Climate change panel

Apr12

7:00 pm

The second community roundtable event, “Climate Threats to Hudson: Learning from the Experience of Others” will be held on April 12, 7 p.m., in the Media Center at Hudson High School. The meeting is open to the public. A panel of representatives from cities that have tackled climate and sustainability issues will share successes, challenges and lessons learned. They will discuss their greenhouse gas emissions inventories, climate action plans, offices of sustainability and more. Hudson staff also will talk about the city’s sustainability initiatives and plans. A Q&A discussion period will follow.

This is the second community event hosted by the Hudson League of Women Voters in 2023. The first was in February where residents learned about the latest research on climate change, including how it is affecting NE Ohio and Hudson. Participants then met in small groups to identify current indicators of possible climate changes in Hudson and listed ideas for what can be done to reduce emissions and become a climate-smart city. The data gathered will be provided at the April 12 meeting, and it will be the focus of a future Climate Roundtable in late May 2023.

Some of the specific climate related concerns noted by participants in February include: more severe storm events; how health and safety risks are managed by the city; stormwater management challenges; increased algal blooms in local water bodies; more cases of vector borne diseases; tree losses from disease and storm events; more wild animals looking for food in residential areas; summer heat intensity; declines in air quality; more medical issues related to weather and climate effects; and a range of infrastructure impacts such as increased costs of gas, electricity and water.

Ideas for addressing the effects included initiatives such as personal investments in home insulation, installation of heat pumps, solar panels, LED light bulbs, more efficient appliances, conservation practices, purchase of electric vehicles, and neighborhood energy cooperatives among others.

The city of Hudson also reported initiatives that it has instituted including recycling of asphalt it uses for road maintenance; permitting solar installations on buildings; creation of the Barlow Solar Training Center for fire departments, city employees and public education; maintenance of a 42% urban tree canopy; hike and bike trails; city-wide LED lighting; more than 2000 acres of parkland and open space; and significant stormwater management and wetland protection initiatives.

Previous workshops held by the League in Hudson over the past four years attracted over 200 participants, who noted the following:

  • Climate change impacts on NE Ohio are increasingly visible, prompting a need for a response at the municipal level.
  • Local barriers to renewable energy and efficiency should be removed.
  • Water management requires additional infrastructure upgrades.
  • New risk management strategies are needed in Hudson and the region.
  • Evacuation routes and other safety protocols for severe storms are needed.
  • Threats from new vector-borne diseases in our area have increased.
  • Air pollution controls must be strengthened.

The April 12 panel forum will enable Hudson stakeholders to learn from other cities as we prepare to make recommendations as to how we who live or work in Hudson can address climate change impacts and threats. ∞