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The presentation was his own opinion and he does not claim to be a climate expert. <br /> Griner does not consider himself a"climate change denier" but felt the Iverson <br /> presentation presented issues in an extreme way and the issues are not as bad as they <br /> suggested. He feels that humans have little influence on the climate and that the <br /> earth's climate changes naturally over many years. Griner stated that many credible <br /> scientists don't believe the climate is facing a catastrophe. He does not feel that CO2 <br /> is a threat and not a poison that we should be concerned about. Griner stated that <br /> utilizing coal and carbon products does not make us bad people or morally wrong <br /> for utilizing available resources. He also discussed some specific topics from the <br /> presentation including the Polar Vortex and California wildfires and related them to <br /> his own experiences. Griner does not feel that solar and wind power can meet our <br /> current needs and technology for them is not a good option. He does not believe <br /> subsidies are beneficial for these industries. Griner feels the commission should <br /> focus on conservation,water,waste management and other local projects. <br /> There was very brief discussion after about how Griner's personal beliefs fit into the <br /> goals and priorities of the Energy City Commission and specifically the Climate <br /> Smart Municipalities program. <br /> 5.3 Energy City programming/demonstration site ideas <br /> Looking forward to 2020, the commission discussed both demonstration sites and <br /> new programs to be included to expand Energy City. <br /> Demonstration sites include still working on the solar picnic table (a continued <br /> challenge), adding a wind turbine via a partnership with MMPA and possibly adding <br /> rain garden projects in the future. Energy City tours previously included GRE and <br /> members suggested other sites including GRE's headquarters and Xcel's facilities <br /> including one in Becker. <br /> The commission discussed past programing that had challenges including the High <br /> Five program that didn't get much interest and Project Conserve that no longer has <br /> available staff to assist with. The group discussed doing a survey somehow to gauge <br /> what topics resident would be most interested in. The commission still feels that <br /> there is a general lack of awareness from the public about Energy City and the goals <br /> of the commission. Continued partnership with the city's economic development <br /> department has been beneficial and Commissioner Lord attends some BR&E visits. <br /> The commission would like to begin monthly updates to the public from Energy <br /> City to be shared on the city's various communication outlets. These monthly <br /> updates would highlight various aspects of the ECC's goals not just limited to energy <br /> or conservation. This will also allow the various commission members to share <br /> information about their specific area of expertise as well. The group plans to <br /> collaborate on this with the assistance of the city's communication department,more <br /> to come in the next months. <br /> 2 <br />