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Will Steger and J. Drake Hamilton:
Global Warming Solutions
Steger and Hamilton will present at the Oct. 9 VAN Forum, 10 am to noon at the Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 W. Roselawn Avenue, Roseville, MN 55113.
[pdf Flyer].

Global Warming is changing our climate. The Artic Ocean is on track to be ice-free by 2050. Category 4 and 5 hurricanes have doubled in the last 30 years. Drought and wildfires are occurring more often.

In Minnesota, the average temperature has increased almost 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past century. Already this year, we have experienced extreme drought and wildfires in northern Minnesota and destructive flooding in the south. If current trends continue, lake levels will decline in inland lakes and the Great Lakes. Summers will grow warmer and probably drier. We will see a shorter season of ice and snow cover.

Global warming is the result of human activity, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels—coal, gas, and oil—to produce energy for our buildings and transportation. Our task is to reduce our carbon footprint, the amount of greenhouse gases we emit, especially carbon dioxide (CO2).

Minnesota can lead the nation toward a clean, modern, efficient energy future. However, dealing with impacts of global warming will require the involvement of everyone: government, business, and individuals.

You have a critical role to play: to be informed and to take action. You can make a difference, personally and as part of a community.

Environmental Force, a VAN venture, invites you to attend the October 9 VAN Forum to learn more about global warming and what you can do to help. The Forum will feature:

Will Steger, polar explorer, educator, and writer who will discuss his firsthand experience of global warming during his treks to the North and South Poles in his presentation: Eyewitness to Global Warming. Will makes a compelling case for the need for immediate action:

“I have been to both poles, and I’ve seen the catastrophic consequences of climatic change. I crossed both the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in the Arctic and Larson A and B Ice Shelves on Antarctica, all of which, to the astonishment of scientists, abruptly collapsed into the sea in the last decade as a result of climatic changes. In 1990, I testified before Congress about the danger of global warming thawing the northern permafrost releasing methane gas, a dangerous greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. This process is now in motion.”

J. Drake Hamilton, Science Policy Director of Fresh Energy, will help participants plan for action with practical solutions that address the causes of global warming. In her presentation —Science, Impacts and Solutions: What Individuals, Governments and Businesses Can Do to Slow Global Warming—she will discuss how personal, business, and policy changes to promote energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy can help Minnesota lead the way in creating solutions to global warming that will improve our Midwestern economy.

Environmental Force is sponsoring this event. Environmental Force was formed to educate and engage older adults and leaving a responsible environmental legacy for our children, grandchildren, and future generations. As an increasingly important segment of the population, older adults have a significant opportunity to make a difference in the health of Minnesota and our planet. For more information, visit www.environmentalforce.org.

The Oct. 9 VAN Forum is being hosted by the Roseville Lutheran Church, conveniently located with ample parking at 1215 W. Roselawn Avenue, Roseville, MN 55113. (So. of Hwy 36 between Lexington and Hamline, www.rosevillelutheran.org). Doors open at 9:30 for exhibits and refreshments. Presentations start at 10:00. The event is free and open to the public.

There will be time for discussion, sharing of concerns, and questions. So come prepared for a most informative and engaging VAN Forum.

For more information, contact the Vital Aging Network at 651-917-4652.

Global Warming 101 (www.globalwarming101.com) is an initiative of the Will Steger Foundation. The Global Warming 101 provides up-to-date, accurate, informative, and accessible information on global warming science, policy, and activism, with an emphasis on changes in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Fresh Energy is a private nonprofit organization leading the transition to a clean, efficient energy system, one that will support healthy economies, healthy people, and a healthy environment. Hamilton is the principal author of Fresh Energy’s report, Playing with Fire: Climate Change in Minnesota, and she writes Fresh Energy’s monthly publication Global Warming Action. Find out more about Fresh Energy on their website at www.fresh-energy.org.