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Speaker outlines global warming's effect on Oregon
by Sanjay Shenai | Freelance Reporter |
In a light brown suit, with his reading glasses resting on the tip of his nose, Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury briefly discussed his 2005 meeting with former Vice President Al Gore at the Gore family farm in Carthage, Tenn. before launching into Gore's presentation, made famous by the Academy Award-winning film "An Inconvenient Truth."
After the meeting, Bradbury became one of the first 50 people, including some retired military leaders and a former Miss America, to be invited by Gore to learn to deliver this presentation; Bradbury said some 950 are now able to spread Gore's message about this environmental issue.
Bradbury delivered an Oregon-centered presentation on global warming Thursday to about 85 attendees in 180 PLC as part of the University's Earth Week activities.
The presentation illustrates the potential impacts of climate change on the earth and its inhabitants, how human activities have caused it, and how humans can and must make changes in order to prevent environmental and economic catastrophe.
While keeping with Gore's lecture materials, on several occasions Bradbury interjected specific examples of how climate change would affect Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
Displaying a weather map of the Willamette Valley, he cited scientific predictions that warming weather would reduce the region's snow pack 44 percent by the year 2040, and even up to 55 percent by 2060.
Decreased snow would be a major threat to the region's economy and sustainability, he said.
Both Oregon and Washington depend heavily on accumulated Cascade snow for drinking water and agricultural irrigation, as well as for hydroelectric power, tourism and winter recreational use.
In another slide, the audience was able to see the effects of warming climate on the west coast wine industry, including the migration of pinot noir grapes and other varieties sensitive to heat northward to Oregon and western Washington.
"This is actually… quite an economic opportunity for us over the next century," Bradbury said before lamenting that the billion-dollar Napa Valley wine industry would be "all but eliminated."
After the meeting, Bradbury became one of the first 50 people, including some retired military leaders and a former Miss America, to be invited by Gore to learn to deliver this presentation; Bradbury said some 950 are now able to spread Gore's message about this environmental issue.
Bradbury delivered an Oregon-centered presentation on global warming Thursday to about 85 attendees in 180 PLC as part of the University's Earth Week activities.
The presentation illustrates the potential impacts of climate change on the earth and its inhabitants, how human activities have caused it, and how humans can and must make changes in order to prevent environmental and economic catastrophe.
While keeping with Gore's lecture materials, on several occasions Bradbury interjected specific examples of how climate change would affect Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
Displaying a weather map of the Willamette Valley, he cited scientific predictions that warming weather would reduce the region's snow pack 44 percent by the year 2040, and even up to 55 percent by 2060.
Decreased snow would be a major threat to the region's economy and sustainability, he said.
Both Oregon and Washington depend heavily on accumulated Cascade snow for drinking water and agricultural irrigation, as well as for hydroelectric power, tourism and winter recreational use.
In another slide, the audience was able to see the effects of warming climate on the west coast wine industry, including the migration of pinot noir grapes and other varieties sensitive to heat northward to Oregon and western Washington.
"This is actually… quite an economic opportunity for us over the next century," Bradbury said before lamenting that the billion-dollar Napa Valley wine industry would be "all but eliminated."
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