Global warming prompted spirited debate Monday during a discussion of philanthropy that included media titan Ted Turner and former Irish president Mary Robinson.
Aspen Institute chief executive and former Time magazine managing editor Walter Isaacson, who moderated the Rocky Mountain Roundtable discussion at the Boettcher Concert Hall, asked if global warming research and awareness campaigns are “sucking all of the air” out of other nonprofit pursuits.
Turner, who recently took a boat trip to the Arctic Ocean with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and others, said global warming should be at the top of government’s agenda.
“We don’t have time … If we don’t get this one right immediately, we face the chance of being almost extinct in 30 years,” he said.
Robinson said nonprofit foundations should reassess how they’re addressing climate change.
But financier Eli Broad said education is at least as important an issue as global warming.
“I’m hoping that our economic problems will be a wake-up call that we need to do something about our failing education system,” Broad said.
Tim Marquez, chief executive of Denver-based Venoco Inc., took heat for referring to the “global warming myth.” He later said he had been joking.
Other panel members included Rick Schaden, owner of Quiznos and founder of America’s Road Home; Larry Brilliant, executive director of the Google Foundation; Jane Wales, chief executive of the Global Philanthropy Forum; and Caz Matthews, president of the Wellpoint Foundation.
Another point of discussion was corporate social responsibility.
Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com
