Green Democracy
When: Wednesday, January 30, 5:30-7:00 pm
Where: The Student Union Ballroom
Florida Gulf Coast University invited our state and federal politicians to participate in a non-partisan round-table. During this event, students, faculty, staff, and panelists engaged in a dialogue regarding local, state, and national solutions to climate change.
Local and state politicians were featured at this non-partisan event. The following graciously agreed to join us:
Representative Gary Aubuchon serves Southwest Florida as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Infrastructure in the Florida House of Representatives. He also sits on the Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Council, the Committee on Energy, and the Committee on K-12. He was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award in 2003 from the Lee County Chapter of the American Red Cross. He was named the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 2001. He is dedicated to promoting sound, statewide environmental and water quality initiatives.
Commissioner Brian Bigelow, of District 2, serves on the Regional Planning Council in Lee County. Commissioner Bigelow's father and former Commissioner, Charles Bigelow, made possible the funding to purchase Flint Pen Strand, the largest portion of the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (C.R.E.W.). Our dying environment caused by toxic nutrient-laden waters originating from both inside and outside Lee County, is among Commissioner Bigelow's primary concerns.
Representative Matt Hudson, from District 101, served on the Golden Gate Land Trust Advisory Council and Collier County Land Trust Advisory Committee.
County Commissioner Frank Mann, a lifelong resident of Lee County, has served in both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. In 1991, he was appointed by Florida Governor Lawton Chiles to the South Florida Water Management District Board where he served for two years. Mr. Mann served ten years on the Natural Resources Committee, working actively for the preservation of Upper Captiva Island, Cayo Costa Island and Lovers Key in Lee County. He was active in the creation of the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, which led to the purchase of 40,000 acres of sensitive lands in the Fakahatchee Strand in Collier County.
Representative Garrett Richter, from District 76, serves on the Committee on Environmental Protection in addition to maintaining involvement with Big Cypress Water Basin.
Senator Burt L. Saunders, from District 37, chairs the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation. He has won countless honors and awards including the Audubon of Florida's 2007 Champion of the Everglades Award, the Florida Wildlife Federation's 2007 Conservation Legislator of the Year, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida's 2001 Environmental Leadership Award, the Everglades Coalition's 2000 Steward of the Everglads Award, and the Nature Conservancy's 1998 Friends of the Conservancy Award.
Representative Nick Thompson was elected to the Florida House in 2006. He is the Vice Chair of the Committees on Constitution and Civil Law and on Juvenile Justice. He also sits on the Committees on Healthy Families and on Infrastructure. Finally, he is a member of the Council on Safety and Security.
Opening Remarks by Jim Wohlpart
Welcome, and good evening. My name is Jim Wohlpart, Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and I am honored to facilitate this session tonight on Green Democracy.
I had great opening remarks tonight—carefully researched and crafted—poetic and philosophical. And succinct.
But when I got about half way through our Teach-In today, I recognized that my remarks would not adequately honor what I witnessed today. We started at 8:30 this morning with a plenary, and then we had concurrent sessions from 9:30 to 5:00. We had 30 presentations on 10 different panels. All five colleges were represented in these presentations.
During these sessions, we heard about the role of stories in our culture, stories that are authentic, that create a paradigm shift to provide a new definition of success—not one based on the tired and empty idea of "more and better." When basic needs are met, the Earth Charter tells us, human development is primarily about being more, not having more.
We heard about the need to expand our moral awareness to include future generations. We must remember that hope and change come from our ability to see the present through the eyes of the future.
This afternoon, we got a preview of our play The Living Blog: Apocalypse (opening on February 13 in the Arts Complex) written and directed by Barry Cavin. I won't give the plot away. If you have seen any of Barry's plays, you know that there aren't any plots.
Something more significant than plot happens in these plays. As Barry's colleague Michelle Hayford commented, they embody things that we don't normally talk about, things that escape words—like what in the world are we going to do about climate change?
We heard about Bangladesh, the South Pacific, Earth Art Works, Music and Children, and Nature Deficit Disorder.
I am deeply humbled by the work of my colleagues, by the range and sensitivity of perspectives on the issue of climate change. I am deeply impressed by our students—the rooms were full throughout the day; in our last session we had over 100 students—and impressed by their participation. As Peter Blaze Corcoran suggested, this was not a Teach-In so much as a Learn-In.
A theme that recurred throughout the day was the need for transformation, for moving from the Cenozoic Era to what Thomas Berry calls the Ecozoic Era, a time of mutually enhancing Earth-human relations. As Berry notes, this is the Great Work of our time.
This transformation will require change agents at many levels and in many forms, from the top levels of our government in Washington and Tallahassee, to our county commissioners, to the leadership in our educational institutions and the faculty that create learning opportunities, to the relationships we establish in our communities and the lives we create in our homes.
We are joined here tonight by agents of change to talk about solutions. Local solutions. National and international solutions. We have asked each panelist to offer a short remark and then we hope to open this space to a nonpartisan conversation about solutions to climate change.
I am honored now to introduce our panelists; please welcome them as I do so:
Representative Gary Aubuchon serves Southwest Florida as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Infrastructure in the Florida House of Representatives. He was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award in 2003 from the Lee County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow serves on the Regional Planning Council. His father, Charles Bigelow, a former Commissioner, made possible the funding to purchase Flint Pen Strand, the largest portion of the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed.
Representative Matt Hudson served on the Golden Gate Land Trust Advisory Council and the Collier County Land Trust Advisory Committee. He was a finalist for the Golden Gate Citizen of the Year award in 2000.
Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann has served in both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. He worked actively for the preservation of Upper Captiva Island, Cayo Costa Island, and Lovers Key, and was active in the creation of the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, which led to the purchase of 40,000 acres of sensitive lands in the Fakahatchee Strand.
Representative Garrett Richter has taken a special interest in education, currently serving on the Committee on Primary and Secondary Education. He also serves on the Committee on Environmental Protection in addition to maintaining involvement with Big Cypress Water Basin.
Senator Burt Saunders chairs the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation. He has won countless honors and awards including the Audubon of Florida's 2007 Champion of the Everglades Award, the Florida Wildlife Federation's 2007 Conservation Legislator of the Year, and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida's 2001 Environmental Leadership Award, just to name a few.
Representative Nick Thompson was elected to the Florida House in 2006. He is the Vice Chair of the Committees on Constitution and Civil Law and on Juvenile Justice. He also sits on the Committees on Healthy Families and on Infrastructure.
Welcome to all of you. Thanks also to the FGCU Centers and Institutes for their support—the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, the Coastal Watershed Institute, and the Whitaker Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education. I would also like to recognize Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve for their partnership in this event.
Today's events have enjoyed the support of President Wilson Bradshaw, Vice President for Administrative Services Joe Shepard, and Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Peg Gray-Vickrey. Both the faculty senate and the student government have endorsed our events, and the FGCU Bookstore has provided mugs for our panelists. Finally, I would like to thank Jennifer Goen, Director of Government Relations, Amber Pacheco in campus reservations, and Nicolette Oster in the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office for their assistance and support. To be honest, without Niki's support, today's events would never have come together the way they did.
Tonight we have an opportunity to do something different, something new, to reclaim who we are as a community and as a nation. The great work that we have before us will require a steadfast commitment to revitalizing the founding principles of our great democratic nation.
As Terry Tempest Williams says in The Open Space of Democracy,
I have always believed democracy is best practiced through its construction, not its completion—a never ending project where the windows and doors remain open, a reminder to never close ourselves off to the sensory impulses of eyes and ears alert toward justice. Walls are torn down instead of erected in a counter-intuitive process where a monument is not built but a home, in a constant state of renovation.
Tonight we have the opportunity to begin building our home, a process that requires openness and dialogue, deep listening and respect. Terry Tempest Williams suggests that the path to democracy is "the path of intellectual freedom and spiritual curiosity. . . . [It is] based on our resistance to complacency. [On our willingness] To be engaged. To participate. To create alternatives together." She warns "We will make mistakes. But we can engage in spirited conversation and listen to one another with respect and open minds as we speak and explore our differences, cherishing the vitality of the struggle."
At the white hot center of the democracy that Terry Tempest Williams imagines, and that I suggest guide us here tonight as we engage the grandest issue of our time, is deep and respectful listening and active and creative participation. I want to close my comments with a few final words from Terry Tempest Williams.
The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions. Can we be equitable? Can we be generous? Can we listen with our whole beings, not just our minds, and offer our attention rather than our opinions? And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without giving up, … trusting our fellow citizens to join with us in our determined pursuit of a living democracy.
With that, I will turn it over to our panelists for their opening comments.
Opening Remarks from Legislators
Rep. Gary Aubuchon
- The United States responds well to isolated threats but not global ones (e.g. climate change)
- We must feel the threat and be inspired to act
- Energy independence, carbon capture, and cleaning emissions are part of the solution
Comm. Brian Bigelow
- Discussion of our country's "addiction" to oil--like any addiction to alcohol, drugs, etc. the addiction must first be acknowledged before it can be overcome
- Urban sprawl is a symptom of this addicion and we must move toward more dense urban areas to be more efficient (e.g. NYC)
Rep. Matt Hudson
- Has a unique view because of his district spanning across the state; it's easy to lose sight of the state's beauty from inside the "urban jungle"
- Concerns include water--landscape changes are visible across the state
- Desalination technology, water improvement, and new forms of energy (e.g. Farms for Fuel program) will help make FL self-reliant through agriculture/bio fuels
- Mentioned $25 million in grants to explore possibilities
Comm. Frank Mann
- We have a moral obligation to future generations who have inherited the burden of our mistakes (mentions the national debt of $9 million, which means each student in the room is already in debt 40K)
- Discussion of his visit to Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska (half of the glacier is gone and other glaciers are following suit)
- Europe has agreed that climate change is an issue with economic consequences
Rep. Garrett Richter
- The environment is always changing; 100 years ago everyone rode a horse--now everyone drives a car
- Deep and respectful listening should be practiced; little things can make a big difference
- Primary issues facing Florida are water and energy, not taxes and insurance
- We should be looking 50-100 years ahead; not 5-10 years ahead
Sen. Burt Saunders
- Agreed with obligation to future generations and focus on a new energy policy
- Discussion and viewing of Power Point presentation
o Florida concerns include agriculture, wildfires, coral reefs, human health
o Discussion of ocean rise
o At projected rate, 420 metric tons CO² will be emitted in the year 2025
o 49% of Florida's CO² comes from electricity; 43% of CO² comes from transportation
Governor Crist's Executive orders "Leadership by Example: Immediate Actions to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Florida State Government" (07-126); "Immediate Actions to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions within Florida" (07-127); and "Florida Governor's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change" (07-128) move to:
o Measure greenhouse gas emissions
o Reduce emissions
o Adopt CA vehicle emission standards
o 15% efficiency increase of consumer appliances
- Action Team on Energy and Climate Change created the Florida Energy Commission in 2006
- Focus on using more solar and wind energy (e.g. the gulfstream) as a solution
- Research funding exists for green technologies
Rep. Nick Thompson
- "All politics is local" (e.g. estuaries, Caloosahatchee River)
- We are stewards of the environment and should leave it in better shape than we found it
- Due to population and economy growth, we have "fooled with Mother Nature"
- Learning the science of climate change and being knowledgeable about the signs is most effective in persuading and informing others
Q&A
Q: Do you foresee the disappearance of agriculture fields in the future?
A:
- We have a "skewed" view of the coastline; there is a way to preserve lands using alternative crops and community planning that is Eco-friendly
- The Ditropa plant is an example of a source of energy; it creates oil that can be used for biodiesel
- We need to find a way to do things cleaner and better
Q: What is an economically feasible alternative source of energy?
A:
- The Sunshine State should be utilizing solar power, wind power is not strong enough in the state to be sustainable
- There is no "silver bullet" solution--it will be a combination of things
- Painting the roof of your house white will reduce your energy bill by 20%
- Nuclear power is an alternate means of energy
- Hydrogen powered vehicles (range of 500 mi)
Q: Is the country ready for an inspirational leader? Where do we find him/her?
A:
· The country is always ready for a leader, whether it is a grass roots leader or one from Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
· There is no 'magic solution,' every technology has a drawback
· Don't focus on what's wrong with change (e.g. initial reactions to NASA's exploration in the 60s)
· It doesn't matter whether you believe whether global warming is real or not—our dependence on Middle East oil is a problem, and we must wean ourselves from it to get away from terrorism
· Present leaders are beginning to move in the right direction
· 'Eco friendly' costs must be justified by their benefits
· Top government is "bottom up"--the people are catalysts not government officials
· We have encroached on beautiful habitats and gotten too close it (e.g. urban sprawl); we need to be using food as energy
· Stop using oil first (reference to our 'addiction' to oil); identify what is driving our use of fossil fuels
· Discussion of the acquisition of 80,000 acres (Picayune Strand); Florida Forever plan ($300 million/year; 10-yr plan)
Q: Audience member disagreed with the notion of people leading the 'green' movement; legislators need to be the leaders
Q: Why is there new construction on campus but none using renewable energy?
A:
- AB7 and every building going forward will be within LEED specifications
- We can't go backwards, we can only be thoughtful in our future decisions
- FGCU is leading efforts toward sustainability
Q: Why is Florida subsidizing nuclear energy upfront with taxpayer money?
A:
· There have been no accidents in nuclear plants yet– there is safe nuclear energy
· We won't become independent overnight
Q: Is there a tax incentive approach to going 'green'? Are there plans to expand mass transit?
A:
- Concentration of density in city will avoid encroachment on rural land
- Discussion of Mann Manifesto
Can you confirm a bio fuel plant in Lee County?
· There is a new experimental attempt to use restaurant oil to recycle and blend with diesel; initial efforts were pushed by Ray Judah
- Promotion of organic farming to reduce pesticides
Focus the Nation – Green Democracy
Closing Comments
The issue of the 21st century will be the issue of humans' relationship to the natural world, and I believe that we are the one place in the world with our amazing democracy that has the most hope for resolving this issue in creative and dynamic ways.
But we must reclaim our democracy to do so. We must remember that the heart of our democracy is not corporate will; it is not partisanship; it is not conflict or aggression or degradation of others. The white hot center of our democracy is the engagement of the people in conversation and dialogue, in creating a space for deep and respectful listening and for reflective activism.
I want to thank our panelists for taking time out of their very busy schedules to join us tonight. And I want to thank you—the audience, the citizens of southwest Florida—for coming together for this event. In the busyness of our lives, we have many things that distract us, but you chose to be here tonight to reclaim your voice as a people, to come together as a community, to begin to solve this local and global issue.
As Thomas Berry says, we have Great Work before us, and if we engage that work and make the shift to a new era, our lives will be richer than we've ever imagined and generations that have yet to come will smile back at us with the deepest of gratitude.
Thank you. I hope you will join us for our next session—a live interactive webcast called the 2% Solution at 8:00 pm here in the Ballroom—and then finally events tomorrow at Rookery Bay during the day and a presentation tomorrow night at 7:30 pm here in the Ballroom by Don Miller, who has been trained by Al Gore, called "Climate Change in the Sunshine State."
For more information, please contact Dr. Jim Wohlpart at wohlpart@fgcu.edu or (239) 590-7181.
Sponsors for this event include:
