the sustainability goals of sustainability and affordability for current and new Bethlehem residents.Whenever the city allows developers to build huge concrete parking lots and buildings, we destroy irreplaceable natural resources such as ancient trees that take hundreds of years to grow and we take away the historic character of the cityEvery time this happens, the existing homes adjacent to these huge developments, suffer more from the effects of climate change because the homes become hotter and more susceptible to wind and rain, pollution, noise etc. We cannot create housing for new residents by making the living conditions of the current residents of Bethlehem deplorable. Let us make Bethlehem Tree City USA by being sensitive to the natural resources we already have; and by not letting others destroy our resources and historic character.

Terrill Theman2 years ago

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