John C. Topping Jr. ’64

An advocate for the planet on confronting global challenges

"Facts essentially move people. As with tobacco, even the skeptics will come aboard. There may be some who still won't believe in global warming after their homes are six feet under water, but they'll constitute a minority. There aren't a lot of flatlanders walking around."

"An Inconvenient Truth did a remarkably good job of communicating complex material to a layaudience. [Former Vice Presi-dent Al] Gore has raised the bar for scientists, however. Now they'll be expected to give presentations like his."

"The biggest improvement atDartmouth since my day wasadmitting women. The atmosphere is more pleasant and they are every bit the boosters men were when Dartmouth was all male."

"When I worked in the EPA in the Reagan administration I was tugging at'' people's sleeves trying to get them to talk about global warming. They looked at me like I was a Trekkie."

"There will be public policy changes aspoliticians see their constituents not justwriting letters but doing things like usingsolar power in their homes. Then communities in their districts take action. A lot will percolate through. We have power as consumers and investors. All we need is a tenfold drop in emissions that can be achieved by moving to non-carbon fuels. Each country will have to make its own choices—whether solar, tidal, wind or nuclear—where they believe it to be safe. I think we'll find ways of doing it. The question will be how we get public policy in line. We've got to allow the smaller energy technologies to come in at a lower cost."

"We need to avoid an environmental league of nations. The biggest polluter is ultimately the biggest part of the solution. If we go into developing nations and say, 'We in the West did well with our profligate habits but you can't do likewise,' we're not going to get very far."

"Arnold Schwarzenegger is very much in the lead when itcomes to global warming, even though California is already the lowest in per-capita emissions. That's where a bully pulpit comes in handy. It helps to create an atmosphere—then people in technology come in."

"We have to make it easier for people to do the right thing. We can't be saying, 'You have to radically reduce your lifestyle.' People will develop technologies that are cheaper and cleaner so those who don't give a darn about the environment will still embrace them."

"I'm hoping that Dartmouth, since it has students there already,might be able to put money into helping the Marshall Islandsdevelop clean energy. Imagine if different schools helped different island nations at risk. The ultimate H-bomb to hit the Marshalls could be emissions from the U.S. With solar energy there, kids could read at night; clinics could keep vaccines cool."

"There is a clever camp that argues there is left and rightscience. I don't think anyone would have labeled Margaret Thatcher a liberal, but, a former chemistry major at Oxford, she became convinced by British scientists that ozone depletion and climate change had to be addressed. That made her a leader, no less of a conservative. A lot of scientists who were cautious have gotten scared. They have kids, they fear for the rest of us. Michael Crichton notwithstanding, they're not doing as well as the fossil fuel lobby."

"There's a sea change happening in public attitudes. To someone skeptical about climate change who visited Glacier National Park 30 years ago I say, 'Go back now.' When you see groups like the Presbyterian Church USAaskingits 2.3 million members to bear bold witness by becoming carbon neutral and purchasing credits to offset use, it's possible to be hopeful."

"I don't believe our species is suicidal; we are going toact to change. The heart of the change will have to come from industry because in the end it's rare to find solutions elsewhere. The government can't solve the problem but can be exemplary in building bridges."

CAREER: President/CEO, The Climate Institute, a nonprofit that promotes global climate balance, 1986 to present; staff director, Environmental Protection Agency's office of air and radiation, 1983-86; previously lawyer with the U.S. Department of Commerce, presidents advisory council on minority business enterprise and U.S. Air Force NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Partner in Oceana Energy, which is developing tidal energy in San Francisco Bay; member, Washington, D.C., advisory committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; edited and co-authored Southern Republicanism and the New South (1966) EDUCATION: A.8., international relations; J.D., Yale, 1967 FAMILY: Lives in Washington, D.C.; father of John, Elizabeth '02 and Alexandra '04