Ritter returns from trip to Arctic
Two days and a shave after returning from the top of the world, Gov. Bill Ritter says he remains convinced in his plans to deal with climate change at the state level.
Ritter and dozens of climate experts, political figures, non-profit managers, business leaders and clergy completed a week-long trip this past weekend to the Norwegian Arctic, studying the issue of global warming.
The trip was sponsored by the Aspen Institute, the National Geographic Society, and Lindblad Expeditions.
“It reaffirmed in (my) mind our strategy here in Colorado that you can address this issue, which is an environmental challenge for us, but do it in a way that brings an economic benefit and certainly at the same time, helps us move towards energy security,” said Ritter at a news conference Monday afternoon at the State Capitol.
Ritter presented his Colorado Climate Action Plan, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. Included in the trip were Fred Malek, a senior adviser to Sen. John McCain’s presidential run, and former President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Tom Daschle. Both Daschle and Carter are close advisers to Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential run.
The governor said he spent significant time speaking with Colorado native Dr. Jane Lubchenco, who is one of the world’s leading marine biologists at Oregon State University and Julian Dowdeswell, who runs the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University. The group came to a consensus articulate through a policy paper called the “Spirit of Endeavor” in which they acknowledged “credible, scientific information” that can only be addressed through “strong leadership.”
“It’s an endeavor to act and really to act in a way that provides us with some hope,” Ritter said. “These scientists provide a picture where if you only view it in terms of where we’re going (if) nothing changes, you could feel somewhat negative about the future. The fact of the matter was the conversation turned to how can we create opportunity here and I think Colorado has much to inform the rest of the country here about how (you do that).”
Tags: climate change, ego, long trip, the trip, top of the world, Trip, trip to
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Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 6:23 pm under