ANNUAL MEETING AND BETTY
HILL INTERNATIONAL FORUM 2008...
Weston League to continue in "Steering Committee" mode.
Hon. Julie Belaga inspirational as she answers questions re: what
she thinks can be done to turn around America's position to become a
leader in climate change discussion and action! Weston Forum
report and photo below...
Betty Hill International Forum in Weston U.S. needs to build leadership in
environmental affairs by Patricia Gay May 22, 2008
Julie
Belaga, co-chairman of the Connecticut League
of
Conservation Voters, was the keynote speaker at the 2008 Betty Hill
International Forum held at the Cobb’s Mill Inn. (Patricia Gay photo)
The title of her speech was supposed to be “Restoring American
Leadership in International Environmental Affairs,” but Julie Belaga
said that was a speech she could not give.
“The issue should be about building and not restoring leadership. We
have no leadership on international environmental issues,” she said.
That was how Ms. Belaga began a lively and well-received speech and
discussion with members of the League of Women Voters of Weston and
guests who attended the annual Betty Hill International Forum on
Friday, May 16, at the Cobb’s Mill Inn.
Following the league’s annual business meeting and luncheon, Ms. Belaga
was introduced by Helen de Keijzer, a member of the league who invited
Ms. Belaga to the forum.
Conservation voters
Ms. Belaga is the co-chairman of the Connecticut League of Conservation
Voters, an organization that supports environmentally-friendly elected
officials in Connecticut. She has served with the Environmental
Protection Agency and is on the board of National Audubon CT and the
Connecticut Fund for the Environment.
In the mid-’70s, Ms. Belaga, a Republican, represented Westport in the
State House of Representatives, where she was involved in issues of
coastal protection and the transportation of hazardous waste and
solid-waste management.
After an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1986, she worked as a
commentator for WTNH-TV in New Haven and as an instructor at the John
F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Elusive concept
“Let’s talk about global warming. I’ve been taking about global warming
since my days with the EPA, but it’s a tough issue,” Ms. Belaga said.
Ms. Belaga believes the American public in general has a hard time
relating to global warming because it is an elusive concept. “The
environment and all its problems are very large, and it’s difficult for
people to appreciate all this unless they can see the damage up close
for themselves,” she said.
Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina brought home the problems
with climate change to many Americans, she noted. “We know from trying
to engage the public in environmental issues that local pollution is
what galvanizes people. But international solutions are vital, since
fouled environment knows no boundaries. Global issues require a
completely different mindset than local ones,” Ms. Belaga said.
When it comes to leadership in international environmental affairs, Ms.
Belaga suggests the U.S. has been left behind.
She referred to a theory expounded by Fareed Zakaria in his book, The
Post-American World. “The U.S. does not seem to be leading the charge
any more,” Mr. Zakaria wrote, with the world shifting from
anti-Americanism sentiments from the fallout of the war in Iraq, to
Post-Americanism.
“Mr. Zakaria called it the rise of the rest of the world, claiming the
world is not defined by the decline of America, but by the rise of
everyone else,” Ms. Belaga said.
It is her theory that if the U.S. had taken hold of environmental
leadership in 1992, it would be better positioned today to move forward
as a leader in the world of climate change and sustainable development.
She criticized the country as being “xenophobic” in its policies,
making it hard for other nations to allow the U.S. to lead.
Somewhat encouraged
Although Ms. Belaga said she does not have a “happy face” about the
country’s leadership on environmental policies, she said she does feel
somewhat encouraged that change is on the way.
“Our untenable position today forces political leaders to address new
ways of solving problems and form new coalitions that will implement
those changes,” she said.
She said the bottom line for her is that the country must begin to
acknowledge that the environment is not an isolated concept and that
the country’s energy policies are inextricably entwined with the
environment. “The relationship between energy and the environment is
crucial,” she said.
The U.S. needs to look at all types of energy sources, including
alternative energy such as solar and wind power, as well as revisiting
nuclear power, Ms. Belaga said.
“The issue with nuclear power is disposing safely of the waste,” she
said. Although she was not ready to endorse nuclear power, Ms. Belaga
said it was worth exploring. “I don’t know if I can recommend nuclear
power, but we know fossil fuel is a killer,” she said.
She said unilateralism must shift to a more dynamic system, which might
be messier but would be in keeping with today’s world. “We will need to
forge close relationships and embrace behind-the-scene power derived
from setting the agenda, defining the issues, and mobilizing
coalitions,” she said.
She said if she were president, she would build a cabinet of the “best
and the brightest” experts on energy and climate change who would make
the issue a priority.
Finally, she said she was encouraged by the upcoming presidential
election, which offers the country change. “Let’s hope it signals that
the U.S. will be at the head of the parade,” she said. Annual Meeting and
Betty Hill
International Forum 2007 June 8,
2007, Friday, Cobbs Mill Inn, Weston, CT
WESTON LWV ANNUAL MEETING
MAKES SOME DECISIONS... Ducks
swimming up stream? At
Annual Meeting, with assistance from neighboring Leagues and
representatives of the LWVCT, a quorum of the Weston League
assembled voted to carry on League activities in 2007-2008 using a
"Committee" instead of the traditional set of Officers and Directors as
spelled out in the LWV of Weston by-laws! 8TH
ANNUAL BETTY HILL FORUM ON INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Speaker at 8th Betty
Hill International Forum Talia Carner - click here for her
website.
The Eighth
Annual Betty Hill Forum on
International Affairs heard from author
and activist Talia
Carner...whose message was, in effect, do your research, ask questions
and use
the power of the Internet to make change! Sounds like 21st
Century
League! INSPIRATIONAL
SPEAKER Relating the
story of how a writing career (a shift from publishing)
has made activism possible - on the lecture circuit! It was an excellent
resolution to
the League's administrative problem, and all agreed that the new year
is very much going to be a lively one! Thank you to Pat Heifetz,
the outgoing President, and to Talia Carner, for giving us perspective
on serious matters of social policy and international
significance. And inspiring each and every one of us to step
forward and make a difference! Betty Hill would have been proud
of this day! Read
about reception for "China Doll" in the literary press here.
