District 7870 Global Warming Conference
Posted by Tony Gilmore
As a fundraiser for Pure Water for the World and to raise awareness of the now real threat, District 7870 held its first Global Waming Conference at the Cathedral of the Pines in Ringe, NH on June 8th.
On an exceedingly hot Sunday, fourteen exhibitors and somewhere between 80 and 100 attendees participated. The exhibits covered the spectrum of energy conservation from domestic water heating to a group giving out free compact florescent light bulbs.
The educational portion of the program was introduced by our Governor, Chris Parkinson. The keynote speaker was Dr James McCarthy, local Francistown summer resident, Vice-Chair of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Harvard professor and an address by Billy Connelly from Native Energy, Inc in Charlotte, VT.
Dr. McCarthy was most impressive. He referred to two handouts during his presentation clearly showed where we are going if we do nothing and where we might go with a massive carbon emissions reduction effort. His point was that while Federal regulation is necessary to curtail our carbon footprint, innovation and our capitalist drive for profit will provide solutions to reach the aggressive goals that should be set.
Here, excerpted from the Union of Concerned Scientists' website is their view.
Global Warming Solutions
We have the technology and ingenuity to reduce the threat of global warming today. Solutions are already available that will stimulate the American economy by creating jobs, saving consumers money, and protecting our national security. By investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and increasing the efficiency of the cars we drive, we can take essential steps toward reducing our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels that cause global warming.
Using energy more efficiently and moving to renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal, and bioenergy)
would significantly reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases. The United States currently produces 70 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil, but only two percent from renewable sources. Since the burning of fossil fuels releases large amounts of carbon dioxide-the leading cause of global warming-but renewable energy does not, increasing the share of our electricity generated from renewable resources is one of the most effective ways to reduce global warming emissions.
Cars and trucks are another significant source (25 percent) of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. A serious effort to address global warming must therefore reduce emissions from cars and trucks. Many technologies already exist that can do this, while also creating new jobs in the U.S. automotive sector and other industries throughout the country. In addition, American consumers would save billions of dollars on gasoline, and we would reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
By putting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and vehicle technology solutions in place at the federal level, we can reduce our contribution to global warming while creating a stronger, healthier, and more secure nation.
The educational portion of the program was introduced by our Governor, Chris Parkinson. The keynote speaker was Dr James McCarthy, local Francistown summer resident, Vice-Chair of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Harvard professor and an address by Billy Connelly from Native Energy, Inc in Charlotte, VT.
Dr. McCarthy was most impressive. He referred to two handouts during his presentation clearly showed where we are going if we do nothing and where we might go with a massive carbon emissions reduction effort. His point was that while Federal regulation is necessary to curtail our carbon footprint, innovation and our capitalist drive for profit will provide solutions to reach the aggressive goals that should be set.
Here, excerpted from the Union of Concerned Scientists' website is their view.
Global Warming Solutions
We have the technology and ingenuity to reduce the threat of global warming today. Solutions are already available that will stimulate the American economy by creating jobs, saving consumers money, and protecting our national security. By investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and increasing the efficiency of the cars we drive, we can take essential steps toward reducing our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels that cause global warming.
Using energy more efficiently and moving to renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal, and bioenergy)
would significantly reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases. The United States currently produces 70 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil, but only two percent from renewable sources. Since the burning of fossil fuels releases large amounts of carbon dioxide-the leading cause of global warming-but renewable energy does not, increasing the share of our electricity generated from renewable resources is one of the most effective ways to reduce global warming emissions.
Cars and trucks are another significant source (25 percent) of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. A serious effort to address global warming must therefore reduce emissions from cars and trucks. Many technologies already exist that can do this, while also creating new jobs in the U.S. automotive sector and other industries throughout the country. In addition, American consumers would save billions of dollars on gasoline, and we would reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
By putting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and vehicle technology solutions in place at the federal level, we can reduce our contribution to global warming while creating a stronger, healthier, and more secure nation.