Climate Change: What is the truth?
Posted by John Ester
on May 12, 2015
With a handful of degrees and a background that has included everything from being an ER doctor in San Francisco to running a bed-and-breakfast in Frankfort, Bill Gittlen shared his considerable knowledge about the timely issue of climate change.
Bill talked about the problems that the world faces as the result of its growth in both population and affluence. He listed various scientific groups that endorse what he regards as a consensus not only that climate change is occurring, but that it is human-caused. In response to the contention that changing temperatures are simply a cyclical phenomenon Bill produced graphs demonstrating a steady upward temperature trend over the last several decades. He noted that in the Copenhagen Agreement of 2009 some 160 world leaders pledged to keep average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees centigrade.
Bill noted that there are positive steps that individuals and communities can take to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, inviting audience members to describe actions they had taken to make their lives more sustainable. Several members took up the challenge, earning themselves new efficient light bulbs in the process!