City Tackles Climate Change

Last Thursday the City hosted “An Inconvenient Talk” for its day of Climate Action. Oceanographers Gary Lagerloef and Jonathan Lilly of Earth and Space Research, presented a very engaging discussion of climate change.

Mr. Lilly started the evening off with humor and explained how scientists only agree on three things, 1. My idea is better than yours, 2. The climate is getting warmer, and 3. The world is round (mostly). Mr. Lagerloef got into the gritty science of climate change and how the data is processed to come to these conclusions. It was very similar to Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” but more local and accessible.

The evening also featured Mayor Baarsma speaking about the city’s efforts to combat climate change after he signed the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement. A key component was the formation of the Green Ribbon Task Force. It’s purpose is to create recommendations for the city to meet the standards of the Agreement. Ryan Mello, co-chair of the task force, was on hand to discuss their work. Several local environmental groups were also on hand.

The Green Ribbon Task Force will be unveiling their recommendations for public review in February and March. We’ll keep you posted as their town hall meetings get announced.

In the mean time, the Task Force meets on the third Monday of each month, and all meetings have a public comment period. The next one is on November 19.

When & Where
November 19, 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Fleet Operations Building
3639 S Pine St, Suite A