As the scale of the climate crisis becomes clearer with each record rainfall and melting glacier, the need for deploying multiple technical solutions in both the public and private sectors becomes more urgent. At the same time, national and local governments worldwide are strapped in responding to the already-present climate consequences, and slowing consumer growth has most corporations tightening their wallets. Resource wars for water and food are already looming, with defense budgets being increased, and many on the private side are either waiting-out compliance legislation, or actively fighting it. Meanwhile, rural and low-income communities are particularly vulnerable to rising energy costs from peaking fuels, and many already suffer from the impacts of extreme weather. At issue is how such communities might increase self-reliance and sus-tainability now, and how community-based solutions can integrate with and contribute to the larger need for carbon-free energy. In this talk, I will explain 1) what carbon credits and emission offsets are; 2) how they are assisting a number of communities in achieving sustainability and savings today, and 3) what obstacles exist in expanding this potential. Key to known community successes, particularly outside the United States, is the collaborative and cooperative attitudes within the communities; is there trust, is there openness and willingness to share? Of course, in several cases, these actions are happening within rather homogenous cultures with a common faith. We must consider if our religious communities, particularly in the multi-cultural US, foster these cooperative attitudes, or hinder them. Can we find common ground within our diverse faith beliefs and values that might actually energize, unite and fuel our communities in the transition to new ways of sharing energy and other resources.
George Hoguet, Director of Business Development for NativeEnergy, Inc in Vermont, earned his Bachelors of Science, Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton, Ohio. He worked in the electrical power and controls industry from 1970 to 2000 advancing from field sales engineer through Vice-President of Marketing roles. In 2001, after reading The Reinvention of Work by Matthew Fox, he declared that his lifework would be in advancing sustainable living. Since then, he has served as Coordinator for the Million Solar Roofs and Cool Pennsylvania Programs, led the Energy & Climate Caucus at the 2002 Philadelphia Earth Charter Summit, and has been an active member of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, PennEnvironment, and a Steering Committee member of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. In 2004, he joined NativeEnergy to help develop the calculation methodologies of, and market for, carbon offsets from animal waste digesters on Pennsylvania family dairy farms. In 2007, he relocated to NativeEnergy’s headquarters in Vermont, where he is responsible for expanding the company’s marketing outreach with key business partners and non-profit organizations. He is a practicing Buddhist and a member of The Climate Project, one of the 2600 trained volunteer presenters for Al Gore’s slideshow from the film, An Inconvenient Truth.
5:30-6:30 p.m. at Marriott SpringHill Suites, Southside Works.
