Global warming real

Despite the amount of snow UT has seen in recent days, a presentation about global warming was given last Thursday.

According to Alexander Wrege, the presenter and a doctorate student, global warming is real, regardless of recent weather.

"The hottest year on record is June 2005 to July 2006 - there were all new record highs in various parts of the world," Wrege said.

Ashley Ransburg, a senior majoring in anthropology and biology, agreed with Wrege. "The entire climate of Toledo has changed," she said. "When I was little, there was snow on the ground all winter long. Now, we hardly get any at all - like, only throughout February and that's all."

"We are witnessing a collision between our civilization and the Earth," Wrege said.

It's an issue Wrege has known about for a while.

"When I was in school in the '80s, the theory of the 'green house effect' was already largely accepted by the scientific community, by the early 1990s, we learned about it in school in Germany," Wrege said.

Wrege also attended a global-warming-presentation training conference.

The presentation was made possible by The Climate Project, which Wrege described as a group of individuals who care about the environment.

According to Wrege, The Climate Project was founded by Al Gore, a global warming activist and former U.S. Vice President. Gore personally trains presenters for discussion about global warming issues, and Wrege attended one of his training sessions.

However, Wrege said that he tries to keep politics out of this.

"This issue is too important to be put on a political debate," Wrege said.

Daniel Galandiuk, a second-year nursing student, agreed with Wrege in saying that global warming can be construed into a political issue.

"Some people think it's an intense and high threat," he said. "Others think it's a natural cause that is just a part of the planet's climate cycle."

Wrege does not think it's a natural cause, though.

According to Wrege, there are three factors affecting the earth: population growth, scientific and technological revolutions and "our way of thinking."

But, he said, there are ways to work with the global warming trend.

"We have already technologically developed [efficiency] with cars," Wrege said.

In his speech, Wrege also mentioned the Kyoto Accord, which is an agreement signed by some countries to limit their output of greenhouse gases.

"The Kyoto Accord is signed by all the nations in the world except for the U.S. and Australia," Wrege said.

However, various U.S. states and cities support the Kyoto Accord - and Toledo is one of them, Wrege said.

Turning down thermostats by three or four degrees, air-drying clothes, unplugging appliances when not in use, insulating homes, planting a tree, buying local produce and food, carpooling, walking or using public transportation are some things people can do to slow the rate of global warming, according to Wrege.

Galandiuk and Ransburg are making efforts to minimize their energy use, too.

"I recycle - it reuses sources," Ransburg said.

Galandiuk walks everywhere, keeps the temperature down and recycles when he can, too.

"Why not?" he said. "That's something that's proven."

Wrege admitted cutting back on energy use can be hard for students, so he advises - if students have expended their other energy-saving options - students to go carbon neutral.

According to Wrege, carbon neutral is basically investing in global warming research. That is, people could donate money or efforts to renewable-energy projects, Wrege said.

"It's essentially an investment in renewable energy," he said.

The training conference Wrege attended was completely carbon neutral.

More information about global warming and The Climate Project can be found at Theclimateproject.com.