A panel of guest speakers stopped by Westlake Hall either in person or through Zoom to discuss the ripple effects of climate change and the next steps we can take in “Tackling Climate Change in the Rural Midwest” on Nov. 5.

Jeanne Bukowski, associate professor of international studies, started the event by stating that this was one of an ongoing series of talks at Bradley regarding climate change and sustainability; another one was previously held on Oct. 1.

Nonprofit leadership coordinator Brad McMillan served as the host, with students and faculty filling the room to hear the speakers. The event was co-sponsored by the Dirksen Congressional Center in partnership with the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service and the Office of Global Studies and Initiatives (OGSI).

Donald Wuebbles

Donald Wuebbles, emeritus professor of atmospheric science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was the event’s keynote speaker. He discussed climate change through temperature changes observed in Illinois.

Wuebbles noted precipitation changes as well as extreme weather events that are a part of wider trends, including higher flood risk, drought intensity and rates of heat waves.

Wuebbles listed the ripple effects of these changes, including a rise in vector-borne diseases, a lengthened pollen season, long-term effects on the resources and quality of Illinois water and an impact on the agriculture industry through increased heat stress and carbon dioxide levels. He named the pumpkin as a vital crop hurt by this process, as Illinois has been cited as the state responsible for the largest percentage of pumpkins in America.

While change is fundamental in all ecosystems, Wuebbles noted that the rate of climate change has grown more rapidly than it has in the past.

In detailing next steps for the public, Wuebbles identified three responses humans can take to climate change. Mitigation (reducing emissions responsible for the largest changes), adaptation (reducing adverse effects on people’s well-being) or suffering (the adverse effects of social disruption).

“Right now, we’re doing some of all three of those,” Wuebbles said. “To minimize suffering for the future, that can only be achieved by doing a lot of mitigation and a lot of adaptation.”

He concluded his section by encouraging the audience to help make a difference by contacting their local and national representatives, starting conversations with their loved ones, finding ways to be energy-efficient in their own lives and keeping a sense of hope.

Cheri Bustos

Rep. Cheri Bustos (D, IL-17) joined the talk virtually from her office in Washington, having participated in a vote that morning on an infrastructure bill that was still being deliberated at the time of the event.

Bustos stated that she found climate to be “the most pressing issue of our time,” and spent her part of the forum discussing it from a Midwestern perspective. She explained that the local effects of climate change can be felt through the region’s industry for agriculture, which she currently serves on a committee for. She is part of an ongoing inquiry into programs supporting causes such as decarbonization and lake preservation.

Bustos continued saying that due to many in rural America blaming her congressional district for climate-based problems over the years, she introduced the Rural Green Partnership. A “framework of policies and principles” that offers solutions in various climate-based fields. These include conservation farming practices, carbon sequestration, precision agriculture, increasing energy efficiency on farms and strengthening existing fuel standards to reduce emissions.

Bustos’ experiences led her to the conclusions that recent rural challenges have emphasized the need to diversify and modernize approaches to agriculture, as well as the delicacy of our food supply chain.

She noted that Peoria has resources to achieve this goal, including the biggest United States Department of Agriculture research lab in the country. She has seen initiative through ways such as the business Urban Acres, where empty lots are purchased and turned into produce sites.

Bustos offered a call to action for present students, noting that opportunities exist all around them, to get involved in the climate crisis and further highlighting internships as one of them.

“You are going to school at a time where you can make a tremendous difference in the line of work that you will go into after you graduate from Bradley and what you do with your lives to help make a difference,” Bustos said.

Darin LaHood

Congressman Darin LaHood (R, IL-18), also joining virtually from Washington, D.C., came from another perspective of involvement in a rural district in his remarks. Which he stated had large operations in crops, livestock, ethanol and wind production.

On an interpersonal level, LaHood stated that one of his earliest efforts in Congress was setting up an agricultural advisory committee where climate was a recurring topic. He found farmers to be an engaged community in regards to conservation, with many beneficial innovations in soil and water districts coming from farmers.

Regarding public climate policy, LaHood noted that he is a recent member of Congress’ Conservative Climate Caucus, a group of Republican Party members that convene on climate policies that will utilize American resources to reduce emissions by way of the private sector. He said the strategy made enough impact over the past 20 years to make America the global leader in emission reduction.

He further shared personal frustrations on these objectives not being pursued by large, emission-producing countries such as China, India and Pakistan, stating that there is no easy answer to integrating America’s strategy on a global scale.

LaHood shared that amid the traditional energies America produces, including oil, solar power and clean coal, he supports the wind production in his district through tax credits and incentives. On a wider scale, he said he supports an “all of the above” energy policy for the country that embraces new technology, believing that diversity in energy makes America the best domestic and global competitor.

David Koehler

State Senator David Koehler (D, IL-46) gave a comprehensive talk on the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a recently-passed bill that he described as instrumental in addressing climate change through both policy change and social change.

Koehler detailed the bill through the main areas it addressed. He noted its focus on consumer protection (shielding low-income residents from fees and compensating consumer interest groups) as well as social justice and equity through state legislation and the network of hub sites offering job training and career pipelines for equity-focused populations that the bill supports.

He also touched on various programs associated with the bill, including programs for apprenticeships and contractors for clean energy jobs alongside an energy advisory council.

Sherri Morris

Sherri Morris, chair of the biology department at Bradley, was also present and tackled the topic from a university perspective, stating that climate change is an issue of various fields that includes all of Bradley’s majors.

She further stated that Bradley’s Student Senate request for a sustainability minor had finally come to fruition, one of the only minors offered by the university with possible electives from all five colleges.

Using a millennium ecosystem assessment, Morris explained that humans have radically changed ecosystems in the last 50 years. Gains from these changes have come at growing costs of degradation. While she described these costs as reversible, she stated that the necessary actions — including investments, elimination of trade barriers and payments for ecosystem services — are not currently being taken.

Morris also advocated for science literacy (a person’s ability to determine answers to questions about natural phenomena) to be started as early as elementary school. Further advising attendees to take initiative on the decisions they make based on her statements that science is a self-correcting process.

She concluded on a positive note, saying that protecting our future is an effort that must be undergone by everyone, and hope lies in various places — including Bradley’s own student body.

“We have really talented students, and they have vision, and that gives us real good reason for hope,” Morris said. “I think there are a lot of ways we can move forward on some of these issues; we just need to empower our students to be creative and thoughtful and … to embrace their education and make the best of it.”

For more information on OGSI events, stop by their office at Bradley Hall 248 or reach out at globalstudies@fsmail.bradley.edu.