Area group wants to start public discussion on climate change

A local grassroots group hopes to start a discussion on climate change and the ways people can address that change locally.

The Southeast Missouri Climate Protection Initiative will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Hirsch Community Room of the Cape Girardeau Public Library. The group is being led by Alan Journet and Kathy Conway.

Journet said the two serve as "facilitators," not leaders, to start a public discussion on climate change that is nonpolitical and agenda-free.

"One of the things we're trying to do very hard in this whole endeavor is not be political," Journet said. "In this particular case, what we're trying to say is this is not political, and we simply welcome people of any political persuasion."

Journet acknowledges his name conjures up thoughts of political activism among many locals because he's been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration on a variety of issues. But this discussion goes beyond politics, he said.

"We don't have a specific agenda. What we're trying to do ... is get people together who are aware of the problem, concerned about it and want to do something. Let's get together, and we'll talk about the kinds of things that we might be able to do in Southeast Missouri and Cape Girardeau."

Journet and Conway have approached Mayor Jay Knudtson about the possibility of committing the city to join a group of U.S. mayors who have pledged their cities will take steps to reduce energy consumption, the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, started by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

Knudtson said he can't join the agreement, since joining may come with financial consequences that could negatively affect the city. However, Knudtson will sign a proclamation soon recognizing the need for attention to and discussion of the evidence pointing to climate change and how local people can make a difference.

"I'm looking at ways to heighten awareness level and educate myself, and to say we can all take a part in trying to improve the world that we live in," Knudtson said.

Knudtson said the evidence for climate change is worth everyone's study.

Journet, a Southeast Missouri State University biology professor, says that evidence is overwhelming, as is the evidence that human activity is contributing to the change.

For his key evidence, Journet points to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's recent report, which says climate change and human influence on that change is occurring with the highest of probability. The panel was formed by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988 to assess the evidence of climate change and its consequences.

Given the evidence, Journet said, now is the time for action on a local level.

Fighting climate change begins at home, with people reducing their energy consumption by conserving electricity in their homes (which is often produced by burning fossil fuels) and gasoline. A complete lifestyle change is not required, said Journet, who admits he owns a Toyota sport utility vehicle in addition to a hybrid car, but little things can make a difference. He hopes those little things can provide a starting point for discussions within the group at the first meeting.

The first meeting won't be a time for debate, Journet said, but those who wish to discuss the evidence are welcome at future meetings, particularly the March 28 discussion of the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

Knudtson said he hopes local residents will think action they can take locally to conserve energy. And he agrees with Journet that climate change is a topic that has moved beyond the realm of the political.

"There's something going on. What's causing and what is going on, I don't have an answer for that, but I'm willing to review evidence, and it has nothing to do with being a Republican or a Democrat," Knudtson said.

For more information on the initiative, visit cstl.semo.edu/SEMOCPI/.

msanders@semissourian.com

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