New SoDak 350 group puts focus on climate change action

Austin Wallace didn’t see climate action in his future when he landed in Vermillion as a college freshman.

He came to the University of South Dakota from Metamora, Illinois, with a football scholarship and a clear path to a spot as a starter on the Coyote offensive line. But his post-football career? That question was wide open.

He pondered law enforcement or perhaps a job as a bodyguard. As a guy who stands 6-foot-5 and tips the scales north of 300 pounds, security was worth considering, he thought.

“I found out pretty quickly that I didn’t like it all that much,” Wallace said.

Then, he stepped into a sustainability class. Something he saw there early on hit unnervingly close to home, a message delivered through a documentary on sustainability that included a section on pesticide use.

“There was this girl who was interviewed who had cancer,” Wallace said. “It turned out that she lived 20 minutes away from my house (in Illinois).”

It wasn’t just the proximity. At that moment, his younger brother had the same kind of cancer.

He knew then what he wanted to do: work in sustainability, with a focus on public health.

Now a graduate student, Wallace wants to promote sustainability for the public by focusing on just how personal the impact of climate change can be, particularly to the pocketbook and public health.

On the public health side, a hotter climate means spikes in hospital visits for things like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory diseases and heat stroke.

Those who avoid medical complications will still pay a price, Wallace said.

“When the climate gets hotter, that’s money out of your pocket,” he said. “You’re going to pay more to cool off your house.”

Spreading that message is part of Wallace’s role as vice chairman of SoDak 350, a climate change action group launched quietly through virtual meetings throughout the pandemic. The group recently was granted 501(c)(3) status and unveiled its official website July 8.

It’s the first South Dakota chapter of 350.org, a nonprofit co-founded by environmentalist and journalist Bill McKibben that offers messaging resources for local affiliates all over the world.

The number “350” refers to the parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide considered “safe” by climate scientists. As of June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Monitoring Lab put atmospheric carbon at 414.72 ppm. The goal is to help the planet return to 350 ppm through the rapid adoption of renewable energy and cessation of fossil fuel use.

SoDak 350’s communications coordinator, Kara Hoving of Brookings, counts connecting the dots between ppm numbers and their real-world consequences as a major goal of SoDak 350’s outreach.

Ultimately, she said, SoDak 350 wants the public to push for policy solutions.

Conversations at meet-and-greet events like a June 17 potluck at Sertoma Park are built around each visitor’s knowledge and interest, Hoving said. She points to the Yale University-developed “Six Americas” communication strategies as a guide on how to connect with people across regions whose personal feelings fall on a spectrum of climate change concern ranging from alarmed to dismissive.

Eastern South Dakota residents may not worry about losing beachfront homes to sea-level rise or running out of groundwater for irrigation like Californians, but an uptick in extreme-heat days and more frequent hazardous weather events have real consequences for South Dakotans.

“We want to articulate what climate action looks like in Sioux Falls and South Dakota in a way that meets local needs while also addressing the climate crisis,” said Hoving, an Iowa native who earned a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale in 2021. “We want our organization to be accessible to anyone.”

SoDak 350 has one clear policy target at the moment: the Sioux Falls Sustainability and Climate Action plan. The Sioux Falls City Council shot down a draft proposal in March. The council wanted the city’s sustainability team to reach out to a wider range of stakeholders and revamp the plan for future consideration. Council members cited concerns about the housing market impact of steps like pushing for electrification of residential and commercial heating.

SoDak 350’s membership wanted to see the plan passed in its original form. At this point, Wallace and Hoving said, the aim is to connect with stakeholders and gather support for the plan when it reappears. The group does not work directly with the city, Hoving said, but “we’re hoping that our efforts can complement the efforts of the city.”

Wallace already has done some legwork in that regard. He was among the graduate students to author a Sioux Falls-focused capstone project paper on city sustainability plans in 2021. 

The authors zeroed in on the impact of climate change in South Dakota. Wallace’s section on human health pointed out, for example, that the mosquito season from 1980-89 ran 59 days. Since 2006, the average season has lasted 78 days – days during which the threat of diseases such as West Nile virus stay front and center for South Dakotans.

The project also looked at sustainability plans for cities such as Rochester and Minneapolis, Minnesota; Missoula, Montana; and Fort Collins, Colorado; with a focus on each plans’ policy initiatives and the political mechanics of moving them from concept to reality. 

Interviews with city representatives revealed that cities that succeeded in passing sustainability and climate action plans did so with the help of grassroots coalitions that included organizations and regular citizens.

“Oftentimes, it was the public that brought the want or need for a sustainability plan to the city,” Wallace said. “It was neat to see how grassroots movements were able to gain momentum and really get the ball rolling.”

That’s part of the reason SoDak 350 wants to connect with other environmentally conscious groups in Sioux Falls and around the state, such as sustainable farming organizations and water-quality groups. 

Current membership in a group like that and experience with political action are not prerequisites to SoDak 350 participation, however. The group’s website includes a link to its virtual monthly meeting, which is open to anyone with an internet connection and curiosity about the mission.

“Right now, we’re just looking to connect with anyone who wants to be part of the solution,” Hoving said.