Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Tuesday, August 07, 2007
State global warming task force discusses energy use
The session was not to debate the science of greenhouse gas emissions — that was made clear from the start.
Instead, Gov. Jim Doyle’s task force on global warming focused its first meeting on gathering ideas on how greenhouse gases could be reduced in Wisconsin while still keeping the state’s economy growing.
Business leaders and the public were invited to be part of the process, with the two-hour session teleconferenced Monday evening from sites in Madison, Green Bay, Milwau-kee and at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Wing Technology Center.
Six work groups in the next two months will look at options in carbon trading, taxes, electric generation, energy conservation and efficiency, forestry and agriculture, industry and transportation.
They are to develop 10 or more recommendations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of global warming in Wisconsin by Dec. 31 for a report to the governor.
The task force, signed into existence by Doyle in April, is made up of 29 stakeholders from communities throughout the state. It is headed by Roy Thilly of Wisconsin Public Power Inc. and Tia Nelson, executive secretary of the state Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.
About 20 people gathered at the UW-L teleconference site to listen and comment.
Chris Schneider, president of Honda Motorwerks, touted the virtues of hybrid vehicles, compressed natural gas and developing the next generation of vehicle batteries.
Nick Nichols, environmental coordinator for Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, said Wisconsin needs to increase its renewable energy use and decrease its dependency on out-of-state energy sources.
Barbara Frank, executive board member of the Sierra Club, applauded the task force’s efforts, saying national leadership on global warming has been absent.
“We have 10 years to turn around our current energy usage,” Frank said. “There is great urgency here.”
Countries such as Sweden and Germany have done “impressive things” with renewable resources, she said.
“We have the technology,” Frank said. “We need the political will. I have been an environmentalist for over 40 years, and I have never seen an issue of such urgency.”
Residents from Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay also spoke on consumer energy use, carbon taxes, mass production of wind turbines and getting neighborhoods off the national power grid by producing their own efficient energy.
Ryan Stotts can be reached at (608) 791-8446 or ryan.stotts@lee.net.
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