Sept. 12, 2006 — In an effort educate residents on the seriousness of global warming, the St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA) is hosting a film series beginning late September.
SEA Executive Director Carol Burke said choices we make daily are integral to aiding the global environment, as long as we are willing to make environmentally conscious decisions.
Burke pointed to advertisements by V.I. Water and Power Authority urging residents to iron clothes all at once or replace incandescent light bulbs with florescent bulbs.
"All [those things] reduce the amount of energy we use," said Burke.
SEA is a part of the V.I. Conservation Society, which is affiliated with National Wildlife Federation. According to the NWF Web site, the intensity and duration of hurricanes has increased significantly due to global warming.
"Since 1970," according to NWF, "sea surface temperatures have increased by one degree Fahrenheit, fueling more intense hurricanes lasting for longer periods of time."
According to Burke, there are many things our society can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other toxins into the atmosphere. Burke said shipping products from abroad is also a factor in the emissions of toxins in the atmosphere.
Burke urged residents to "buy locally." She said petrochemicals are used when products are shipped. Burke said promoting local farmers and merchants will lessen the need for products to be shipped into the territory even though "we cannot be entirely self-sufficient."
SEA will begin its global warming education film series — to be held at UVI's Evans Center Theater — on Sept. 22 with two shows. NASA scientist James Hansen will host "Altered Report: White House Doctoring of Global Warming Science" and Tom Brokaw will host Discovery Channel's "What Society Needs to Know about Global Warming."
The next two films, scheduled for Oct. 27, are "Dimming the Sun" and "Too Hot Not to Handle." The film series will conclude with former Vice president Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."
The series is being co-sponsored by the V.I. Marine Advisory Service.
For more information on how to participate in the film series, contact SEA at 773-1989.
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