Go see Food, Inc.

One of the most important films ever made, seriously

In the news: San Mateo County Times

I spent the day in Berkeley yesterday training to be a presenter for the Alliance for Climate Education, and there was a reporter there from the San Mateo County Times. Here's the link to the article: http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_12602753%22

Graduation Address

I must confess: this post has nothing to do with environmentalism per se; however, I wanted to post this (the address I delivered at Aragon High School's Graduation Ceremony on May 29) anyway. :)

(Thanks to my aunt, Debbie Weingarten, for videoing).

Jason Bade Delivers Aragon High School's Valedictory Address from Jason Bade on Vimeo.

Soon-to-Be Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) Educator

I recently was awarded one of this year's ACE Senior Scholarships, which means this June, I will go to Berkeley to be trained in how to present ACE's spectacular climate change presentation. I am really excited to be given the opportunity to use this tool to educate others, as it is very effective (insofar as I observed at those given at Aragon!). I will keep you updated as to when/where I might be giving presentations in the future. You can read the official announcement and more about ACE here (yes, that's a picture of me!).

Aragon EIC and Recycling Club Win Kent Award

Last night, Aragon High School's collective environmental programs (namely the Environmental Impact Committee and Recycling Club) won one of about twenty J. Russell Kent Awards. Every year, the San Mateo County Schools Boards Association gives out these awards to innovative and successful school programs in San Mateo County schools that can be replicated in other schools within the County. The picture (click to enlarge) is of me (far right) right after having accepted the award along with my successor, (next year's EIC Chair) Julia Borden (far left); Aragon environmental science teacher, Amy Holloway; and Aragon principal, Pat Kurtz.

GYA San Mateo County Launch Yesterday

The GYA launched yesterday in San Mateo County, California at Aragon High School. The turnout was okay–about fifty people–, but most everyone turned in membership applications and seemed enthusiastic about participating in the GYA from here on out, which is great. Among the people I talked to, there were representatives from the Green Academy in Woodside, Calif., a brand new high school within a high school focused on sustainability curricula; Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Calif., which is currently having students do water quality testing on a nearby creek and develop a composting program; and San Mateo County RecycleWorks (my friends Lillian Clark and Gerald Schwartz!), which is developing a green schools program in its own right.

This is exactly what the GYA seeks to do: get various organizations to input their own respective expertise, so that it is all easily accessible by everyone everywhere. I will provide more updates as we develop programs for high schools to implement next fall. Hopefully we will have video of yesterday's presentation up on our Vimeo account soon. Feel free to email me at jason [at] greenyouthalliance [dot] org.

International Climate Champion=Yours Truly!

On April 27, the ten 2009 International Climate Champions from California were officially announced at a press conference on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento. The program is sponsored by the British Council (the nonprofit arm of the British government) and the California Air Resources Board (the agency in charge of all our global warming regulations). I am happy to say Aragon student, incoming EIC chair, and friend Julia Borden as well as I were both chosen to be one of ten in the state! That means two of the ten are from Aragon High School! Whoa! How cool is that, huh?

Each "champion" must implement a self-designed project related to climate change awareness and mitigation over the course of the next year. In addition to working individually and as a collective group, we will also represent California abroad at various conferences, such as the G8 Summit in Italy and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Conference in Denmark.

My project right now is to work with municipalities around California to implement innovative property tax based solar financing initiatives similar to those in Berkeley and Palm Desert. The reason I am so behind them is because they allow a homeowner at any income level (good credit required, though) to use his property taxes to finance solar or other energy improvements. In return for paying higher property taxes for 25 years or so, a newly created tax district lends him the money needed to install the panels. The tax district is funded by low-interest municipal bonds. In most cases, the annual or semi-annual "tax" payments net with the energy savings, so it's a win-win for everyone!!

You can read about the program at ClimateChamps.org, or at the British Council's Int'l website. I made the local news here an the KQED Climate Watch blog here.