In the Climate Project Calvary
DWC's Colin Bunting Spreads Gore's Message

In December, 18-year-old Colin Bunting rolled up his sleeves and rubbed elbows with the likes of scientists, business owners, and professors all seeking to understand and combat global warming. Colin was one of 200 people hand-picked to attend The Climate Project seminar, hosted by Al Gore.

Colin was one of the four youngest participants and is now a graduate of The Climate Project's third and largest group of trainees. He's embarking on a mission to spread the word about the seriousness of global warming and what everyone can do to make a difference. Although he's only committed to giving 10 public presentations, “...I plan to do way more than that,” says Colin.

Last week, he gave his first presentation at Melissa Jones School. On Jan. 14, accompanied by a selection from his slide-show arsenal of 450 facts and figures, Colin spoke with Pilgrim Fellowship teens at First Congregational Church (Colin is a former PF'er who has volunteered on four national mission trips). On Jan. 16, Colin returned to Daniel Webster College, New Hampshire, where the freshman is lining up more talks.

A member of GHS Class of 2006, Colin can easily recall his reaction to seeing Gore's cautionary film, An Inconvenient Truth, last year. By the end of the movie, he says, “...I was looking for something I could do to help.”

Colin was visiting his grandmother last fall when he learned about becoming a potential Climate Project trainee.

“The first I heard of The Climate Project was when I talked to my grandmother, and she said something about it. I went to www.climateproject.org on her computer and saw that you could apply to be a presenter, so I sent off an application.”

About four months later, Colin learned he was chosen from a pool of some 4,500 applicants. He thanks family friend and author Andrew Goodman, a former Guilford neighbor, for supplying him with a good reference.

In December, Colin traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend The Climate Project conference at the Nashville Hilton. Spurred on by heartfelt talks given by Gore, Colin and his Northeast group attended break-out seminar sessions by day, where he “...learned step by step how it's affecting us now, and the 100 percent science supporting it,” Colin says.

Understanding the issue is one part of the equation, he adds.

“The point of this whole thing is that global warming is seriously happening. The question is, 'If it's this bad, this late, can we still do anything about it?'”

In fact, as Colin proves in his talks, there's plenty to be done. Diminishing carbon dioxide emissions, which contributes to the “greenhouse affect” of global warming, can be as simple has changing a light bulb–if done en masse.

“Residents and businesses can change to compact fluorescent light bulbs,” Colin says, explaining it takes far less energy to excite the molecules inside the bulbs than to burn filament in a traditional electric bulb.

Outdoor solar lighting, programmable thermostats, changing home heating and cooling filters, even properly inflating the tires on your car all help the cause, Colin adds.

“The easiest thing I found that makes a huge difference is properly inflated tires. You can cut out 250 pounds of carbon dioxide emission per year and save $840 in gas if your tires are inflated properly. If everyone did it, nationwide, pollution would come down by two percent in one year.”

An aspiring aviator double-majoring in aeronautical engineering and aviation flight operation, Colin is the type of person who whole-heartedly embraces the things about which he is passionate. Flying since the age of 13, he added 40 hours to his flight training in his first semester at Webster and earned his pilot's license last fall.

It's that kind of ambitious spirit that's certain to assist Colin in his effort to spread the word on global warming, thanks to a little motivation provided by The Climate Project and Al Gore.

“He calls us his cavalry. We're going out to do his work and spread the word.”

For more information on global warming and what you can do to help, Colin recommends visiting www.stopglobalwarming.org. For more information on The Climate Project, visit www.climateproject.org.