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Climate Stabilization Can Be a Driving Force for Global Prosperity
Santo Domingo, May 22, 2007

John Topping, President of the Climate Institute in Washington, D.C., formally inaugurated GFDD and FUNGLODE’s International Week on Climate Change with his conference, “How the Dominican Republic Can Be the Leader of the Caribbean: Innovations in Science and Energy that Can Prevent Climatic Catastrophe.”

Topping stressed that we are currently confronting catastrophic climate changes. He mentioned that evidence exists to indicate that polar icecaps are melting at rapid rates. “127,000 years ago, when the last massive melting occurred in Greenland, the sea level rose by 4-6 meters each century, and temperatures rose to be 3-5 degrees higher than they are presently. These levels could return if we continue to proceed down the same path,” argued Topping.

The President of the Climate Institute spoke of the threats that exist for coastal cities across the globe.

“Cities in coastal zones are finding themselves at risk, whether it be the melting of polar icecaps in Greenland, or tidal waves spurred by extreme weather phenomena in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Sydney, Tokyo, Cancún, La Habana, or Santo Domingo …”

Topping presented a variety of graphics illustrating the degree to which polar icecaps are melting in Greenland, and emphasized the wide-scale changes that need to occur if we are to achieve conditions fit for human habitation in coastal cities. “International scientists have warned that we only have one decade in which to act in order to prevent irreversible change,” stressed Topping.

Topping spoke optimistically of the steps that need to be actualized in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, indicating that the changes that need to take place are small in comparison to the revolutionary changes realized by humankind, such as the information revolution. He stressed that the stabilization of climate change can serve as a driving force for global prosperity.

Topping referenced the success achieved in Iceland and Denmark with regard to reducing the impacts of global warming. The North American specialist mentioned certain guidelines that if put into affect would reduce the quantity of gas emissions, lower costs, and translate into financial earnings. These guidelines included creating smart-energy networks, extracting energy sources from oceans to fuel a clean energy revolution, and designing energy efficient buildings. According to Topping, all of these guidelines can be successfully applied to the Dominican Republic.

Topping cited concrete steps that could be taken in the Dominican Republic to address the current climate crisis, such as: the diversification of energy sources, the implementation of bio-fuel initiatives reliant on ethanol, the construction of the first green airport, the promotion of hydroelectric development, and reduced dependence on petroleum.

Topping concluded his conference by calling for the reutilization of heat generated by industrial activities as another alternative energy source, and highlighted the economic savings that could be gained thanks to smart energy sources --- more than one thousand million dollars worth of savings in the United States. He emphasized the need to put an end to carbon emissions produced by motor vehicles, and the need to increase construction of “smart” buildings.

“Successful climate stabilization requires global action,” posited Topping.

Prior to the conference delivered by John Topping, GFDD and FUNGLODE premiered the documentary film: Macromicro Panarama: Climate Change, a 2007 Television for the Environment Production that highlights the ways in which climate change is attributing to the intensity and frequency of natural disasters such as hurricanes, cyclones, and monsoons. It also draws attention to the successful implementation of programs designed to replace fossil fuels traditionally used in motor vehicles, with clean alternative fuels such as ethanol, hydrogen, electricity, and natural gas.

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