Forum on renewable energy
By Senator Ben-Zion Ptashnik, Jan 12, 2007

Renewable Energy Forum & Expo

Friday, January 19, 5–7pm

Saturday, January 20, 10am–6pm

Sunday, January 21, 10am–2pm

Instituto Allende, Ancha de San Antonio 20

More than 10,000 scientists from around the world, including 52 Nobel laureates, have gone on record that global warming is real and urgent and the time has come to shift from personal denial to personal responsibility on the issue of climate change. That is the theme of the Renewable Energy Forum and Expo at the Instituto Allende, Friday through Sunday, January 19–21.

The overall purpose is to build public awareness of how individuals and businesses can contribute to the emerging battle to slow global climate change and how public officials and building trades professionals can participate in the application of new technologies in this emerging alternative energy sector.

The Expo, which starts at 5pm on Friday and runs through Sunday afternoon, features displays of various alternative wind and solar technologies and offers two free public viewings of An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s acclaimed documentary on global warming, at 7pm on Friday and Saturday.

The Renewable Energy Forum includes speakers on emerging new policies for renewable energy in Mexico and focuses on opportunities for homeowners and builders to actively utilize these emerging technologies. A Saturday workshop for architects and builders is designed to help them integrate solar and wind technology into house planning and design and to review the economics and affordability of various solar and wind generator technologies.

Dr. Jorge Huacuz, Gerente de Energías No Convencionales for the Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas, is the keynote speaker for the event. The Institute is the engineering organization that designs the power grid in Mexico for the CFE. Dr. Huacuz is in charge of all alternative energy research projects and policies in Mexico.

The Renewable Energy Forum/Expo is sponsored by EarthRight Institute of Norwich, Vermont, and Solar San Miguel International LLC.

We are the solution to global warming

A 2005 study on perceptions of global warming found that “most people are moderately concerned,” but that 68 percent believe the greatest threats are to people far away” or that climate changes will only affect some remote natural habitat. This is a dangerous and delusional misperception. 

A recently released British government report, the “Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change,” gives credence to the scientific predictions of dire consequences of accelerating greenhouse gases. The report clearly indicates that huge economic and social disruptions are only a few decades away and that these disruptions are global.

Yet the report also gives hope and predicts that if we begin today and take logical and steadfast actions over the next decade, we can achieve a world of reduced emissions. We can wean ourselves from the addiction to fossil fuels.

The Stern report was commissioned by the British Chancellor of the Exchequer and prepared by one of the world’s leading economists, Sir Nicholas Stern. It has been endorsed by four Nobel Prize-winning economists and the president of the World Bank. For many, global warming is perceived to be an insoluble problem, yet science shows that we humans are born with powerful tools for solving seemingly immutable problems. “We have the genetic smarts and the cultural smarts. We have the technological know-how. And we even have the inclination.”

In response to special interests that argue that recommended steps to reduce global warming emissions are too costly to the economy, the Stern Review makes a strong counter-argument that the real economic damage will come from inaction rather than the remedial steps that many scientists have advocated. The report estimates that acting now to stabilize climate change could cost 1 percent of global GDP each year—a relatively manageable cost—but that the losses from inaction “would reach 5 percent to 20 percent of global GDP year after year, now and forever.” Climate change might be among the catalytic forces—along with oil depletion—that are grave enough to break us out of our cultural trance. It might induce us to move from a culture of consumption and waste to one of sustainability and community. 

Families might have one car rather than two. We might have less stuff. We can harness the power of the sun and wind and tides. We can switch to local, organically grown foods and eat fruits and vegetables in season, reestablishing our relationship with nature. The truth is we can change ourselves with breathtaking speed and still be happy human beings.

Tipping points in society and culture sometimes happen overnight and can seem overwhelming at times. The good news is that history proves we’re capable of keeping up. We are flexible.

When George W. Bush says we can’t act on global warming until we “fully understand the nature of the problem,” we can use his clearly callous disregard as a rallying cry. We can take action, knowing that our children’s future should not be held hostage to the bottom lines of special business interests and energy corporations.

The truth is, humans can change very quickly. Our hallmark is adaptability. History proves that when we behold a better world, we move toward it. We know what to do. We know how to do it. And now that we know the timeline, we can create our own tipping point. Come to the Expo/Forum and see how you can make a difference.

A complete schedule for the Renewable Energy Expo and Forum appears on page 18. 

The author is a retired state senator for Windsor County, Vermont, and a full-time resident of San Miguel de Allende.