>> In San Antonio, Texas,

climate change has made summers

hotter and thunderstorms

stronger.

City and cultural leaders are

taking a progressive stance in

addressing the issue despite

being in the middle of a state

where climate change can be a

difficult subject to broach.

This segment is part of an

ongoing public media reporting

initiative called

"Peril and Promise," telling the

human stories and solutions of

climate change.

Reporter Chris Duel explains

how the city is crafting its

message to engage its residents.

>> June 27, 2017 --

just days after being elected

mayor of San Antonio,

Ron Nirenberg took his first

action as mayor, signing a

resolution in support of the

Paris climate agreement...

>> But this is not just talk for

San Antonio.

We're getting started.

>> ...a big deal, considering

San Antonio is a largely

conservative city with many

skeptics of climate change.

But San Antonio leaders have had

to address the local effects of

climate change -- hotter

temperatures and increased storm

events that have resulted in

record flooding.

The city started a conversation

with a survey of residents,

called "Resilient SA."

Note, the phrase "climate

change" is not there.

>> So, when we go into the

community and start talking with

folks about climate, we're

not necessarily going to lead

with climate.

We want to talk to them about

what their quality of life is.

We want them to talk about

"Have you noticed changes in

your neighborhood in terms of

weather patterns, in terms of

heat?"

>> But the mayor holds fast

to his feeling that for

San Antonio, the wording isn't

what matters here.

It's about the plans the city

needs to make moving forward.

>> It really doesn't matter what

you call it, you know.

There will be concerns.

We've called it sustainability.

We've called it resiliency.

We've called it global warming.

We've called it climate change.

Whatever you call it, what it

means for communities is that we

have to build resilience.

We have to build an adaptation

strategy.

>> San Antonio has the largest

city-owned utility in the

country.

City Public Service Energy is

fully onboard with progressive

policies.

>> We've actually been on a plan

to reduce our own emissions,

and we would like to be working

much more intensely with the

rest of the community just for

the benefit of the people who

live here.

>> So much so, CPS Energy has

given the University of Texas at

San Antonio half a million

dollars to come up with a

climate action plan for the

city.

Dr. Hazem Rashed-Ali with UTSA

is the lead researcher for the

project.

>> The climate action adaptation

plan that we're developing will

consist of two parts.

So, the first part is the

climate action, which is

essentially us developing a

baseline of what's called the

greenhouse gases inventory in

San Antonio, which is a process

of quantifying all the

environmental impacts of

different community

activities --

so, like transportation, like

energy use, water use, waste.

Then the adaptation part will

start with doing what's called

a climate projection.

So that's looking ahead into the

future through 2050 and deciding

what the climate of San Antonio

is likely to be at that point

of time.

>> So you have the city, a

prestigious university, and a

progressive utility company

coming together to work on a

plan to address the changing

climate.

That's great, but what about

the most important element --

the people?

Selling the idea of climate

change means changing attitudes.

It helps when one of the city's

biggest proponents is a

well-known and beloved Catholic

priest.

>> The official teaching of the

Catholic Church is that climate

change is real, it's happening,

and we have a moral obligation

to care for it, that God created

us, and He gave us the Earth,

and He said, "Take care of it."

And that's what we're trying to

become more aware of in the

Church, is that everything we

touch potentially has an effect

on our climate and on our

planet, and so we have to really

be aware of that and help our

people to be aware of that.

>> One of the things we want to

frame the discussion around is

something around the idea of the

good life.

What is the good life in

San Antonio?

♪♪

And then frame it around "Well,

what happens when you get

two weeks of 100-plus-degree

temperature?

How does that affect your

ability to enjoy the good life?"

>> The climate change

conversation is already strong

in San Antonio's architectural

community, where new

developments downtown, like

the Pearl, create a community

in itself where people can do

almost everything without a car.

>> It is a hard sell, especially

in Texas.

We love our cars, right?

>> So, San Antonio's work to

address climate change is

underway with citizens in the

driver's seat with an eye to the

future.

>> We have an absolute

fundamental responsibility and

obligation to the future

generations.

And whenever I baptize a child

nowadays, I always think, "What

kind of world is this child

going to inherit?

Are they going to be constantly

fighting to just stay alive

because we have pretty much

destroyed the Earth?"

♪♪

>> Ready? 4, 3, 2...