Organizers included members of United Auto Workers Local 879 who will soon lose their jobs when Ford Motor Co. shuts down its Ranger truck plant in St. Paul. The plant, which is run on hydroelectric power from the Mississippi River, is one of the few "green" manufacturing facilities in the nation.
So it was fitting that conference events were held in the training center adjacent to the plant and at the Local 879 hall across the street.
Workshop topics included proposals for future green manufacturing at the Ford plant, the campaign for zero greenhouse gas emissions, the conversion to wind power, effects of climate change on the region and confronting corporate globalization. Speakers at the Jan. 19 and 20 conference included public officials, labor activists, environmentalists, farmers, community organizers and others.
The theme of the conference was "just transition from our present fossil-fuel economy to one that is based on clean, renewable energy," said Local 879 Health and Safety Director Lynn Hinkle. "This rests on the notion that we can have both a health environment and good-paying union jobs in a green economy."
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Lynn Hinkle of UAW Local 879 addressed some participants Saturday during the Labor and Sustainability conference. Photo by Mike Goldman |
Author Jack Rasmus, a former union organizer who has done extensive research on global warming, outlined the scope of the crisis in his keynote address. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is heating up the earth, has nearly doubled in the last 200 years, with most of the growth occurring in recent decades, he said.
The frozen Arctic Ocean could be completely melted by 2040 and scientists say Greenland is melting twice as fast as previously predicted. Massive ice melts will cause major climate changes and create a cycle of heavy rainfall in some areas and drought in others.
As sea levels rise, it\'s estimated 300 million people will become refugees as coastal cities are submerged around the world. Many species of animals and plants also are threatened by the climate changes.
In addition to the human and environmental cost, global warming would have huge economic cost – as much as 20 percent of the world\'s total economic production – nearly $10 trillion, Rasmus said. That\'s more than the economic cost of World Wars I and II and the Great Depression combined, he said.
While the projections are bleak, the good news is that many people are waking up and starting to act, he said.
"The reality is so overwhelming now that the tide has turned" and "there\'s a new political phase opening up" in Congress and at the state and local levels, Rasmus said.
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Author Jack Rasmus |
Rasmus urged conference participants to contact their representatives in Congress to pass meaningful climate crisis legislation. Meanwhile, he said, much of the action will be at the state and local level, where lawmakers are moving ahead of Washington and passing more visionary legislation.
Other steps include using pension investments to promote green production and urging government support for economic development that is both sustainable and creates jobs.
Also at the conference, participants launched "The Green Machine\'s Tour" in Minnesota. Project Director Charles Griffith and Coordinator Claudette Juska brought their Saturn Vue hybrid to the conference to promote fuel-efficient fuel technologies.
The Green Machines Tour is organized by the Ecology Center, a regional environmental organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Follow the tour on the center\'s website, www.GreenMachinesTour.org
Find more on the conference at www.laborandsustainability.org
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Charles Griffith discussed the goals of The Green Machine Tour at a workshop. Photo by Mike Goldman |
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Organizers included members of United Auto Workers Local 879 who will soon lose their jobs when Ford Motor Co. shuts down its Ranger truck plant in St. Paul. The plant, which is run on hydroelectric power from the Mississippi River, is one of the few "green" manufacturing facilities in the nation.
So it was fitting that conference events were held in the training center adjacent to the plant and at the Local 879 hall across the street.
Workshop topics included proposals for future green manufacturing at the Ford plant, the campaign for zero greenhouse gas emissions, the conversion to wind power, effects of climate change on the region and confronting corporate globalization. Speakers at the Jan. 19 and 20 conference included public officials, labor activists, environmentalists, farmers, community organizers and others.
The theme of the conference was "just transition from our present fossil-fuel economy to one that is based on clean, renewable energy," said Local 879 Health and Safety Director Lynn Hinkle. "This rests on the notion that we can have both a health environment and good-paying union jobs in a green economy."
|
|
Lynn Hinkle of UAW Local 879 addressed some participants Saturday during the Labor and Sustainability conference. Photo by Mike Goldman |
Author Jack Rasmus, a former union organizer who has done extensive research on global warming, outlined the scope of the crisis in his keynote address. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is heating up the earth, has nearly doubled in the last 200 years, with most of the growth occurring in recent decades, he said.
The frozen Arctic Ocean could be completely melted by 2040 and scientists say Greenland is melting twice as fast as previously predicted. Massive ice melts will cause major climate changes and create a cycle of heavy rainfall in some areas and drought in others.
As sea levels rise, it\’s estimated 300 million people will become refugees as coastal cities are submerged around the world. Many species of animals and plants also are threatened by the climate changes.
In addition to the human and environmental cost, global warming would have huge economic cost – as much as 20 percent of the world\’s total economic production – nearly $10 trillion, Rasmus said. That\’s more than the economic cost of World Wars I and II and the Great Depression combined, he said.
While the projections are bleak, the good news is that many people are waking up and starting to act, he said.
"The reality is so overwhelming now that the tide has turned" and "there\’s a new political phase opening up" in Congress and at the state and local levels, Rasmus said.
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Author Jack Rasmus |
Unfortunately, the proposals in Congress focus almost entirely on creating incentives for businesses to reduce emissions, such as the "cap and trade" approach that allows companies to sell environmental "credits" if their production falls below carbon dioxide emission limits. This practice, currently being used in Europe, has done little to reduce emissions because the limits are not stringent enough, he said.
Rasmus urged conference participants to contact their representatives in Congress to pass meaningful climate crisis legislation. Meanwhile, he said, much of the action will be at the state and local level, where lawmakers are moving ahead of Washington and passing more visionary legislation.
Other steps include using pension investments to promote green production and urging government support for economic development that is both sustainable and creates jobs.
Also at the conference, participants launched "The Green Machine\’s Tour" in Minnesota. Project Director Charles Griffith and Coordinator Claudette Juska brought their Saturn Vue hybrid to the conference to promote fuel-efficient fuel technologies.
The Green Machines Tour is organized by the Ecology Center, a regional environmental organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Follow the tour on the center\’s website, www.GreenMachinesTour.org
Find more on the conference at www.laborandsustainability.org
|
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Charles Griffith discussed the goals of The Green Machine Tour at a workshop. Photo by Mike Goldman |