Emerald Keepers, founded in 2019, held its second-annual Coronado Community Conference (CCC) on Wednesday, October 11. The goal was to educate Coronadans on the essentiality of social mobilization in the bleak fight against climate change and to provide actionable steps towards a more sustainable future. The day was designed not to instigate fear but to educate Coronado residents on steps they should take to better the planet for upcoming generations. For example, from Coronado’s transportation and building emissions alone, 2.1 million trees would have to be planted for ten years to combat the impact of the CO2 added to the air daily. Collective actions like residents simply bicycling or walking more, researching electric alternatives to gas appliances, switching to solar power, or — in March 2024 — riding with RideCircuit’s all-electric vehicles between the Cays and the Village, can begin to lower these emissions.
Committed to being a zero-waste event, all details at the CCC were thoughtfully organized: attendees were provided with plantable seed paper name tags and reusable coffee mugs, virtual programs, and a catered lunch from “Wild Thyme” where all leftover scraps were placed in a compost bin for the students’ garden at Coronado High School.
Filled with seven speakers and presentations from Coronado High School Emerald Keepers interns, the CCC focused on confronting the disastrous effects of burning fossil fuels; the oft-deadly impact of single-use plastics on marine life; building coastal resilience to climate impacts; and the importance of collective actions like planting native seeds, moving towards solar energy, practicing correct recycling habits, and mandating climate education classes for younger generations. It was an educational afternoon that highlighted Coronado’s current resistance to local policy changes like banning single-use plastics in restaurants and residents’ immediate need to call for a better community. This is essential as we have already been — and will continue to — experience the local impacts of climate change: it is estimated that at the end of the 21st century in San Diego County, heat wave intensity and duration will increase by 20%-50%; sea levels will rise by at least three feet, causing flood events; and the variability of precipitation will increase the intensity of storms, potentially leading to more “Hurricane Hilary” warnings.
When asked what Emerald Keepers’ founder Amy Steward most wanted Coronado locals who could not attend the conference to take away, she shared: “We keep kicking the can down the road, but the time to act is now. The biggest thing is education — learning what positive impacts we can make now for a better future. I encourage anyone to reach out to us with any questions.”
Resources
- Ever wonder how about Coronado’s greenhouse emissions? Watch this video to see just how much Coronado emits! Emission numbers are from the City of Coronado and Caltrans. (Navy, Port and school emissions are not included in this model)
- Confused about what goes in your blue, green and gray bins? Emerald Keepers interns are here to help in this video.
Thanks to Troy Martin for filming and editing.
- To learn more about Emerald Keepers’ mission, current initiatives, and involvement, visit emeraldkeepers.org or reach out to Amy Steward at [email protected].
- To see a breakdown of the Coronado Community Conference schedule and read speaker biographies, click here.
- If you’re interested in learning more on confronting climate change, order Adam Aron’s book “The Climate Crisis” here.
- To read through San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative’s coastal resilience roadmap, click here.
- To learn more about the plastic crisis and Oceana’s plastic pollution campaign, click here.
- To download the Ride Circuit app in preparation for “Follow the Yellow Brick Road with Oz” in March 2024, search “Ride Circuit” in the mobile app store.
