Speaker presentations are open to all and will be in the East Conference Hall of the Secrest Center from 12 pm to 2:30 pm.
There will be questions following each presentation and discussion at the end.
– Laura Grimm, Moderator, WCSEN
12:00 pm – Review of the UN Climate Change Conference COP 28
– Brian Webb, Sustainability Director, The College of Wooster
12:30 pm – Green Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act
– Larry Cernigla, WCSEN
1:00 pm – Agrivoltaics – Benefits and Concerns
– Ryan Haden, PhD Associate Professor, The Ohio State University ATI
1:30 pm – The OSU Solar Home – Energy efficiency and renewable energy
– Lingying Zhao, PhD Professor and Associate Chair of FABE, and Associate Director of the Agriculture Experiment Station, The Ohio State University
2:00 pm – Geothermal Heating and Cooling for your Home
– Mike Roberts First Geothermal Energy
2:30 pm – Discussion
PAST SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS –
Here is a link to the 2020 Earth Day Webinar held during the pandemic in lieu of the SGGF.
In 2022, Randi Pokladnik PhD discussed Shell’s new petrochemical plant being built in Potter PA. Three similar plants are being built to convert Ohio and PA fracked shale gas into polyethylene and other plastic pellets used mostly to make disposable single use plastic bags and containers. These materials while useful, are not biodegradable and pose mounting pollution problems in the world’s agricultural and natural areas, oceans and cities. These facilities generate new plastics from fossil shale gas taken from deep wells that scar the natural environment above ground and contaminate water below. This investment is occurring, ironically, while 86% of disposable water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter, adding 38 billion disposable water bottles to U.S. landfills. The water bottling process itself releases 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually. Clean drinking water is available from drinking fountains in nearly all public buildings and petitions to end the use and purchasing of water bottles by Universities, schools, churches, government and businesses will hopefully lead to the end of this wasteful, Earth destroying, unnecessary practice.
A recent Carnegie Mellon study showed that the health and climate impacts of the plastics industry in the Ohio river valley far outweigh the economic benefits to Ohio and Pennsylvania communities. Corporations producing these materials take zero responsibility for collecting or recycling the plastics they introduce into our environment. They expect governments to figure out how, and citizens to pay for, disposing of their pollution. The linear use of Earth’s resources continues, despite known circular solutions, largely due to a lack of imagination, creativity, commitment and investment on the part of citizens.
