Why Local Governments Matter
The public is invited to join us for the second in our series of public issues forums on the climate crisis, with our speakers:
Ralph Petersen, Ph.D., UW–Madison Space Science and Engineering Center and former NASA and NOAA scientist
Sherrie Gruder, Sustainable Design Specialist, Energy Program Manager, LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction, UW-Extension
Dave Merritt, Director of Policy and Program Development, Dane County Department of Administration
Stacie Reece, Sustainability Program Coordinator, City of Madison
Download print study materials
The program was broadcast on Live on our Facebook page. The program begins about 5 minutes in.
Ralph Peterson’s slides (1/page, 16 pages) Ralph Peterson’s slides (6/page, 3 pages)
Sherrie Gruder’s slides (1/page, 17 pages)
AAAS How We Respond video on You Tube: Dane County, WI – Methane capture
Stacie Reece’s slides (1/page, 17 pages)
Video available through KSUN.TV. Note that this recording is truncated due to a technical problem. You can see the end of Reece’s presentation and watch the rapid-fire Q&A section on the Facebook live recording.
More information:
Over half a million people live within Dane County’s assortment of cities, villages, unincorporated communities and Ho-Chunk Nation Trust lands. These local governments provide a wide range of services essential for our collective and individual quality of life. We also depend upon them to prepare our communities for the lasting environmental challenges we face with climate change.
Experts from local governments will come together at 7 p.m., Wednesday, November 6, 2019, at the Capitol Lakes Health Center Auditorium in a program to explore solutions and strategies to address climate crisis problems.
Local governments play a crucial role beyond individual actions. Their purview is large- scale and future-oriented. “It does come down to what we are willing to do in our community,” says presenter Stacie Reece, Sustainability Program Coordinator for the City of Madison. “I want to move away from the individual action mindset and get more toward a sort of hive mindset to get everyone activated and working together.”
Ralph Petersen, Ph.D., UW-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center and former NASA and NOAA scientist, will open the forum with a short overview of the federal government’s role in providing climate services.
Sherrie Gruder, Sustainable Design Specialist, Energy Program Manager, at University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Natural Resource Institute, and LEED™ Accredited Professional, Building, Design and Construction, will show how small communities partnering with each other can mobilize and bolster their efforts to make clean energy goals a reality.
Originally scheduled speaker Keith Reopelle, Director of Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change, will be unable to attend. Dave Merritt, Director of Policy and Program Development for Dane County’s Department of Administration, will attend in his place to discuss major climate emissions challenges. He will highlight the most impactful and innovative mitigation strategies from the soon-to-be-released Dane County Climate Action Plan.
Reece will discuss the City of Madison’s investments to achieve the adopted City goal of 100 percent renewable energy for all city operations by 2030. The goal for the entire Madison community is 2050.
Speakers will also participate in a ‘lightning round’ panel followed by an open audience discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing us.