Energy Fair to host renowned author, June 19

From an article by Nicole Strittmater in the Wausau Daily Herald:

An environmental superstar will visit Custer this week to help inspire central Wisconsin residents to go greener.

Bill McKibben, who wrote the first book about global warming 21 years ago and recently created an international campaign called 350.org to solve the climate crisis, is a keynote speaker for the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair on Saturday.

"I very much wanted to come, particularly because the kind of people who will be at the fair are the kind of people we need to reach," said McKibben, 49, from his home in Ripton, Vt.

He spends the majority of his time traveling the world promoting his 350.org campaign, which draws its name from the parts per million of carbon that can safely be in the atmosphere. His focus is to get the planet from 392 parts per million of carbon, where it is currently, to 350 by encouraging people to take on environmentally conscious projects.

"We want all kinds of people who are good at doing practical things -- putting up solar panels, community gardens, starting bike programs," he said.

In 2009, he and his 350.org team coordinated 5,200 rallies and demonstrations in 181 countries in one day, which news outlets dubbed the largest globally coordinated rally of any kind.

This October, he's organizing a global work party. He wants people worldwide to do environmentally friendly projects, such as putting up solar panels Oct. 10.