MISSOULA, Mont., Feb 09, 2006 -- Montana Kaimin, U-WIRE

 

Is Earth getting hotter? Gov. Brian Schweitzer thinks so, and he wants the University of Montana to help the state of Montana cool it down.

"We are not getting the kind of leadership we need to deal with the climate change we all know exists, except maybe our president," said Richard Opper, the director of the Department of Environmental Quality in Helena. "We are seeing states taking the leadership sorely lacking from the federal government."

The governor assigned Opper to create a group to investigate how much greenhouse gas Montana is creating and propose ways that the state can reduce its output.

Earlier this week, Schweitzer designated the climatology office at UM as a state organization. When he did so, he voiced his hope that the university can help the board come to conclusions about the state's greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr. Don Potts, a forestry professor and the head of the Montana Climate Office, said now it will be easier for his office to work with government agencies to solve the problems facing the environment.

"Now that we are part of the team, we can sit down with the other players and see what we can do," Potts said.

He also said it will give his office a bully pulpit from which he and other University professors can educate the public about climate change.

Potts said his office wants to "make people aware that climate change is happening.

"Even if the climate change doesn't follow the worst case scenario ... unfortunately, Montana is particularly vulnerable to that type of change," he said.

That is because of the Montana economy's dependence on tourism, farming and timber harvest.

"We should have started on this -- I guess we are 100 years late," Opper said.

Potts said one of the best things the University will bring to the table is technology. Steve Running is a UM professor of ecology who has done extensive work with NASA to create satellites that can track climate changes in the world. Potts said this sort of technology will be mainstream in 15 years and will help people study climate in the years to come.

Opper said Montana is not "at the front of line" in looking at ways it can reduce greenhouse gasses.

According to Anne Hedges, the program director at the Montana Environmental Information Center, Montana currently does nothing to regulate greenhouse gas production. She said other states are in similar situations, but some are already moving forward with plans to reduce greenhouse gasses.

As for the Montana Republican Party, Chuck Denowh, the executive director of the party, said Republicans do not have a position on climate change nor the creation of the group. He did say his "primary concern is that people's energy bills are affordable," and added that Republicans hope Schweitzer stays committed to developing energy in Montana.

"Governor Schweitzer has presented himself as a pro-energy governor," Denowh said. "I hope he's sincere."

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