A citizens lobbying group to advocate for policies to reduce climate change has been formed in St. Joseph. Citizens’ Climate Lobby officially opened its St. Joe chapter on Saturday. CCL volunteers lobby Congress in support of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which would put a carbon tax on fossil fuels to be returned to the public in order to cushion higher energy costs as fossil fuels are phased out. CCL says fossil fuels are a major source of greenhouse gases linked to global warming. St. Joseph Mayor Pro-Tem Laura Goos, a member of the new CCL, says the signs of climate change are all around us here in southwest Michigan, pointing to coastal erosion and flooding along Main Street in Benton Harbor and at Riverview Park in St. Joseph. The CCL will hold meetings on the second Saturday of each month at the Berrien Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Lincoln Avenue. Each meeting will begin at 12:30 p.m. and run for two hours.
