If you think that somehow, these two things are intimately related to climate science and the education of Petworth residents, you'd be right. Green Neighbors is an all-volunteer group founded in 2013, focused on working to fight climate change and promote sustainability on the local level.

This Wednesday, January 20th, Green Neighbors will host an event entitled “What really happened at the Paris climate talks?” at the Petworth Library from 6:30pm to 8:30pm downstairs in the large meeting room. (This will be the first in a new event series being kicked off this year by the group.)

Get the perspectives of climate activists who were in Paris at the COP21 climate summit, or followed the negotiations closely – perspectives that were not covered adequately in the media. There will be ample time for questions and discussion after hearing from the speakers.

The speakers will address topics including whether the Paris climate deal is ambitious enough, to what extent the agreements are binding, and whether the agreements take into account historical injustices related to fossil fuel use and exposure to extreme weather and other climate-related disasters. They will also talk about the street protests in Paris and where the climate justice movement goes from here.

The confirmed speakers at the event are: David Schwartzman, retired Howard University Professor of Geochemistry; Brandon Wu, Senior Policy Analyst at ActionAid, working on international climate justice; and Anthony Torres, American University student and campus activist on fossil fuel divestment.

This event is sponsored by Green Neighbors; Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), a regional climate action group; and 350 DC, the all-volunteer local chapter of international climate action group 350.org.

*(This photo of crazy people is courtesy Green Neighbors)*

On Saturday, January 23rd, Green Neighbors will participate in the annual “Keep Winter Cold” Polar Bear Plunge sponsored by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) at the National Harbor. This is the third year that intrepid Green Neighbors members will plunge into the freezing Potomac to raise funds for CCAN’s work fighting climate change. If the group raises over $1,000, CCAN will generously allow it to keep half of the money it raises for its own work. So they'd love you to donate to the cause!

“The first year we did the Plunge, it was the year of the polar vortex and they actually had to break ice for us to jump into the river," said Green Neighbors member Catherine Sen. "It was unbelievably cold but it was so worth it to support CCAN and to be part of all that great energy. I’m excited to do it again this year!”

To learn more about the Plunge and to make a donation, visit the Green Neighbors team page.

For more information or to sign up for the Green Neighbors events listserv, send them an email or visit the Green Neighbors website.