Russ Brown

Change or be changed.

October 9, 2015

Those who dispute climate change are, ‘wrong, uniformed, and are contradicting the data.’

-Russ Brown

Scientist Russ Brown, B.S. & M.S. in Chemical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology formerly of the Allied Chemical Corporation, Idaho National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory, spoke at the Ketchum Community Library Thursday evening, Oct. 8th, an event sponsored by the Environmental Resource Center. The presentation, “Climate Change Dynamics,” was moderated by Sun Valley Institute for Resilience Executive Director Aimee Christensen. Mr. Brown formerly served as the President of the Idaho Alpine Club, Idaho Environmental Council, and Greater Sawtooth Preservation Council.

Mr. Brown’s focus was presenting perspective, and data, on the issue of climate change and how it’s effecting our planet’s future, focusing on carbon, and methane emissions. Climate, which is basically the aggregate study of weather, is changing 100X faster, he says, than the traditional natural occurring planetary climate changes, due to these emissions. Although he didn’t offer suggestions to change the course of this crisis, he did suggest that isolated, accelerated experiments need to be conducted to study long-term effects of carbon and methane emissions. To learn more, he suggests reading the book Ice, Mud and Blood/Lessons from Climate Past, by Chris Turney.

Also, Ms. Christensen mentioned two books that can be resourced to understand the theories from those who doubt that climate change is a reality, Merchants of Doubt, by Naomi Oreskes, & Erik M. Conway, and This Changes Everything, by Naomi Klein.

This Changes Everything is now a documentary film; Ms. Christensen is hopeful the film will be screened in the valley soon.

Check this space for a discussion with Ms. Christensen about a solar energy campaign coming to the Wood River Valley, as well as other ideas her organization is focusing on concerning local renewable energy projects.