Talk to focus on global warming and Arizona

Kate Nolan
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 14, 2007 12:00 AM

M. Scott Johnson may be a hard-core career conservationist, but he talks like someone who's taken a class in the Power of Positive Thinking.

"The new science on global warming can be very sobering," said Johnson, who is giving a talk on the subject Oct. 6 at Southwest Wildlife, the Scottsdale animal-rehabilitation center.

"But I've morphed my presentation into a different kind of focus," he said.

"Humans are a powerful force of nature. If we harness that power now, we can have a tremendous impact for future generations," said Johnson, of Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation group.

Johnson's Tucson branch of Defenders has been instrumental in recovering the Mexican wolf and other native species. The group is studying the environmental impact of immigration policy and long ago pioneered a program that compensates ranchers for livestock lost to reintroduced predators, such as wolves.

Johnson plans to blend his real-world experience and brazen optimism for his upcoming talk, "From Convenience to Engagement, the Climate Crisis: Awakening to Our Greatness."

Johnson, a native Arizonan, has worked on environmental issues since he experienced a "come to Jesus" moment in the 1980s as a student in Tucson.

He stopped at a convenience store to pick up a newspaper and saw a headline saying scientists suspected a link between auto emissions and climate change. After he hopped back in his rattletrap car and turned on the ignition, unleashing a noxious plume of smoke, Johnson said he converted to the brand of personalized environmentalism he now preaches.

"Global warming is not a political issue, but it's being turned into one," he said. "Politics is about pointing fingers and standing on political platforms, regardless of who's right or wrong."

Johnson wants to reframe the debate around the scientific and cultural challenges, or opportunities, as he puts it.

"We hear we'll have to sacrifice tremendously to protect the atmosphere, but it's a myth. We're talking about creation of incredible growth in jobs and wealth," he said. He likens those trying to end global warming to Henry Ford.

"The horse-and-buggy people told Ford he was crazy. But he went on and opened new avenues of freedom and mobility for Americans," Johnson said.

The irony of venerating the man behind mass production of automobiles is not lost on the conservationist. The point, he said, is that breaking precedents is not always embraced with ease.

Earlier this year, Johnson trained in Nashville with global-warming avatar Al Gore. The four-day speaker-training session covered scientific and presentational topics related to Gore's successful lecture, film and book, An Inconvenient Truth.

"One of his passions is science. He's a bit of a geek, really," Johnson said with affection for the former vice president. Johnson distilled his own thinking and material from the Gore project for his vision of people coming together to solve problems, rather than arguing politics. His talk will examine the impact of global warming on Arizona, predicting a likely scenario of extended drought. But he plans to dwell on solutions.

"The idea that we are collectively powerful makes this issue confusing. We don't see how what we do can have an impact," Johnson said. His talk will include ways individuals and communities can reduce their carbon footprints.

"We have to imagine our own participation in that," he said.

To boost imaginations, Southwest Wildlife will give a nocturnal tour of its animal sanctuary before the talk, and staff from Wild at Heart and Phoenix Herpetological Society will exhibit Arizona native birds and reptiles.