U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan and Governor Hoeven invite you to the 4th annual Renewable Energy Action Summit, May 31 and June 1, 2009.
The Summit begins Sunday evening, May 31, with a social, and continues Monday, June 1, with guest speakers and panel discussions, on small residential/commercial solar, wind, and geothermal along with Smart Grid technology and applications.
Welcome REAS Agenda Participant Registration Presenter Registration Accomodations BSC Campus Map Contact Us
http://www.bismarckstate.edu/energysummit/Agenda.asp
Co-hosted by:
ND Governor John Hoeven
US Senator Byron Dorgan
Bismarck State College
Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, Inc.
More information:
Call 701-224-5600 or
1-877-846-9387
or Email: BSC.CETI@bsc.nodak.edu
You're Invited!
Governor John Hoeven and U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan invite you to the 4th annual Renewable Energy Action Summit, May 31 and June 1, 2009.
This summit brings together the stakeholders who are working to ensure that North Dakota’s renewable energy sector thrives. You are an essential participant in this summit.
This year’s gathering will take place at the beautiful new National Energy Center of Excellence building on the campus of Bismarck State College.
The Summit begins Sunday evening, May 31, with a social, and continues Monday, June 1, with guest speakers and panel discussions.
Panel discussion topics include Smart Grid and Transmission, Local Renewable Energy Potential, and Government Forum – A 2009 Update.
Please join us for the discussions and plans that will keep North Dakota in the forefront of renewable energy action while growing the state’s economy.
http://www.bismarckstate.edu/energysummit/Agenda.asp
READ NEWS RELEASE : Energy Summit to Focus on N.D. Renewables
An initiative of the Great Plains Energy Corridor. Co-hosted by Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson and Bismarck State College.
BSC Continuing Education • 1200 Schafer St • PO Box 5587 • Bismarck, ND 58506 • 701-224-5600 • 877-846-9387 • Contact Us
Posted by: Michael Williams on 5/28/2009 at 7:17 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
The International Climate Stewardship Solutions Conference, June 29 & 30, at the Bismarck Civic Center
Leaders from Arup (UK), Vestas Wind Systems (Denmark), & American Electric Power Among Latest Confirmed Speakers for ND Conference
Highlights of Confirmed Speakers
Preston Chiaro is chief executive of Rio Tinto's energy product group and past chairman of the World Coal Institute. He also leads climate change and sustainable development programs at Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world. He will share his views on the future of coal in a carbon-constrained world.
John Halmans, CEO and Owner, Gulpener Brewery B.V., The Netherlands, competes effectively against industry giants like Heineken by brewing and marketing carbon neutral beer, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, renewable energy and cooperation with local farmers to produce organic barley, wheat, rye, spelt and hops.
Peter Head, Director of Arup, in the United Kingdom, is a recognized international expert in sustainable development of cities, major bridges and advanced composite technology. He has received a Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal and has served on London's Sustainable Development Commission.
Roger Johnson, President of the National Farmers Union, was elected to his current position this year, having served as North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner from 1996-2009 and as President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture from 2007-2008. As Agriculture Commissioner, he was one of three officials on North Dakota's Industrial Commission, which allocates the state's coal and renewable energy-related investments.
Renée Jones-Bos is Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States. Prior to her appointment, Ambassador Jones-Bos served as Director General for Regional Policy and Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2005 -2008). Her foreign postings include service in Prague, Washington, D.C., Dhaka, Paramaribo, and Moscow.
Deborah L. Kiesey, Bishop of Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church and President of the UM General Board of Church and Society, serves over 43,000 United Methodists belonging to more than 300 congregations in North Dakota and South Dakota. Bishop Kiesey was one of the first religious leaders in the Dakotas to call for a faith response to climate change and stewardship.
Michael Morris is Chairman and CEO of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S. and the largest user of coal in the western hemisphere. He leads AEP's comprehensive efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency, increased renewable electricity and expanded high voltage transmission to deliver it, and stepwise deployment of CO2 capture and storage technologies for coal-based generation.
Franzjosef Schafhausen, Deputy Director General of the German Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Nuclear Safety, led negotiations for Germany in the development of the European Union's CO2 cap and trade system and has played a leading role in crafting Germany's CO2 Capture and Storage Act. Mr. Schafhausen will be accompanied by German industry experts who will also participate in the event.
Brian J. Soden, Professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, specializes in satellite observations to test and improve computer model simulations of climate change. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers, mostly related to the response of the climate system to global warming, and is a Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report.
Michael Zarin, Director, Group Government Relations, Vestas Wind Systems, Denmark, is primarily responsible for activities related to climate change and markets in Latin America, the Mediterranean region, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. With a 20 percent market share and 38,000 wind turbines installed, Vestas is the world's leading supplier of wind power solutions.
Conference Agenda
Confirmed speakers listed below. Others being invited.
Monday, June 29th
8:00 a.m. Registration Begins
8:50 a.m. Welcome
Conference Organizers
9:00 a.m. Faith Reflection on Climate Stewardship
Deborah Kiesey, Bishop, Dakotas Conference and National President, General Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church
9:20 a.m. Scientific Perspective on Climate Stewardship
Brian Soden, Associate Professor of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, Rosentiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, and Lead Author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
9:50 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. The Low-Carbon Energy Transition
The Global Context
Peter Head, Director and Head of Global Planning, Arup Group, United Kingdom
10:40 a.m. Transitioning the U.S. Power Sector
Michael G. Morris, Chairman and CEO, American Electric Power
11:15 a.m. The Role of Agriculture in Climate Stewardship
Roger Johnson, President, National Farmers Union
11:45 p.m. Luncheon with International Guests
The Future of Coal in a Carbon-Constrained World
Preston Chiaro, CEO Energy Group, Rio Tinto PLC, United Kingdom, and Past Chairman, World Coal Institute
1:00 p.m. Leadership Perspectives:
U.S. Federal and International Strategies for Global Climate Stewardship, Energy Security and Economic Prosperity
U.S. Senator Kent Conrad, Senator Byron Dorgan, Congressman Earl Pomeroy and Governor John Hoeven (all invited), together with international guests
2:30 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m. Carbon Reduction Success Stories from Overseas:
Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Design, Renewable Energy & Agriculture, and CO2 Capture & Storage
The Experience of the Netherlands
Her Excellency Ms. Renée Jones-Bos, Ambassador of the Netherlands
John Halmans, CEO and Owner, Gulpener Brewery B.V., The Netherlands
The Experience of Denmark
His Exellency Mr. Friis Arne Petersen, Ambassador of Denmark (invited)
Michael Zarin, Director, Group Government Relations, Vestas Wind Systems, Denmark
5:00 p.m. Reception and Socializing
6:30 p.m. Dinner with International Guests
The Path of China: Challenges and Opportunities for our Global Future
Speakers invited
Tuesday, June 30th
7:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Carbon Reduction Success Stories from Overseas:
Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Design, Renewable Energy & Agriculture, and CO2 Capture & Storage
The Experience of Germany
Franzjosef Schafhausen, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Nuclear Safety, Germany
German industry executives (being determined)
The Experience of Norway
Dr. Tore A. Torp, Adviser for CO2 Storage, StatoilHydro ASA, Norway (invited)
10:40 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Dialogue with International Guests
Conference participants from different sectors such as electric power; oil and gas; agriculture; planning, architecture and construction; and state and local government will have the opportunity to engage more directly in questions and discussions with international guests from their respective sectors overseas. North Dakota associations and professional organizations will co-host these dialogues with conference organizers.
12:30 p.m. Adjourn
The International Climate Stewardship Solutions Conference, June 29 & 30, at the Bismarck Civic Center, seeks to present real world overseas examples of economic development combined with climate stewardship. Senior government and private sector leaders from overseas will highlight policies and actions that have reduced CO2 emissions and directly benefited industries and communities.
As the United States and the world respond to global climate change, the experiences shared by our international guests at this conference will help North Dakota and the region embrace the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in ways that maximize our energy and resource advantages, while protecting the environment for present and future generations.
People from all walks of life in North Dakota and the region are invited and encouraged to attend, including representatives of business and industry, farmers and ranchers, elected officials, regulators, educators and students, journalists, people of faith and others.
Conference
Quick Links
Registration
Lodging
Sponsorship Opportunities
Conference
Sponsors
Event Sponsors
The Joyce Foundation
The Energy Foundation
British Embassy
Great Plains Energy Corridor
Major Sponsors
North Dakota Farmers Union
Xcel Energy
Partner Sponsors
Dakota Defense Alliance
Missouri River Energy Services
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives
YHR Partners
Contributor Sponsors
Audubon Dakota
Dacotah Chapter Sierra Club
Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church
Environmental Law and Policy Center
North Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy
The Northern Plains Conference of the United Church of Christ
Posted by: Michael Williams on 5/22/2009 at 6:58 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Artic explorer Will Steger free presentation at the Fargo Theatre on Tuesday
Join polar explorer, educator, writer, and photographer, Will Steger, for a show documenting his first hand observations of dramatic changes occurring in the Arctic and Antarctic. Will has traveled tens of thousands of miles by kayak and dog-sled over 40 years, leading teams on some of the most significant polar expeditions in history. He has been invited to testify before the United States Congress and was appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty to serve on the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group. He has been honored numerous times by the National Geographic Society and was joined on his last expedition by serial entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson.
Will focuses much of his time on educating young people and people of faith. He has started a foundation with an educational website called, globalwarming101.com We worked with Will's foundation during the snowkiting expedition. They are an incredible organization and it is a true honor to have them visit North Dakota.
Fargo on Tuesday, May 12th at the Fargo Theater; and
This tour is sponsored by the following organizations: Audubon Dakota, National Wildlife Federation, Pew Environment Group, Prairie Climate Stewardship Network, The Sierra Club, UND Environmental Conservation Organization, and the Will Steger Foundation
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Will Steger has been an eyewitness to the ongoing catastrophic consequences of global warming. A formidable voice calling for understanding and the preservation of the Arctic and the Earth, Will Steger is best known for his legendary polar explorations. He has traveled tens of thousands of miles by kayak and dog-sled over 40 years, leading teams on some of the most significant polar expeditions in history.
Recently, Steger formed the Will Steger Foundation, with a personal and professional commitment to foster leadership and cooperation through environmental education and policy. He has been face-to-face with what we now know to be the gravest environmental threat of our our time — global warming. Thus the Foundation’s first initiative, Global Warming 101, engages and empowers individuals and policy-makers to translate their concern into action on this critical issue. The Foundation has launched a series of global warming focused expeditions to the ends of the earth from 2007–2009: Baffin Island in 2007, Ellesmere Island, Greenland and Western Antarctica in 2008–2009.
Steger led the first confirmed dogsled journey to the North Pole without resupply (1986), the 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland (the longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history in 1988), the first dogsled traverse of Antarctica (the historic seven month, 3,471-mile International Trans-Antarctica Expedition in 1989–1990), and the first dogsled traverse of the Arctic Ocean in one season from Russia to Ellesmere Island in Canada (1995).
Steger received his B.S. in Geology and M.A. in Education at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, and taught science for three years at the secondary level. In 1970, he moved from his birthplace in suburban Minneapolis to the wilderness north of Ely, Minnesota. There he founded a winter school and developed innovative wilderness programs for 10 years. In 1991, Steger received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters, University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and Honorary Doctorate of Science, Westminster College in Salt Lake City, UT.
His unique ability to blend extreme exploration with cutting-edge technology, have allowed him to reach millions of people around the world, under some of the most hostile conditions on the planet and be a pioneer in online education. Over 20 million students followed the 1995 International Arctic Project via on-line daily journal entries and the first-ever transmission of a digital photograph from the North Pole.
Steger joins Amelia Earhart, Robert Pear and Roald Amundsen in receiving the National Geographic Society's prestigious John Oliver La Gorce Medal (formerly the Gold Metal) for “Accomplishments in Geographic Exploration in the Sciences, and Public Service to Advance International Understanding” in 1995. This was the first time the Society had presented all three categories. In 1996, he became the National Geographic Society's first Explorer-in-Residence and received the Explorers Club’s Finn Ronne Memorial Award in 1997. In 2006 Steger joined Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Dr. Thor Heyerdahl and Neil Armstrong in receiving the Lindbergh Award. Steger was given this award for "numerous polar expeditions, deep understanding of the environment and efforts to raise awareness of current environmental threats, especially climate change." The same year Steger was appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty to serve on the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, a group charged with recommending a Climate Action Plan to substantially reduce Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions. In 2007, Steger received the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Adventure Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on climate change.
A recognized authority on polar environmental issues and ceaseless advocate for the Earth’s well being, Steger has been invited to testify before the United States Congress, as well as advising world leaders on the environmental protection of Antarctica. Steger’s pioneering work in adventure-based environmental education was pivotal as he founded the Global Center of Environmental Education at Hamline University and the World School for Adventure Learning at the University of St. Thomas in 1993. Steger is the author of four books: Over the Top of the World, Crossing Antarctica, North to the Pole and Saving the Earth.
Posted by: Michael Williams on 5/11/2009 at 1:18 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Today the AP reports Fargo ranked overall cleanest city by American Lung Association
Wahoo!!
Here's another example of Fargo getting cleaner and greener everyday!
Fargo's tops on another list, this one by the American Lung Association:
The areas with the most short-term particle pollution or soot were Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.; and the California areas of Fresno-Madera, Bakersfield and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside.
The cleanest metro area in all categories was Fargo, N.D.
What a great way to celebrate Earth Week that just passed! This type of national recognition may help Fargo and our area become an even more attractive community where people come to live, work, learn, and play.
Some of the reasons may be our use of a 20% blend of Biodiesel in our expanding trasit use (now over 1,600,000 riders annually double a few years ago) working to improve walking and biking opportunities, along with collecting methane from the landfill and turning it into energy and cash with over $370 K in new revenue instead of wasting it into the atmosphere as a pollutant.
We draw out 1,250 CFS and fuel a generator to make electricity. The environmental benefit is equivalent of taking over 28,000 cars off the road annually. To visualize, this would be a line of Suburban's a hundred miles long.
Fargo's also ranked #1 by the Earth Day Network, the folks that invented Earth Day and we rank #5 by AARP for healthiest cities to live along with Honolulu, Hawaii.
Maybe we should work to be sister cities with Honolulu and get a month in Hawaii over the winter, they can come here in the summer?
Way to go, let's keep moving it forward!
Posted by: Michael Williams on 4/29/2009 at 7:35 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Come celebrate the new library, a great community effort paid for the buildings before they're open
Fargo Library Grand Opening Festivities Saturday, April 25
FARGO, N.D. (April 21, 2009) – The community is invited to attend the grand opening of the new Fargo downtown library this Saturday, April 25. Festivities start at 10 a.m. with an official dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. All events are free and open to the public.
Saturday events include: special children’s story hours with Storyteller Cindy Wray Lowe at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m.; guided tours of the new library from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., an open house teen “Duct Tape” craft event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a concert by the North High School Chamber Orchestra at Noon, a concert by the Red River Boys Choir at 2 p.m. and a theatre performance of “Spring Break with Rainey” at 4 p.m.
Other activities scheduled throughout the week include: Sunday afternoon concert by Tabb Prissel at 2 p.m.; a performance by the South High School Pizzazz show choir on Monday, April 27 at 7 p.m.; an author visit with Ling Enger on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 p.m.; an author visit with Dean Hulse on Wednesday, April 29 at 7 p.m.; and a teen Twilight-themed party and showing of the movie Twilight (rated PG-13) at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 30.
At nearly 54,000-square-feet, the two-story facility is located at 102 3rd St. North – the site of the old downtown library. The new library holds more than 100,000 books; 5,200 CDs; 4,500 DVDs; and more than 300 magazine and newspaper subscriptions. The building features a separate children’s library and computer area, teen room, technology center, fireplace room, quiet reading room, six study rooms, two large conference rooms, and a large community room that seats up to 130 people. In addition, there will be 49 Internet-accessible computers, wireless Internet throughout the building and an Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) express checkout system.
Main library hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Posted by: Michael Williams on 4/24/2009 at 9:33 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
