WILLMAR -- Polar explorer Will Steger is coming to Willmar to let people in west central Minnesota know how they can help reverse global warming.
Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center and other local groups are sponsoring a presentation by Minnesota's adventurer at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the student center of Ridgewater College. The forum is free and open to the public.
Steger will appear with J. Hamilton Drake, science policy director with Fresh Energy, formerly known as Minnesotan's for an Energy Efficient Economy (M3).
Steger will present images of how global warming is changing the two polar regions.
He will speak about its consequences for the people of the Arctic.
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"He is one of the only eye witnesses in the whole world to what is happening at both poles,'' Drake said.
What is happening in the high latitudes is drastic. And, the changes are happening at a much faster rate than elsewhere, she said.
While global warming may be more evident in the arctic regions, there are plenty of changes being documented in Minnesota. Drake will join Steger in describing what is happening in Minnesota and what it portends, from the north woods of Ely -- where Steger calls home -- to the rolling hills, lakes and farm lands of Kandiyohi County.
Drake said polls consistently show that a strong majority of people in Minnesota believe the science of global warming.
But many people are not sure what they can do about it and feel that media reports about the issue fail to offer solutions, she said.
There is actually a great deal that individuals can do about global warming. Many of the solutions can actually help our economy and create new jobs, she said.
The presentation by Steger will feature a question and answer period. Steger has committed himself to doing something about global warming, even though the effort often takes him from his passion for adventure in the world's most remote corners. Drake said Steger is convinced that people can solve this problem, and he wants to do all he can to make that possible.
For more information on the upcoming presentation, call 320-354-5894. Sponsors of the visit include Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center, Fresh Energy, the Will Steger Foundation, Ridgewater College Student Association, the Minnesota Waterfowl Association and the New London chapter of the Izaak Walton League.
