The debate is over. The world's top scientists are now in agreement that human activity is leading the Earth's climate down the road to destruction. Now is the time for action! Join us on April 19 and 20 at Colorado School of Mines in celebrating the actions our technically trained students can and will do to stop climate change.

The Problem

Global warming is arguably the most serious social, technical, economic, and ethical challenge humanity is facing today.  World-wide climate changes are already being manifested and climate scientists are making dire predictions of extreme consequences unless action is taken soon.  The limiting factor addressing the problem is neither the availability of renewable resources nor the technology, but rather the political will to make it happen.  At its root, this issue requires an active educational process to make the public aware of the problem.

Why CAD at CSM?

To address this educational need, the CSM Sustainability Committee will be holding Climate Action Days on April 19 and 20, 2007.  Our objective is two-fold.  First, we want to communicate to the CSM and Golden community the magnitude and the severity of the impending climate crisis.  Second, we want to show the CSM students that they hold exactly the right set of technical skills to implement the necessary changes.  The engineers and scientists we are training today will be the innovators and problem-solvers who will be most active in addressing global climate change tomorrow.

Opportunities for Colorado

While we can frame this issue as that of a response to an environmental threat, it is equally valid to frame it as a response to an economic development opportunity.  The states that have been most aggressive in energy efficiency and renewable energy are also the ones with the greatest economic strength and diversity – California, for example.  In Colorado, we are uniquely positioned to boost our economy with an aggressive set of policies to embrace solutions to climate change.  We are blessed with abundant sunshine and wind resources, we are home to NREL – the nation’s pre-eminent renewable energy laboratory, and we have a highly skilled workforce to implement the plans.  The needs of the planet are perfectly aligned with the economic development of our state.

CSM as the ideal venue for CAD

Due to its long history with extractive technologies, energy, and environmental science, CSM is an ideal venue to hold Climate Action Days.  We were founded in 1874 for the purpose of developing technology to use the earth’s resources.  Almost since our inception we have dealt with almost every form of energy technology.  The school has over to 3500 students  studying a wide range of technical and economic disciplines.

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