For Immediate Release: April 20, 2009
Contact: Annie Strickler (ICLEI) 510.844.0699 x328
Local Governments Host Events to Connect Neighbors, Businesses, Universities, and Civic Leaders to Drive Climate Change Solutions
Nationwide – This Earth Day dozens of local governments across the country are taking the old adage “Think Globally, Act Locally” to a new level by participating in the National Conversation on Climate Action. They will bring together thousands of people in communities across the country – from Sumter, South Carolina, to Los Angeles, California – to drive local level solutions to global climate change in unique events designed to inform and inspire action. At a time when headlines are dominated by reports of the struggling economy, job losses, energy concerns and climate change, there is a critical need for communities to be active and engaged on these issues.
More information about this unprecedented initiative: www.climateconversation.org.
Watch the video all events will screen: http://www.climateconversation.org/index.php?id=9645
The National Conversation is lead by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Earth Day Network and AmericaSpeaks. It is supported by the American Planning Association, National League of Cities, Sierra Club, the US Green Building Council and many other prominent organizations.
“Earth Day 2009 arrives at a unique moment in history, and it demands an equally new, bold approach. We can create green jobs, boost the economy, drive clean energy solutions and fight global warming together, but it starts with a conversation,” said Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of ICLEI USA. ‘Today that conversation will begin in communities from Connecticut and Florida to Washington and California and everywhere in between.”
Among the communities participating in the National Conversation, the following were selected as Spotlight Conversations as their challenges, opportunities and commitment to solutions merit special attention: Greenburgh, New York; Hennepin County, Minnesota; Houston, Texas; Jackson, Wyoming; Lexington, Kentucky (Fayette County); Los Angeles County, California; Sarasota County, Florida; Sumter, South Carolina; and Tucson, Arizona. Summaries of their events are below.
“We are delighted to be part of the National Conversation to help bridge the gap between climate science and action,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale F&ES Project on Climate Change.
Across the country the National Conversation on Climate Action is putting a spotlight on the pioneering role of local governments in addressing global climate change. Local government officials have been driving our country’s response to this global crisis through innovation and inspired action.
“Earth Day Network is honored to be part of the National Conversation on Climate Action, which seeks to build local support for climate change solutions. So often, the key to resolving out national issues can be found at the local level, particularly when it comes to the environment,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network. “We expect the lessons we learn from these conversations will resonate in the highest levels of our government, and with people from all walks of life.”
The 2009 National Conversation reflects the burgeoning demand from local governments for support on community outreach and engagement on climate initiatives. It will enable them to build broader, sustained citizen support for and involvement in local climate protection strategies.
“Climate change affects everyone – all citizens must have the opportunity for open, informed dialogue with each other and the ability to work with decision-makers to take actions in their communities. AmericaSpeaks is excited to work with the Spotlight Conversation sites to produce results-oriented town meetings,” said Carolyn Lukensmeyer, President of AmericaSpeaks.
A new Climate Change at Yale web portal is now available online. The site inventories climate change related research, teaching, outreach, and carbon emissions reduction efforts at Yale University.
PRESS CONTACT
Tom Conroy
203-432-1345
Melissa Goodall
203-432-3123
New Haven, Conn. — Governors from across the United States will meet at Yale University on April 17 and 18 to review state-level programs to combat global climate change and to develop a strategy for future action.
The gathering will also celebrate the centennial of President Theodore Roosevelt’s landmark 1908 Conference of Governors, which launched the modern conservation movement, planted the seed for the National Parks System, and inspired significant state efforts to protect land. The event will celebrate 100 years of state leadership on critical environmental issues, confront the present climate challenge, and set out a vision of a federal-state partnership for future action.
“Roosevelt showed remarkable foresight a century ago in engaging the states’ chief executive officers to preserve and protect the nation’s natural resources,” said Yale President Richard C. Levin. “Now, we face a new and critical challenge—global climate change—and leadership in the United States is coming from visionary state governors.”
Governors who plan to attend the conference include M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. Quebec Premier Jean Charest will also be present, and a dozen other governors are exploring whether their schedules will permit participation.
The governors will meet privately for high-level discussions on climate change, and address the general public during a plenary session on April 18th. In recognizing those governors who have demonstrated global leadership in addressing climate change, this gathering will also provide these leaders with an opportunity to exchange ideas and chart a forward path on state, national, and international action. While at Yale, it is anticipated that the governors will sign a climate change declaration that addresses state and federal-level policymaking. This is particularly timely as the United States preparates for new leadership at the federal level.
Nobel Laureate Dr. R. K. Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will address the gathering. Several former EPA administrators, including Christine Todd Whitman and Carol Browner, will also be part of the dialogue. Governor Schwarzenegger and Dr. Pachauri will deliver public addresses at the conference on April 18. Theodore Roosevelt IV will speak on the 17th about the legacy of his great-grandfather. A complete list of conference participants and other details will be distributed closer to the event.
As one of the country’s leading environmental schools, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, led by Dean Gus Speth, is uniquely positioned to host the Conference of Governors. Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot, Roosevelt’s trusted advisor and founder of the U.S. Forest Service, Yale’s environment school has an impressive record of training leaders in conservation and pollution control. Pinchot organized Roosevelt’s 1908 Conference of Governors, which inspired the modern conservation movement.
The IPCC 4th Assessment Report
On February 2, the IPCC, an international group of scientists charged with reviewing the evidence on global climate change, issued “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis,” a summary for policymakers. The summary describes progress in understanding the human and natural drivers of climate change. The report is available for download at http://www.ipcc.ch/.
As has been widely reported, the new report states clearly that the earth’s climate is changing, and it attributes the bulk of these changes to human activities. Specifically, the IPCC report states that warming is “unequivocal,’ humans are “very likely” responsible (defined as more than 90% probability) and the earth’s climate is “very unlikely” to be so insensitive as to render future warming inconsequential.
The latest report from the IPCC is important for several reasons. First, it represents a consensus of scientists from around the world on the state of the science. Six-hundred authors nominated by 40 countries contributed, and representatives from 113 countries gathered to review the final draft before its release. Thus it represents an extraordinary agreement among the top climate scientists in the world on the certainty and seriousness of human-caused global climate change.
Second, this report highlights the amount and quality of new scientific evidence on the size, causes, and growing impacts of climate change. The last IPCC report, issued in early 2001, was full of uncertainties about the likelihood that human activities were behind most of the warming, and potential future warming. Here is what John Holdren, president of the AAAS, says in reflecting on the 2007 assessment: “…since 2001 there has been a torrent of new scientific evidence on the magnitude, human origins, and growing impacts of climatic changes that are underway. In overwhelming proportions, this evidence has been in the direction of showing faster change, more danger, and greater confidence about the dominant role of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning and tropical deforestation in causing the changes that are being observed.”
Finally, the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report seems to be adding strength to a growing movement among scientists and others to call for immediate and serious action to begin to tackle the growing climate crisis. On February 18, the board of the AAAS issued a consensus statement declaring global climate change a growing threat to society, and calling for immediate action to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions; see http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2007/0218am_statement.shtml
AAAS president John Holdren issued a compelling argument as well: Read the full statement.
Other News
Here’s one other interesting item from the Feb 2 issue of Science magazine:
Trying to predict ecological responses to climate change may be trickier than previously thought: The summary below describes a paper published in the Feb 2, 2007 issue of Science magazine.
Most forecasts of ecological responses to climate change assume that these can be based on individual species tolerances for changing moisture or temperature regimes. Suttle et al. (p. 640; see the Perspective by Walther) challenge this assumption. In a 5-year experiment, they examined the consequences of alternative climate change scenarios in a grassland ecosystem in California, USA. Manipulation of rainfall over replicated 10-m diameter plots showed that higher-order species interactions dictate responses throughout the community. The effects on plant and arthropod abundance and diversity were the reverse of what would have been predicted based on individual species responses. Click here for article abstract.
On November 9, 2006, the YPCC convened a meeting of experts from around the US to discuss the recommendation for a “Bridging Institution” to convey the most important findings of climate change science to the public.
Read Bill Blakemore’s article about the meeting on the ABC News website.
Eban Goodstein, Project Director of Focus the Nation and Professor of Economics at Lewis & Clark College, Portland, addresses Yale’s environment school on the subject of building a grassroots movement to plan and host nation-wide discussions of climate change stabilization on January 31, 2008. See the presentation
See the action recommendation to organize a grassroots educational campaign
Yale University, along with two other leading U.S. organizations (Marsh - the world’s leading risk and insurance services firm and Ceres - the nation’s largest coalition of investors and environmental groups working with companies on environmental and social issues) has announced a unique collaborative effort to educate hundreds of independent corporate board members about the potential liabilities and strategic business opportunities that global climate change can create for companies. The announcement was made at a plenary session of the 2006 annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, being hosted in New York this week by former President Bill Clinton. The concept for this new collaboration has been developed in partnership with the YPCC.
AAAS Project 2061 is developing a new Atlas of Science Literacy map on weather and climate. Frank Niepold, project participant and Climate Education Fellow at NOAA is assiting AAAS in this process and would appreciate any thoughts and suggestions for the new language/edits to the selected benchmarks. This new map will be in the second volume, please click on this link to take a look. If you would like to be involved in this process, please email Frank Niepold asap at: frank.niepold@noaa.gov .
See the action recommendation to improve K-12 students’ understanding of climate change
Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change talks about the need for America to show leadership on the climate issue, and offers a comprehensive energy plan to reduce carbon emmissions. Video - 45 minutes
See the action recommendation to design a new vision for energy
Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres and project participant, discusses the emergence of climate change as a front-burner issue for major corporate investors (pension funds, insurance companies, etc.). Video (48 minutes).
See the recommendation to disseminate eigh principle framework to business leaders
