Coalition for Buzzards Bay, Marion Institute Announce Global Warming Lecture Series

February 6, 2006

CONTACT:

John Vasconcellos, The Coalition for Buzzards Bay

508-999-6363, ext. 202; vasconcellos@savebuzzzardsbay.org

Callum Grieve, Marion Institute

NEW BEDFORD, MA—The Coalition for Buzzards Bay and the Marion Institute are co-sponsoring a series of lectures and panel discussions titled, Global Warming: What Can We Do?  The first lecture, Energy, will take place on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Sunset Room, UMASS Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth.  The public is invited to attend.

The organizations have invited a variety of experts and industry representatives to join them as they seek to more fully understand not only the impending threat of climate change but also what citizens in southeastern Massachusetts can do to alter the course. Their aim is to construct an answer for future generations when they ask: “What did you do when you learned of this impending human crisis?”

The February 15 event will focus on the status of alternative energy solutions and the challenges and impacts they pose. The event will include a keynote address from Greg Watson, Vice President, Sustainable Development & Renewable Energy at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech). 

Watson works with MassTech’s Renewable Energy Trust Fund and leads the Offshore Wind Initiative for the organization. He has been Executive Director of The New Alchemy Institute, The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, and the Nature Conservancy Eastern Regional Office. He was also Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture.

Watson will be joined in a panel discussion by Frank Gundal, NSTAR; Frank Gorke, Energy Advocate & Massachusetts Climate Action Network representative for the Massachusetts Public Research Interest Group; and Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, Mass. Energy Consumer Alliance.

Subsequent lectures in the series include:

Food

March 15, 2006, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Marion

An exploration of the decisions we can make about food—and how those options can help us create a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Home

Wednesday, April 19, 2006, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay, 620 Belleville Avenue, New Bedford

An update on current challenges and solutions to a more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly home.

"Lessons from Copernicus"

Wednesday, May 3, 2006, 7:00 – 9:00pm

Falmouth Academy, 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth

A performance piece by award-winning actress Lisa Harrow and her husband, internationally renowned whale biologist Roger Payne.

Admission is free to members of The Coalition for Buzzards Bay and/or the Marion Institute.  Charge per lecture for non-members is $5.  Senior or student non-member charge per lecture is $3.

For more information, contact The Coalition for Buzzards Bay at 508-999-6363 or the Marion Institute at 508-748-0816 or

visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org or www.marioninstitute.org.

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The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is a private, non-profit membership organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of Buzzards Bay and its watershed. The organization works to improve the health of the Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research and advocacy and is supported by more than 4,700 members.

Founded in 1992, the Marion Institute seeks to engage the widest possible number of people in seeing, connecting and participating in new ways that best support their own lives, and those of the wider community at large. We believe in the interdependence of all life and the critical balance necessary for a sustainable future.