Leahy to Open Vermont Climate Economy Summit Monday, February 22

As seen at: http://www.vermontbiz.com/event/february/leahy-open-vermont-climate-economy-summit-monday-february-22

Senator Patrick Leahy to be opening speaker at the Vermont Climate Economy Summit, sponsored by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD).

VCRD founded the Vermont Climate Change Economy Council in February of last year to frame a platform of ideas to move the new climate economy forward for the state.  More than 400 people are registered to attend the conference, including most statewide public and private sector leaders in the energy and community development arenas.

— SPEECH EXCERPTS–

“Over the next two decades, the economy of Vermont, the United States and every country on Earth will be transformed.  How we guide and react to that transformation will affect generations to come.  It is not an overstatement to say that the future of our world hangs in the balance.”

“If we have had such a profound negative impact on the environment, we can also have a profound positive affect, and very quickly, on the drivers of climate change.  To do so, we must not only do things differently, we must think differently.  We must make the climate a core priority around which we organize and drive forward economic decisions that can affect all of humanity.”

“Time and again Vermonters come together, identify solutions, and become real leaders in showing the rest of the country how it can be done — thoughtfully, and with real results.  We have a unique ability here in Vermont to organize ourselves and take action towards common goals.”