Hurricane Harvey illustrated what a serious threat global warming is to a developed nation. Much warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico, a result of the increasing greenhouse effect, strengthened Hurricane Harvey resulting in a tragedy in Texas. Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on Florida and Hurricane Maria decimated the US territory of Puerto Rico, producing a human catastrophe which will take months to resolve. The energy released by a hurricane is estimated at the equivalent of a million atomic bombs of the Hiroshima type – per day. Extreme weather will only worsen as the planet warms. Human civilization is dependent on energy sources. Can we mitigate global warming and if so, how can we do so without creating social and economic chaos?
We have two excellent climate change related presentations for the November 2 League Day. Dr. John Odell is Professor Emeritus of International Relations at USC and a Senior Fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He received his B.A. from the University of Texas and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He will discuss Practical Remedies for Climate Change with an emphasis on economic implications.
Our second speaker is Bill Carnahan from the Los Angeles County Office of Sustainability. Mr. Carnahan is the interim Executive Director of Los Angeles County Community Choice Energy (LACCE). He will explain the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program. This program separates the purchase of energy sources from the transmission and billing functions administered by the utility company. Local jurisdictions will be able to control their energy sources by creating a local board which will choose the energy source and be able to move to renewable sources of energy more quickly. The CCA program will also have financial control of these purchases and with the profit will be able to invest in new renewable energy sources.
The Natural Resources Committee members believe that moving to renewable energy sources as soon as possible is a significant and necessary first step toward saving the environment in which we live. We look forward to an interesting and informative morning with great speakers.
