Engaging in the Fight Against Climate Change

An article on the Climate Alliance for the Common Good, entitled Battling Climate Change, was published in La Crosse Tribune in late June 2022. Reporter Abby Machtig wrote about the efforts of the non-profit to protect the climate, through high-value energy conservation, a method of using otherwise wasted energy, and the group's interest in engaging the wider La Crosse community on climate change.

"People are devising strategies for climate change, but no one's trying to convince the public of the importance and the urgency of why this needs to be done, even though it requires behavior changes on their part," Schlesinger said.

The Alliance wants to help people understand climate solutions, including large and small changes that protect the environment and the climate. With understanding the current range of solutions, we can make big steps in fighting climate change. 

The group has been around for three years in various forms, with the Alliance gaining non-profit status this year. Earlier work of the group contributed to the state's Climate Action Plan, to include an emphasis on high-value energy conservation. This concept, not widely understood, involves using otherwise wasted energy, so instead of heating the river and the atmosphere, it can be used to generate residential and commercial heating. Part of the goal of the group now is to help the community understand what climate change is, and a range of solutions to the changing climate, including unfamiliar technologies such as high-energy conservation. Schlesinger adds, "Climate change may be global, but local understanding and actions can make a big difference in the future of our city and our planet."