Dubuque Climate Action Day

Good morning and welcome to Dubuque Climate Action Day! This is a day that is celebrated on October 24th and dedicated to raising awareness of our changing climate and encourage the community to take collective action. 

Although there is no Climate Action Party to attend here in Dubuque, we want to suggest other ways you can participate in this day solo, with a friend, family or coworkers!

Read up!

Climate Action can be as big or small as you can imagine! First things first, you could become familiar your city's Climate Action Plan: 50% by 2030

Ask yourself or journal: What issues do I care about? What is my city doing to address them? What am I doing/can do to contribute to the Climate Action Goals that I care about?

Eco-therapy and Play

When was the last time you connected with your natural environment? What can we learn from water and the land? Spend some time in the nearest green space that you have access to, or take a trip, maybe with a friend, to one of the many rich and vibrant parks/outdoor areas Dubuque has to offer.

Let's Start at Home

Energy is one of our biggest sectors in our Climate Action Plan that we aim to address. Did you know that the appliances you're not using and are still plugged in are consuming energy? Energy bills are getting scary; have you heard of phantom electricity? These small costs add up over time. You see them on your bill and we see the effects as a community in our collective residential energy consumption. Read "Unplug," an article on saving electricity in your home. Then scan your space for appliances and chargers that don't need to plugged in. Habits take time to adjust so be kind to yourself but the change will be worth it!

Bags and Tupperware

Don't we all feel guilty when we want to save the last of our meals on a night out, ask for a to-go box, and they bring out Styrofoam? If you're going out to eat this week and know yourself too well not to finish everything on your plate, consider bringing Tupperware in a small bag along! There's no harm in bringing your own box to go! 

On a similar topic: plastic bags. The largest contaminator in our recycling center in town and sadly have even been found caught in trees near our landfill. #1 let's try to reduce our plastic bag consumption as best we can by bringing reusable bags with us whenever shopping. #2 do you know ANYONE with a dog? Perfect! There aren't hundreds of ways to reuse these plastic bags but saving them up for trash linings, another dog owner, or if you have ever heard of plarn, these are ways we can combat one of the biggest nuisance in our town: plastic bags. 

Carpool, Bike, Bus, Walk

Find a day of the week where you can cut an extra trip for your car and find another mode of transportation. The Jule, a bike, or your good two feet are fantastic options. If you're taking a car, consider in the future if you could ever carpool with a coworker or find a shorter route home.

Sign your class up for a tour!

I personally remember back in the third grade, me and my class took a field trip to the DMASWA landfill, Dittmer Recycling Center, and even got a look of what happens behind the scene at Goodwill. If you're a parent, educator, or young person and you haven't seen a close up of these key players to our community's system, consider making a suggestion to your or your child's class to organize a group to tour. You could even do it as a family! This step takes some planning but can be memorable and informational experience valuable for any age of person. 

Sign up your home to compost!

One of our CAP goals is to reduce food waste in Dubuque. Food discards and residuals that decompose in landfills release methane, a greenhouse gas that is at least 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. This fact makes food wasting a significant contributor to solid waste greenhouse gas emissions. Today you can start composting in your backyard! If you don't have a yard, you can request a 13 gallon tipper cart for $1 a month to put out your food scraps same day as your trash and recycling. You can even purchase compostable bags from your local Natural Grocers in town to reduce odor and keep your bin clean.

Visit our Local Library

Utilizing our local resources rather than purchasing new is a fantastic way to explore entertainment and knowledge while combating the battle of consumption. Our Carnegie-Stout Public Library, located on 360 W 11th Street, offers a wide variety of physical and digital resources like books, board games, movies, music, eBooks and more. In addition if you haven't visited the Makers Space, this may interest you if you're a creative or have kids that love to create!

Rewrite your grocery list

Does anyone else's mom drive to the grocery store almost every day? Well, let's learn from this. Every trip in a car to the grocery store, glass recycling bin in Asbury, or out of the house is one that is emitting carbon dioxide. One way we can reduce trips is by PLANNING. When thinking about groceries, what do you use over a month? This activity may take some time collecting your own personal data but can also help you budget. Consider shopping local: the Dubuque Farmers Market, Hornbill Asian Market, Calico Bean Market, Natural Grocers. Don't forget your reusable bags when shopping!

Share this message!

One of the easiest things on this list would be to share this message full of resources and ideas with another person. Hey, you could even send it to 3 or 5! Talking about Climate Action Day is one way to contribute to the life of the day. 

Message your Green Iowa AmeriCorps Team at the Office of Sustainability!

Our small and mighty team is interested in what the community cares about. If you want to share how you celebrated you Climate Action Day or plan to in the future, we'd love to hear about it! If you have concerns about our city or ideas to push action forward, please share them with us! We are in this position to better connect our citizens with local government, building capacity in our climate goals. Everyone is important in these efforts and it's always encouraging connecting with other passionate citizens.

Message Melia and Bella at

mstackis@cityofdubuque.org

bdavid@cityofdubuque.org

Happy Climate Action!