Annapolis Green and Presenting Sponsor Hannon Armstrong are offering a year-long series of talks entitled, “Tread Lightly on the Earth,” to address these essential questions and other related issues. The first talk, “Climate Change 101: What Does it Mean to Me?” will be held on Wednesday, March 27, at 7 p.m. at the Annapolis Maritime Museum, ironically, a site impacted by sea level rise on a daily basis.
“It is clear that the climate is changing rapidly,” explains Elvia Thompson, President of Annapolis Green. “The Chesapeake is already being affected by sea level rise, severe weather and other aspects of Climate Change. But what does this mean to the average person? What, exactly are the international agreements all about? Can the science be explained in a common-sense manner? How will this affect my health? Is there anything we, our communities, and our local governments can do to be resilient in the face of a changing climate?”
Expert speakers will explain the accelerated pace of Climate Change in simple language, address the topics of adaptation and resiliency, answer questions, and engage in a two-way discussion with the audience. “The goal is to inform and leave attendees with optimism about steps they can take at home and at work to mitigate the impact of Climate Change on themselves, their families and their communities,” Thompson says.
Speakers include:
Astrid Caldas, PhD, a senior climate scientist with the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Her research focuses on Climate Change adaptation with practical policy implications for ecosystems, the economy, and society. She also works on policy related to Climate Change, climate and environmental justice, and climate communication.
Ron Kaltenbaugh, MS, network engineer for a Fortune 500 company. He is President of the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington DC (EVADC), Chair of the Frederick County Sustainability Commission, and is a graduate of the Climate Reality Corps founded by Al Gore. He has given presentations on Climate Change to a variety of audiences more than 20 times.
Elvia Thompson, MPA, Co-founder and President of Annapolis Green, and a well-known speaker on environmental issues. Retired from federal government service, she has served on the boards of several local environmental organizations, is a Master Watershed Steward and a graduate of Leadership Anne Arundel and the Climate Reality Leadership Corps.
Charlotte Wallace, MS, RN, Community Health Nurse and Sustainability Coordinator at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Her passion for pediatrics and the environment has led her to initiate and chair the environmental health program at AAMC. She is an active member of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, the only national organization of nurses working together on environmental issues.
The moderator is Dave Buemi, who has been commissioned by the Post Carbon Institute, which is focused on providing communities with solutions to meet the climate change challenge at the local level. His work over the last 22 years in solar and renewable energy globally provides a unique perspective on the challenge of energy as the main driver of climate change.
This discussion is the first of a series of talks in 2019. Future talks will delve deeper into topics such as:
- Climate Change as a National Security Issue
- What Will Happen to the United Nations Effort without the United States
- How Climate Change is Affecting the Oceans and the Chesapeake Bay
- What Climate Change means to Our Food Supply and Our Health
- Climate Change and the Economy
- Where Climate Change Data Come From
- What Our State, County, and City Governments are Doing to Address Climate Change
The series will be presented by Annapolis Green and hosted by the Annapolis Maritime Museum, with support from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the Climate Stewards of Greater Annapolis, and the City of Annapolis. Presenting sponsor Hannon Armstrong (NYSE: HASI) focuses on solutions that reduce carbon emissions and increase resilience to climate change by providing capital and specialized expertise to the leading companies in the energy efficiency, renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure markets. Hannon Armstrong is only New York Stock Exchange listed company headquartered in Annapolis, and is the first U.S. public company exclusively focused on financing solutions to climate change.
