City Club Missoula – City Hall Vs. CO2 with Mayor John Engen : Local Government Tackles Global Warming, 2/16, Missoula

Local governments and the average citizen can make a
difference in the issue of climate change, Missoula
Mayor John Engen will tell a City Club Missoula
audience Feb. 16.

"Many mayors of small and large cities across the
United States, concerned with the slow pace of change
at the federal level, have come to the conclusion that
climate change is a local issue with global
consequences and have committed themselves to making a
difference at home and around the world," he said.

As mayor of the City of Missoula, a community with a
rock-solid conservation ethic, John Engen is working
with organizations and individuals in and out of
government to chip away at global warming through
education, organization and practical change. He’ll
offer the municipal perspective on climate change and
present some of the best practices he’s picked up from
leaders across the nation. Those include alternative
fuels for municipal fleets, progressive community
design, green buildings and simply turning off lights.

Engen has been interested in climate change but was
inspired to local action by citizens while running for
office in 2005.

"While campaigning, I did have a number of people talk
to me about climate change," he said. "In the wake of
‘Inconvenient Truth,’ I’ve had a lot of people come to
see me to talk about it. I’ve had moms stop and talk
to me in parks and ask me, ‘What are we doing? What
can I do to help?’"

Engen joined mayors from 48 states in Anchorage,
Alaska, in September for a conference on
"Strengthening Our Cities: Mayors Responding to Global
Climate Change," sponsored by the U.S. Conference of
Mayors. There he shared ideas with inspiring mayors
such as Mark Begich of Anchorage and Salt Lake City
Mayor Rocky Anderson.

Engen is putting together an advisory task force on
climate change.

City Club Missoula forums are open to everyone;
reservations are required.

Reservations for the February 16 City Club Forum can
be made by email to [email protected] or by
calling 406-546-6643 on or before Monday, February 12.
Please indicate if you want lunch ($10 for members,
$15 for nonmembers) or the no-lunch option of forum
only for $5. Please cancel if necessary by noon
Wednesday, February 14. Payment is required for late
cancellations and unclaimed reservations. City Club
Missoula encourages those who cannot attend to find a
substitute to claim their reservations.

For more information about City Club Missoula, visit http://www.cityclubmissoula.org.

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Global Warming Expert To Speak At MSU. Tim Flannery Named 2007 Australian Of The Year, 3/5, Bozeman, Montana http://www.matr.net/article-22609.html

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Montana’s lawmakers at center of climate debate

By The Associated Press

Montana’s congressional delegation appears to be at the center of the debate over global climate change.

All three Montana members said they believe global warming is a problem. They advocate the development of new clean-coal technologies and the increased use of renewable fuels, emphasizing those as much as any tough new curbs on emissions. Each man said he would have to look closely at any proposals put forward in Congress.

"These are guys who are going to help determine what the policy actually is, because they are the ones who are in the middle of this debate," said Frank Maisano, a Washington lobbyist and spokesman for several energy companies. "What you are going to find is, if there’s going to be an approach that is acceptable, it’s going to have get the approval of folks like Montana’s delegation."

Full Story: http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/02/05/news/state/50-center.txt