Ten Communities Selected to Host Local Climate Conversations on Earth Day 2009

Contact: Annie Strickler, 510.844.0699

Oakland, California – ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, AmericaSpeaks and Earth Day Network are proud to announce the selection of 10 “Spotlight Conversations” as part of the 2009 National Conversation on Climate Action. The groups are partnering to present the National Conversation, a series of potentially hundreds of local-level community engagement events taking place nationwide on Earth Day 2009. The Spotlight Conversation communities are part of an elite group that will be highlighted nationally and receive extensive support in event planning and promotion.

The Spotlight Conversation events will take place in: 

• Boise, Idaho
• Hennepin County, Minnesota
• Houston, Texas
• Jackson, Wyoming
• Lexington, Kentucky (Fayette County)
• Los Angeles County, California
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Sarasota County, Florida
• Sumter, South Carolina
• Tucson, Arizona

The selected Spotlight Conversation communities will work closely with the event partners in the coming months to plan and promote events that focus on civic engagement, solutions-oriented dialogue, and local climate action. Local governments across the country were invited to submit proposals to be a Spotlight Conversation; these 10 were selected from a pool of strong proposals.

“We look forward to supporting these 10 Spotlight Conversation communities on Earth Day,” said Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA. “This will be an opportunity for the communities to advance their local climate protection goals and feed into a crucial national dialogue on the imperative of local climate action.”

As a membership association of 500 U.S. local governments advancing climate protection and sustainability, ICLEI will work directly with the Spotlight Conversation communities to build the event into their ongoing climate action planning.

“We are delighted to be partnering with ICLEI-USA and AmericaSpeaks to help bridge the gap between climate science and action,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale F&ES Project on Climate Change.

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies will bring cutting edge research on the local impacts of a warming world to the table for this event, in particular connecting climate scientists with municipal officials to pin point the best solutions to this urgent global challenge. 

 “Climate change affects everyone – all citizens must have the opportunity for open, informed dialogue with each other and the ability to work with decision-makers to take actions in their communities. AmericaSpeaks is excited to work with the Spotlight Conversation sites to produce results-oriented town meetings,” said Carolyn Lukensmeyer, President of AmericaSpeaks.

Spotlight Conversation communities will have the opportunity to use the AmericaSpeaks’ 21st Century Town Meeting® model, a unique public forum that links technology with small-group, face-to-face dialogue to allow hundreds or thousands of people to deliberate simultaneously about complex public policy issues and express a shared message to decision-makers.

The 2009 National Conversation will build off the successful 2007 event and the burgeoning demand from local governments for support with community outreach and engagement on climate concerns. More information can be found at www.climateconversation.org. Hundreds of communities will be invited to engage in substantive, solutions-oriented dialogues about climate action opportunities at the local level. Choosing Earth Day enables local governments to best leverage existing resources, messages and community enthusiasm.