The Pennsylvania Environmental Council will make presentations about the Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania at seven programs about global warming on January 30 to February 13 as part of Focus the Nation, a national grassroots effort to raise awareness about climate change by using universities, colleges, and high schools as locales for awareness-raising events.

PEC authored the Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania with 38 recommendations for reducing climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions in the state. The Roadmap was developed with the help of business, farm, energy generation and environmental stakeholders.

PEC President Brian Hill said, “Climate change will have a tremendous impact on public health, our economy, our environment and overall quality of life in Pennsylvania. It’s imperative that we act decisively to stop global warming. The Roadmap is designed to show us the way to solutions and opportunities to address climate change in ways that work for Pennsylvania and, importantly, in ways our stakeholders could agree on.”

The scheduled PEC presentations are as follows:

· January 30, 5 to 6:30 p.m., at Ursinus College Pfahlher Auditorium, Collegeville, PA, featuring PEC President Brian Hill along with Nancy Cole, Outreach Director for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

· January 31, 9:30 a.m., at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, featuring PEC Legal Affairs Director John Walliser.

· January 31, 12:30 p.m., at Indiana University of Pennsylvania HUB Student Union, Indiana, PA, featuring PEC Communications Director Brad Clemenson.

· January 31, 3 p.m., at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Student Union Cambria Room, Johnstown, PA, featuring PEC Communications Director Brad Clemenson.

· January 31, 7:30 p.m., at Allegheny College Ford Chapel, Meadville, PA, featuring PEC President Brian Hill along with Nancy Cole, Outreach Director for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

· January 31, 7:30 p.m., at Shippensburg State University Ceddia Union Building multipurpose room, Shippensburg, featuring Scott Van de Mark, PEC director of special projects who helped to develop the Roadmap.

· February 13, 7 p.m., at the University of Scranton Patrick and Margaret DeNaples Center, featuring PEC President Brian Hill.

The Climate Change Roadmap sets a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2025, from 2000 levels. In addition, the Roadmap:

· Recommends capping these emissions and joining a nationwide system that allows the trading of credits to promote least-cost solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions;

· Updates the state’s 2003 inventory of greenhouse gas emissions so we have a good foundation to work from;

· Establishes a model, based on the inventory, that will help us look at the impact of alternatives for reducing greenhouse gases and their impact on achieving our goal; and

· Makes 38 recommendations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in energy supply, transportation, residential, commercial and industrial buildings, agriculture, forestry, land use, carbon sequestration and more.

“Pennsylvania alone generates about 1 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, putting us in the same group with the top 25 emitting nations in the world,” said Hill. “We’re a big part of the problem – we need to be a big part of the solution.”

More information, visit the FTN campaign website and for information about Climate Roadmap for PA, visit the PEC website.

1/25/2008