The Friday, March 8, Great Decisions lecture will explore the connections between green energy, emerging technologies to combat climate change, and global economic competition with a presentation from Delaware native David Carpenter, M.A.

The world enjoys an increasingly integrated global economy centered on production and trade that crosses the globe. However, this global economy has been driven for over a century on the use of fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas – as the primary engine of economic growth. With the mounting scientific concerns over the pace of global warming and its widespread effects on the planet and on human societies, the global community is pushing hard to find new forms of “green energy” to sustain our world economy in a way that reduces our output of planet-warming greenhouse gasses. The economic future will be a balance between economic growth and environmentally sustainable practices. The potential collaboration and competition this race will engender among countries for greener energy and greener economies is going to be a defining feature of mid-21st century geopolitics.

Carpenter is a former research engineer and former physics educator turned climate physics and renewable energy information specialist. He has a B.S. in physics and an M.A. in math and physics education, both from Ohio State University.

Carpenter has been actively following climate research for five decades. He became involved in energy issues about 25 years ago while experimenting with solar energy at home, which has one of the oldest solar arrays in Delaware County. Over the years, Carpenter has helped many people to go solar.

In 2016, Carpenter organized the Delaware County Solar Cooperative which put solar on 34 homes and businesses the following year. He has intermittently testified at the Ohio Statehouse and at PUCO hearings. He has volunteered with Green Energy Ohio and Solar United Neighbors, and has done promotion for Kokosing Solar.

With Sustainable Delaware Ohio, Carpenter consulted with the City of Delaware last year to get over 10,000 Delaware homes and businesses to benefit from renewable electricity aggregation, saving the average Delaware residential customer in the aggregation over $400 per year.

The lecture will take place from noon to 1 p.m. at the William Street United Methodist Church at 28 W. William St., Delaware. Those attending are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided.

The presentation will also be broadcast over Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85158448001.

For more information, visit www.greatdecisionsofdelawareoh.com.

The Great Decisions program is a series of free, public lectures from central Ohio foreign policy experts who explore pressing international topics of the day. Sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association, Great Decisions provides a series of eight published essays around which our local presenters base their discussions each week. The presentations include audience question-and-answer periods to engage in thoughtful discussion.

This year, the Great Decisions community discussion series covers eight particular topics: The future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the future of U.S. involvement in the Middle East, U.S.-China trade rivalry, global climate change technology and competition, global pandemic preparedness, the future of the High Seas Treaty on ocean biodiversity, and a closer look at the regional role of Indonesia in Indo-Pacific relations.

Submitted by Erinn Nicley.