september 2008 Issue
Member Trains With Al Gore For Climate Message
Members of APEGGA are in a strong position to provide solutions, influence politicians and educate the general public on climate change.
–Kae Shummoogum, P.Eng.
An APEGGA member calls it an “amazing experience” to have received climate change training from Al Gore, last April. Kae Shummoogum, P.Eng., was among 29 Albertans in the session with the former U.S. vice-president.
Some 275 Canadians took part in the session, April 4 to 6, which also featured climate expert Andrew Weaver, the Canada Research Chair in Atmospheric Science at the University of Victoria’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. Dr. Weaver was the scientific adviser at the training session.
The class was a diverse one, with students ranging from 12 to 75 years old. It included politicians, business owners, professionals and Olympic athletes. Participants came from all provinces and territories and at their own expense.
“Mr. Gore had approximately 400 slides with pictures, videos and the latest scientific data to share with the attentive crowd. There was excellent Canadian content to help facilitate future presentations to Canadians,” said Mr. Shummoogum.
“It was an amazing experience to be trained by Mr. Gore and to share the class with some very high-profile students.” Among them was Quebec Premier Jean Charest.
Mr. Shummoogum categorizes the presentation as non-political. That didn’t stop Mr. Gore from being “very passionate and convincing in his arguments.”
The Climate Project Canada, or TCP Canada, organized the training. It’s a group that began with the mission of increasing public awareness at a grassroots level throughout Canada, the U.S. and abroad, by focusing on climate change, its causes and solutions to the problems it presents.
Newly minted ambassadors — people who attended the TCP session — are now fanning out across the country, delivering the climate change message to thousands of other Canadians. “Climate change education and solutions are the biggest challenges facing society, because our psychological make-up does not allow us to respond effectively to future threats,” said Mr. Shummoogum.
Don’t count on Canada’s political system to pick up the slack without a lot of prodding, says Mr. Shummoogum. Politics, too, tends to focus on short-term solutions, while climate change “by its nature” requires long-term thinking.
The rush to ethanol fuel is a case in which “short-sighted, politically motivated, green solutions” can have unintended consequences, Mr. Shummoogum says. “The recent global food shortage has been attributed to high fuel prices and ethanol production, which incidentally does very little in reducing the consumption of fossil fuel. It should be our goal as professionals to re-engineer solutions that will truly reduce environmental impact.”
The inaugural training session of The Climate Project was held in Nashville in September 2006. Since then, 2,250 people have attended 13 sessions in six countries on four continents.
The recent Climate Change Consultation conducted by APEGGA indicated virtually all members believe that the climate is changing. Also, 72.6 per cent of respondents said climate change is caused totally or partially by human factors. Most members believe in receiving more knowledge on climate change science, energy efficiency and renewable energy, the consultation also found.
“These are very positive results that show the members are open to solutions to climate change,” says Mr. Shummoogum. “Members of APEGGA are in a strong position to provide solutions, influence politicians and educate the general public on climate change.”
Mr. Shummoogum is the founder of two companies in Calgary. Over the past 10 years he’s been helping facility managers save energy and enhance carbon monoxide safety in their parking garages.
He also strives to provide the leadership in his business and personal lives to reduce his impact on the environment, he said, which piqued his interest in the Gore presentation.
Mr. Shummoogum is ready to conduct free presentations across the province on climate change. Reach him at kae@envirorentals.com.