Kotzebue is one of 24 sites around the world featured in a 24 hour event today to raise awareness about climate change. Former Vice President Al Gore founded the Climate Reality Project as a global campaign to mobilize people to help solve the climate crisis. 24 presenters will give speeches on climate change in each time zone around the globe.
Larry Schweiger, President of the National Wildlife Federation will give the talk in Kotzebue at 7pm Alaska time. He says he’ll focus on the startling number of extreme weather events that have struck the U.S. in the last year.
Schweiger knows there are a lot of climate change skeptics in the U.S. And he acknowledges it may be impossible to convert a small segment of population that adamantly believes human caused climate change does not exist. But he thinks events like the Climate Reality Project can have a big impact on average Americans.
The Climate Reality Project speeches start out in Mexico City this evening and wrap around the globe to finish up with a talk from Al Gore in New York City tomorrow. Other sites include Auckland, Jakarta, Seoul, Dubai and Bejing.
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Annie Feidt is the broadcast managing editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at afeidt@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annie here.
