The Re-Energize America campaign brought its message to a Town Hall meeting at the University of Miami this evening as part of its educational series about solving global warming and ending oil addiction.
The Re-Energize America campaign has hit upon a smart holistic approach to draw people together over the energy debate by inviting speakers from political life, the business world and the religious community. It worked very well Monday, with each speaker adding a complementary angle to the debate. I'm happy to say that the meeting was the first carbon neutral event I have attended, thanks to the Bonneville Environmental Foundation which sells 'green tags' to offset carbon emissions. I was also able to purchase a clifbar.com 'cool tag' at the door for $2 to offset the car emissions getting to and from the meeting.
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz told the meeting that the public needed to take a bigger role in the energy debate, 
through more efficient energy use. "We can all make smarter choices," he said. Diaz recently bought a hybrid as the Mayor's official car and plans for the city to have 1,000 hybrid or alternative energy fleet vehicles by 2012. The mayor plans a conference in Miami later this year to invite 'green'
developers from around the country to explain the thinking behind green building design. He has also set up a Miami Green Commission to serve as an alternative energy advisory panel.
Adrianna Quintero, Latino Outreach Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), 
started things off by explaining the gravity of the problem of global warming, but stressing that it is "not too late" to stabilize global warming by reducing C02 emissions into the atmosphere. To bring greenhouse gas emissions under control, Quintero said we need to cut our oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels a day within the next decade, and reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050.
This could be done, she said, by using energy efficent technology, from energy saving light bulbs to green building design and alternative fuels.
Jim Fenton, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center focused on some of the ways to reduce
energy consumption, pointing out the added attraction that "you can save money doing this."
The need for greater energy efficiency is especially apparent in Florida which ranks fifth nationally in the amount of energy consumed per capita, and third in total energy use.
Fenton estimates that the state could save $20 billion in fuel importation costs by reducing dependence on oil. He noted that 51% of electricity use in Florida is residential, due to the state's lack of heavy industry. That meant the public could have a greater impact on energy costs.
Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, Associate General Secretary with the National Council of Churches,
delivered a faith-based 'Protect Creation' message, which is one being heard across the country more and more. (see the New York Times story Oct 15). Her message was simple; put the facts about global warming together with Biblical principals and you have an even stronger case.
"The church has the chance to bring a moral voice to this conversation," she said. "We say to you 'give us the facts and we will connect to our faith, and make things happen."
Girton-Mitchell explained that eco-justice is the NCCC's fastest growing program area under the guidance of Cassandra Carmichael, the program leader. (Carmichael even puts out an eco-blog called Capsules). The NCCC has brought out several publications on the issue in the last couple of years, starting with a document called 'Cry of Creation' in 2004. Girton-Mitchell likes to talk about man's 'stewardship' of the planet. "We are all called by our faith to care for creation," she says. To be sure, God created the Earth for us to use it, but "he didn't mean for us to destroy it," she adds.
Former Senator Bob Graham has long been a friend of Florida's environment. He is now hoping to 
lend his weight to the energy debate through two educational centers he is creating at the University of Miami and the University of Florida. "Do we have an energy policy, or are we just drifting?" he asked. "The good news is that we do have an energy policy. The bad news is, it's an horrendous policy," he said.
He highlighted the dilemma with two pieces of data:
1./ The US consumes 25% of world's oil production.
2./ The US possesses only 3% of the world's known oil resources.
Graham advocates stretching US oil resources so as not to "drain America first." Increased foreign fuel imports would be needed while "we fundamentally shift to a long-term strategy that will move America beyond oil."
On Wednesday the Re-Energize Campaign will be in Orlando. For details visit (www.ReEnergizeAmerica.com)
Click here to view Fenton's power-point presentation: 'Taking Charge of Our Energy Future.'
Click here to read the Miami Herald report on the Town hall meeting.
Click here to learn more about NRDC's Latino outreach program, 'laondaverde.com'
- David Adams
The internet is rife with speculation that General Motors is planning to make a series of new, more fuel efficient vehicles, including a Plug-in hybrid electric car, to compete with Japanese auto-manufacturers.
The most intriguing aspect of these reports is that GM has created an engineering team to develop a plug-in hybrid, called the 'I-Car', short for 'Icon Car.'
