Nov 20, 2008
University of Wisconsin-Stevens
Point to co-host historic climate change summit
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chancellor Linda Bunnell and
Wisconsin Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton will co-host a historic climate
change summit at the university on Friday, December 12. The summit,
“Wisconsin Communities Take Action,” is billed as a clarion call on
municipal leaders across Wisconsin, as well as key private and public
institutions, to create regional and local collaborations to combat
global climate change.
The summit begins at 9 a.m. with a welcome from Chancellor Bunnell.
Lt. Governor Lawton will give a brief explanation of the conference
and introduce the keynote speaker, Terry Tamminen, who will present
“Building the Green Economy.”
The summit will be an opportunity for municipal leaders and others
from throughout Wisconsin to learn about best practices, whether at
UWSP or elsewhere in the state. Workshop sessions, scheduled from
10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., include climate change
in Wisconsin, community energy use, transportation issues, waste
management issues, planning and infrastructure changes, local food
markets, and more.
Stevens Point Mayor Andrew Halverson will introduce the afternoon
keynote speaker, Ron Burke, at a luncheon at 11:45 p.m. Burke will
discuss “Change Begins at Home: Local Solutions to Global
Problems.”
Tamminen has developed expertise in business, farming, education,
nonprofit, the environment, arts and government. He has managed a
multi-million dollar real estate company, owned/operated a successful
recreational services business and assisted the West African nation
of Nigeria with the creation of their first solid waste recycling
program. His latest book, “Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our
Oil Addiction,” published by Island Press, is an examination of our
dependence on oil and a strategy to evolve more sustainable energy
sources.
Burke, director of the new Midwest Office for the Union of Concerned
Scientists (UCS), is responsible for implementing UCS’ agenda in the
Midwest on climate change, clean vehicles, clean energy and sustainable
agriculture. He also served as associate director of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency. He helped organize the state’s
global warming initiative, which included managing the Illinois
Climate Change Advisory Group, coordinating Illinois’ communication
with Congress on federal climate legislation, participating in the
Governors Association’s Energy Security and Climate Stewardship
Platform, and managing the state’s participation in The Climate
Registry, a multistate project to measure and track greenhouse
gas emissions.
The priority registration deadline is Wednesday, November 26.
Complete information about the summit is on the Web
at
www.WiClimateChangeSummit.com.
UWSP is home to one of the largest natural resources programs in
the country and takes its commitment to sustainability very seriously.
In the fall of 2007, Chancellor Bunnell created the Sustainability Task
Force to achieve the goals of tracking, reducing, and eventually
eliminating the campus’ global warming emissions. The task force’s
new Web site is found
at
www.uwsp.edu/sustainability.
