Climate Change Forum May 20 at Stone Harbor

Dr. Jeffrey Thompson

The fourth annual Door County Climate Change Forum, “Addressing Climate Change: What’s Happening, Who’s Leading, What to Say,” will be held May 20, 9 am to 2 pm, at Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay.

Dr. Steve Vavrus, a senior scientist in the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will describe recent climate changes globally and locally and what we can expect in the future. He will focus on the relationship of climate change to more frequent extreme weather events and the potential adverse consequences of such events on human health.

Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, MD, will discuss how health care organizations, by addressing climate change aggressively, can improve patient health, lower operating and care costs and support the local economy. He will explain how Gundersen Health System, over the last nine years, met its goal of being 100 percent powered by renewables from local sources.

Massive, hard-to-detect processes such as climate disruption present real challenges for communicators. Dr. Sharon Dunwoody, Evjue-Bascom Professor Emerita of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW-Madison, will describe target audiences and offer strategies to help advocates move hearts and minds and rebuild a bipartisan consensus on the need to act.

Tia Nelson, long-time Wisconsin environmental leader, will lead a conversation among the speakers, including questions from the audience, to conclude the day.

The doors will open at 8 am for registration and snacks. Environmental organizations will have booths with resources for attendees. The forum will include a local foods lunch. The registration fee is $25. Registration materials are online at climatechangedoorcounty.com/4th-annual-forum.