Dole Auditorium was filled to overflowing when The Todd Lectures Series kicked off its new season with Bill McKibben as speaker last Wednesday night.

Mr. McKibben, a resident scholar at Middlebury College, is the author of many books and is an environmentalist. Bill frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. McKibben is active in the Methodist Church.

In his book Enough Staying Human in an Engineered Age he wrote of his concerns about human cloning and the growing scale of human power. He is concerned about the possibility of designer babies and what it might mean to our future generations. Will there be no more ugly babies? Mr. McKibben has observed what science can do for athletes, citing Barry Bonds’ athletic performance as an example. "Human nature is very fragile."

He said that inadvertent changes can result in large consequences. Global warming is a result of increased amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than plants and oceans can absorb it. The earth now attracts heat rather than reflecting it back out into space. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been steadily climbing since the mid 1950’s. Scientists agree that we are essentially heating up the planet. The melting ice shield is no longer large enough to reflect heat from the sun. The dark blue ocean waters absorb more heat. The seawater itself is becoming more acid. The acidity level in the oceans have increased 30% over the last 30 years.

The result of these changes is that there is more drought and more heavy rains. Strong hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters may become more commonplace in many parts of the world. The growth of deserts may also cause food shortages in many places. He noted that this year there has been unusually heavy snow in the Mid Atlantic states.

Scientists working with NASA distributed a paper in January, 2008, that claims "that the magic number is 350 parts per million." Climate scientist, James E. Hansen postulates that any atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) above 350 parts per million was unsafe to sustain human life as we now know it. The present count is 390 parts per million. The problem is here now. Mr. McKibben advocates the need to act now. We need to reduce the amount of combustion from the use of fossil fuels by seeking forms of renewable energy. This will be difficult, as we have to work through the political system.

Mr. McKibben spoke of his work to organize networks of people globally known as 350.org. In late 2009 he led the largest ever-global coordinated rally of any kind with 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries. They wanted to make the world’s nations who were meeting in Copenhagen to work out some kind of agreement for the abatement of greenhouse gases. President Obama had little to offer in Copenhagen. He promised something like a 17% cut in our greenhouse gas emissions from their 2005 levels by 2020.

"We like the world. We want our kids to live in the same kind of world we have and do not want it changed by the 5% who are selfish consumers, " he said. We need to take this global issue and make it a local issue. He feels people must overcome the

I need to drive a Humvee mentality" and be responsible and careful consumers. People need to become more energy efficient. People need to make more preparation for the future of our world

Citizens can work through their legislators to pass legislation to put a price on carbon emissions.

Cap and dividend is a simple, market-based way to reduce CO2 emissions without reducing household incomes. It caps fossil fuel supplies, makes polluters pay, and returns the revenue to everyone equally. Putting a price on the burning of oil, gas and coal is the most efficient way to limit American greenhouse emissions.

The moral issue is the manner in which we look at the earth. People are interconnected by the actions of others. Life is being made harder for some people as

result of the climate changes that are happening now. Soon it will be difficult to support our present lifestyles. Do we continue our extraordinary practices?