Spring Break
Climate Change Conference Praiseworthy
Our Opinion
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Commentary
UConn hosted a climate change conference yesterday at the Bishop Center to examine how the university and the Town of Mansfield are preparing to combat climate change. It is good to see the university taking a proactive step and encouraging conversation about a challenging issue that affects everyone. The university and surrounding community will need to work together in order to combat climate change. Hopefully, the discussion will only cement an increased commitment to the environment, while establishing the state of Connecticut as one of the nation's leaders in battling climate change in its own backyard.
At the conference, Lynn Stoddard, an environmental analyst for the state Department of Environmental Protection, spoke about how the state was addressing climate change. According to the Hartford Courant, the state requires "a certain amount of energy provided by the electric grid to come from clean energy sources, such as fuel cells, solar power, wind, small hydroelectric projects and landfill gas." The conference included a discussion of how town and university officials will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases that adversely affect the atmosphere. There was also a panel of UConn professors, experts in the fields of climatology, economics, engineering, biofuels, political science and natural resources management. It is important to have experts from a variety of fields when discussing climate change, because an in-depth analysis of the problem ought to include non-environmental externalities. For example, economic and social ramifications need to be taken into consideration before any environmental policies are implemented. It would be unwise to blindly jump into a change in climate policy without examining all angles of the issue.
The main benefit of the conference is that it aims to dissect the climate change problem locally. UConn and the surrounding community should be applauded for trying to find a pragmatic solution to a growing problem. Instead of trying to change the world with the wave of a wand, UConn and the Town of Mansfield are aiming to contribute to productive change locally.
The UConn community has already seen how the environment can have a very real impact on its daily lives, as exhibited by the recent water shortages. UConn is taking the right course of action by attempting to tackle climate change problems before their effects become irreversible. However, this cannot be the end of the climate change discussion. In order to adequately address the issue of local climate change and effective environmental policy, there should be more conferences such as this one.
At the conference, Lynn Stoddard, an environmental analyst for the state Department of Environmental Protection, spoke about how the state was addressing climate change. According to the Hartford Courant, the state requires "a certain amount of energy provided by the electric grid to come from clean energy sources, such as fuel cells, solar power, wind, small hydroelectric projects and landfill gas." The conference included a discussion of how town and university officials will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases that adversely affect the atmosphere. There was also a panel of UConn professors, experts in the fields of climatology, economics, engineering, biofuels, political science and natural resources management. It is important to have experts from a variety of fields when discussing climate change, because an in-depth analysis of the problem ought to include non-environmental externalities. For example, economic and social ramifications need to be taken into consideration before any environmental policies are implemented. It would be unwise to blindly jump into a change in climate policy without examining all angles of the issue.
The main benefit of the conference is that it aims to dissect the climate change problem locally. UConn and the surrounding community should be applauded for trying to find a pragmatic solution to a growing problem. Instead of trying to change the world with the wave of a wand, UConn and the Town of Mansfield are aiming to contribute to productive change locally.
The UConn community has already seen how the environment can have a very real impact on its daily lives, as exhibited by the recent water shortages. UConn is taking the right course of action by attempting to tackle climate change problems before their effects become irreversible. However, this cannot be the end of the climate change discussion. In order to adequately address the issue of local climate change and effective environmental policy, there should be more conferences such as this one.
Be the first to comment on this story