How are the numbers 11.7, 15.78 and 20.4 related? 11.7 is the number of degrees higher than normal the temperatures were this December in Caribou, Maine. “15.78” is the number of inches of rain lower than normal Bangor, Maine had in 2001. 20.4 is the 20-year record low number of miles per gallon an average 2001 model year U.S. vehicle achieved. You may be wondering what the connection is.

The connection between record drought, record warmth, and record fuel consumption is, of course, global climate change. We thank The Bangor Daily News for your articles and editorials on Maine’s record heat, record drought, costs for private wells going dry, reduction in the blueberry harvest, need for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, not rolling back the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review, The National Research Council’s report that abrupt climate change is possible in their December 2001 study and Maine household insurers advertising to urge people to rake their roofs to avoid future raised premiums (in 2001, $20 million was paid in claims from ice dams – plus costs to individual families and businesses).

Ice cores from Greenland show that dramatic climate change took place there in less than 10 years, according to a glacial geologist from the University of Maine’s Institute of Quaternary and Climate Studies. The potential for “abrupt change” adds a different and scarier slant to the emerging climate change reality. Already, island nations are disappearing, huge icebergs are calving, unusually severe storms, floods and record droughts all over the planet are occurring and causing an estimated $300 billion a year in damages. If abrupt climate change takes place, that will only exacerbate the dislocations for human, animal and plant populations.

Increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is one of the major reasons for the change in the climate shown in the ice cores. We cannot postpone action to reduce these risks. That’s where “fossil fuel energy” enters the scene. Burning fossil fuels (coal, gasoline, oil, diesel, natural gas, propane) is the primary source of carbon dioxide emissions, which are causing much of the human-induced global climate change. The United States uses 25 percent of the world’s fossil fuel energy even though we are only 3 percent of the world’s population – and we increased our greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5 percent last year. According to the just released Department of Energy’s forecast of future energy demand, if we continue the “business as usual” scenario, we will continue to use more and more fossil fuel.

However, study after study of the available, commercially ready technologies and processes show that “business as usual” does not have to continue. And the result of using the new, more efficient, cleaner technologies and processes will mean more jobs, a better economy for Maine and the nation, more security, more money directly into the pockets of average citizens, less air pollution and lower health costs. Here are four examples of what is being done in Maine now. One product that is clean and efficient is Belfast, Maine inventor Bill Kreamers’s Sol-Air Modular Solar Heating and Ventilation Cooling system that fits into a window. Another example is the ultra-efficient and clean Bucksport Energy/International Paper Combined cycle natural gas plant that produces electricity as well as provides steam for the paper mill – a co-generation plant. Repowering the Great Northern hydroelectric system is a very beneficial project – they will be able to produce more power with the same dams. The Maine Chamber of Commerce’s Energy and Environment Center is participating in the Industries of the Future program, helping Maine’s industry be more efficient and thus able to survive.

In August, I was proud to be present when the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers adopted their Climate Change Action Plan. This plan set targets and timelines based on our bi-national region’s assessment of the risks if no action were taken and studied the economic benefits from potential actions. In October, Maine Global Climate Change held a forum where the 90 participants from Maine’s economic, governmental and civic sectors met and chose 11 achievable, reasonable actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve Maine’s economy – many of which had to do with increasing energy conservation and efficiency.

At the end of the last century, buggy makers had to change their product line. It is now beyond time for vehicle manufacturers to adopt greater efficiency standards. I know it works for appliances – my new refrigerator is the same size, holds more yet is 50 percent more efficient than my 12-year-old one. Vehicle efficiency for cars, light duty trucks, and sport-utility vehicles has declined while sales of these least energy-efficient vehicles have risen dramatically. Right now, there is one large, roomy, comfortable SUV on the market that gets 25 miles per gallon, so we know it can be done.

We commend Sens. Olympia Snowe and Dianne Feinstein for sponsoring a bill to increase fuel efficiency for light-duty trucks, SUVs and minivans to 27.5 miles per gallon by 2006. We also thank Sen. Collins for her support for a bill to encourage hybrid and alternative fueled vehicles. Maine’s congressional delegation understands that raising vehicle fuel efficiency by even one mile per gallon would save more oil than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is projected to produce. The United States Congress needs to adopt an overall vehicle fuel efficiency increase as part of a final Energy Bill.

As we wave our flags and sing “God Bless America,” we should remember the Bangor Daily News editorial cartoon from Oct. 26, 2001, showing the two pipelines “Saudi flow of oil to the West” and “Saudi cash flow to al-Qaida.” That really hit home. With our dependence on fossil fuels from foreign sources projected to increase to more than 60 percent, I urge you to re-evaluate your individual purchases and uses of fossil fuels. Please call your U.S. and state legislators asking for their support for a cleaner, more efficient, more economically beneficial energy future for Maine and the nation in the 2002 Energy Bill.

Pamela W. Person, of Orland, is co-chair of Maine Global Climate Change Inc.