Sitting in aisles, standing in the back and squeezed out of the doorway, hundreds of people crammed into the meeting hall in the Lane County Courthouse on Tuesday night. They all came to hear the 13 people talk about renewable energy, global warming and a more sustainable future.
The talk was the first in a new series of public energy forums aimed to get Eugeneans talking about solutions to energy concerns.
County Commissioner and 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Pete Sorenson introduced the speakers, who ranged from University professors to politicians to former Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners.
“We have a doubled responsibility now,” Sorenson said. “We have a duty to develop ocean wave, solar and wind energy technology in order to move toward a path of sustainability.”
Many of the speakers admitted that the Northwest is better off than most places in the world, largely because of plentiful hydroelectric resources and peoples’ progressive politics on renewable energy policy.
But the overwhelming message of the night was not only of change but also of the necessity for conservation. Speaker after speaker stressed the importance of first conserving what we use, then changing where our energy comes from.
Senior Research Associate in the University’s physics department Frank Vignola, who directs the University’s Solar Energy Center, spoke on the possibilities of integrating solar technology into many existing structures. Wearing a tie dotted with smiling suns in sunglasses, he showed slides of buildings, many of which are on campus, that have already incorporated solar technology.
“We do have solutions if we want to think about it,” Vignola said.
Community member and attendee Ruth Koenig said environmental work has been a part of her life for the past 40 years, but the issues now have reached a crisis point. She believes that inspiring the younger generation to make change is the most important thing.
“As an older person, if you are hoping and wishing to see a change that you may not even live to see, we must take the hands of the young and lead them into their future,” Koenig said.
State Senator Vicki Walker, who also spoke Tuesday night and first got involved in environmental issues working with campus recycling at the University, said that renewable energy is one of the hottest issues in the state senate right now.
“We cannot continue the status quo,” Walker said. “We are ready to take action and ready to help make a change. We’re done playing around.”
The second public energy forum will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, inside the First United Methodist Church at 1376 Olive St.