FAYETTEVILLE : Climate-change meeting hosted by city, UA among 65 in nation
Posted on Wednesday, October 3, 2007
The city of Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas’ Applied Sustainability Center are hosting a three-hour conference Thursday to bring the national discussion on climate change to Northwest Arkansas.
It is one of 65 events being held in cities and towns nationwide Thursday as part of the inaugural National Conversation on Climate Action.
The goal is to get communities talking about how they can limit their impact on the environment, said Annie Strickler, spokesman for ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability.
“You can’t really talk about global warming solutions in this country without talking about local initiatives,” she said. “This is where the rubber meets the road.”
ICLEI is an international association of more than 630 local governments founded in 1990 as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
Fayetteville is the only Arkansas city participating in the initiative sponsored by ICLEI, Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and the Washington, D. C.-based Association of Science-Technology Centers.
The conference will be from 1 to 4 p. m. Thursday in the auditorium of Willard J. Walker Hall on UA’s Fayetteville campus.
Fayetteville is one of seven “focus cities” for the event, meaning sponsors helped organize speakers and activities, said John Coleman, Fayetteville’s sustainability coordinator. Other focus cities are Salt Lake City, Dallas, Indianapolis, Phoenix, San Diego and Annapolis, Md.
The main speaker will be Kevin Robbins, director of Louisiana State University’s Southern Regional Climate Center in Baton Rouge. Other speakers include Mike Johnson, UA associate vice chancellor for facilities, and Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody. The Applied Sustainability Center is part of UA’s Sam M. Walton College of Business
Robbins will discuss the science of climate change and its effects on Northwest Arkansas. Other speakers will discuss environmental initiatives at the local level and how individuals can participate.
The audience can then participate in break-out discussions on topics such as transportation, food, renewable energy and energy conservation, Coleman said.
Strickler said hopes are to make the National Conversation on Climate Action an annual event. “We want the end result to be for people to walk away and feel like they’re really part of something and that they have a role to play in their communities,” Strickler said. “We hope to walk away from this with 65 communities much more engaged in climate issues than they currently are. We want the impact of this to extend far beyond Oct. 4.” More information about the National Conversation on Climate Action is available at www. climateconversation. org.
To contact this reporter: cpark@arkansasonline. com
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