By Alaura Carter
Although the audience for the Repower America presentation was small, roughly 22 people, the message of climate change was bigger. The slideshow titled, “Clarifying the Science,” was presented by Repower America Nov. 17, in the FAMU School of Journalism & Graphic Communication.
Invited by student leaders from neighboring universities, Florida A&M and Florida State, Repower America was launched in 2008 by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Parent non-profit organization Alliance for Climate Protection launched the Repower America campaign to focus on energy efficiency; clean, renewable and diversified energy sources, according to its website, repoweramerica.org. Repower America focuses on both grassroots and lobbying efforts for climate change. They also organize presentations by The Climate Project, a grassroots organization that falls under the Alliance for Climate Protection.
“It is the actual presentation made by Al Gore…just condensed,” said Adrian Brunori, the Repower America presenter.
The presentation has been presented more than 70,000 times worldwide and has reached an audience of more than 7.3 million people.
Event coordinator Vincent Evans, a FAMU senior political science/pre-law student from Jacksonville, Fla., said the presentation is a step toward FAMU’s commitment to educate students about environmental issues.
“Tonight’s climate project presentation will give students a front row seat to the global climate change we are facing. I can’t think of a better time to bring Repower America here to the campus of Florida A&M University,” Evans said.
Brunori captivated the audience with an in-depth slide show of the causes and effects of climate change.“Clarifying the Science,” revealed graphic pictures of natural disasters throughout the world, along with charts illustrating projections surrounding the issue of climate change.
Population growth, technology and our way of thinking are the three main causes of climate change, according to the presentation. Issues of water scarcity, deforestation and carbon dioxide levels are projected to be the effects. Refraining from the use of the phrase “global warming,” Brunori said debate still exists among scientists around the issue of climate change. However, the focus should be shifted from whether the earth is dying or not, to solutions such as clean energy and sustainability.
One student said the power point was a grip of reality ready to be released.
“The part that resonates in my mind is the graph that shows what the projected carbon dioxide levels will be during our life time," said Nari Tomlinson, a senior public relations student from Miramar, Fla. “The presentation really changed my outlook on life in the sense that now I realize that even though I am one person, I have an impact on climate crisis.”
When asked why some businesses refrain from using new sources of energy such as solar power, Brunori said that some businesses are just stuck in their ways and don’t realize the reduction of costs with newer sustainable technologies.
“It’s not that technology is bad…we just need to find sustainable ways,” Brunori said. “It needs to become the normal thing, not the weird thing.”
Brunori said Repower America would like to work with FAMU/FSU again and host community forums.
For more information about Repower America, go to repoweramerica.org.
Picture provided by The Famuan, Florida A&M University school newspaper
Location: FAMU's School of Journalism & Graphic Communication
