Building Public Commitment to Climate Action
The recent Community Survey for the City of Falls Church offers good news for the City generally but suggests that the public gives low to medium priority to City efforts to reduce the release of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
A key mission of the Falls Church Climate Action Network (FCCAN) is to build public understanding of the community-wide climate goals the City has adopted and encourage actions to meet these goals. So, FCCAN really has its work cut out for it.
The new survey suggests that there is considerable room for improvement. Only 34% of respondents said that “environmental sustainability and climate impacts” were “very important” to them personally, compared to 53% for local taxes and the condition of roads and sidewalks, and 28% for community events and programs (Survey Question #4). Question 6 indicated that only 21% felt the City’s “energy planning for greenhouse gas emission reduction” was “very important to you personally.” And only 15.5% of respondents were “satisfied” with the City’s “energy planning for greenhouse gas reduction.” The survey’s margin of error was +/- 5%.
A slightly more optimistic result comes in response to Question 29, which asks about the importance of the City promoting “environmental sustainability and climate action.” 77% said this was “very” or “somewhat” important. Although it is not clear how much people were thinking about the environment generally and not climate action, this scored comparably to “providing for safe biking” (78%, Question 32) and above “providing affordable housing” (69%, Question 28).
To keep improving these numbers and building commitment to take climate action, the FCCAN Steering Committee is planning more outreach this spring and summer, but we’d also like to hear your ideas for helpful events and resources. Some online and/or in-person events we’re working towards:
An electric vehicle showcase (cars, trucks, bikes)
Video: Electric lawn equipment and disposal of gas-powered equipment
Info sessions, such as:
Household planning to get off of fossil fuels
The City’s ‘Community Energy Action Plan’
Heat pumps for space and water heating
Financial incentives (federal, Virginia, utilities)
Switching to renewable electricity
Our request is this -- please let us know:
1. Which of these are of interest to you?
2. Are there other activities you think would be helpful?
3. Are you a member of a group that may want to host a discussion on one or more of these topics (e.g., HOA, social club, business club, advocacy / political group, school, religious congregation, etc.)?
Please reach out to us at fallschurchclimate@gmail.com with your thoughts and comments.