If serious change is going to occur to prevent global warming, it needs to happen soon and people will need to demand change from the government, Jacob Scherr, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's International program, said Thursday night.
The Bush administration's actions have not helped the situation, he said.
"I think the last seven years have been very difficult," Scherr said. "I think the U.S. has not provided leadership."
Scherr said he started working at the NRDC, which The New York Times called one of the nation's most powerful environmental groups, in the 1970s. At that time, people began to see climate change as a serious problem.
Since then, each decade has been characterized differently in how people viewed climate change. During the 1980s, people were less concerned about the environment and more by fears of a renewed Cold War. There was hope for renewed interest in the environment in the 1990s, Scherr said.
"1992 in Rio was the highest point of global environment concerns," Scherr said, referring to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development during which hundreds of leaders from different nations gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss environmental issues. However, this optimism did not last long.
"By the mid '90s it was quite clear, even though these leaders came together, that discussion did not mean action," he said.
The U.S. shared the biggest burden to change the environment, Scherr said. The nation needs to transition to a new kind of economy and this transition needs to occur in this country to set an example, he said.
Today, Scherr and the NRDC are trying to cause change on their own. They are working with Wal-Mart to help the company become greener. The NRDC is also encouraging citizens, corporations and politicians worldwide to put into action plans to help the environment, Scherr said.
Kiyana Allen, a senior in the School of International Service, said she was glad she attended the event.
"It was a review of things I've learned before - it was definitely interesting," she said.
Larke Williams, a first-year graduate student in SIS, helped run the event.
She said she was happy with the turnout - more than 20 people attended.
The event's sponsors - SIS Global Environmental Politics program, the College of Arts and Sciences' Environmental Studies program and Coppi's Organic Restaurant - are planning to hold a second event this semester.
Jason Klein, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said he would be interested in attending the second forum.
"I thought that this was the first time I got professional and well thought-out responses to questions about the environment," he said.
