North Carolina Business Leaders to Discuss Cimate Change at Roundtable Forum
NC STATE REP. PRICEY HARRISON WILL PARTICIPATE IN “I WILL ACT ON CLIMATE” ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS IMPACTING THE LOCAL AGRICULTURE ECONOMY
BURLINGTON, NC – AUGUST 30, 2013 – A coalition of local business leaders will join NC State Representative Pricey Harrison on September 4 to discuss how climate change has impacted their agricultural-based business and the local North Carolina economy. The public roundtable forum will take place at TS Designs at 3:00 PM and feature some of the leading business voices in the state. Speakers at the event will include Eric Henry, President of TS Designs; Dr. Charlie Sydnor, owner of Braeburn Farms; Lyle Estill, founder of Piedmont Biofuels; Scott Marlow, Executive Director of the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA; Clay and Nancy Joyner, owners of Redbud Farm; and NC State Rep. Pricey Harrison (tentative based on General Assembly schedule) NCGA.
“There are elected officials in North Carolina that either are skeptical or outright reject that climate change is real,” said Eric Henry, President of TS Designs, a Burlington, NC T-shirt manufacturer that relies on the viability of local organic and conventional cotton crops. “But as a business owner, its effects are plain to see. We now have no choice but to turn to the federal government for action to combat our losses from climate change.”
Local economies in states across the country including North Carolina have been directly affected by climate change. At the roundtable event, participants will address the key impacts on their agricultural-based businesses in particular, and the possible solutions that can both protect the local economy while responding to the realities of a changing climate. TS Designs, for example, has implemented changes to its facility in direct response to climate change, including solar power, biodiesel, an employee-maintained vegetable garden, and a small poultry flock. As a result of climate-induced flooding from record rainfall, TS Designs has been forced to switch from North Carolina organic and conventional cotton to Texas farms, which are currently under siege from extreme drought.
The roundtable forum comes after President Obama took action on climate change by announcing the nation’s first-ever limits on carbon pollution, as well as infrastructure improvements to deal with the effects of climate change, and new investments in clean energy and energy efficiency. Nearly two-thirds of voters (65 percent) support “the President taking significant steps to address climate change now,” according to a February 2013 poll for the League of Conservation Voters.
What: “I Will Act On Climate” North Carolina Business Leaders Roundtable Forum On Climate Change
When: Wednesday September 4, 2013 – 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Where: TS Designs, 2053 Willow Spring Ln, Burlington, NC 27215
Speakers:
*Eric Henry, President of TS Designs
*Dr. Charlie Sydnor, owner of Braeburn Farms
*Lyle Estill, founder of Piedmont Biofuels
*Scott Marlow, Executive Director of the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA
*NC State Rep. Pricey Harrison (tentative based on General Assembly schedule) NCGA
Click here to learn more about the Business Forum Participants.
If you’re interested in attending this forum, please send an RSVP email to Jen Busfield at jen@tsdesigns.com.
For more information about the roundtable forum in Burlington, contact Aric Caplan at 301-998-6592 or aric@caplancommunications, or Bob Keener, 617-610-6766, bkeener@asbcouncil.org.