MURPHYSBORO - Grassroots efforts to promote energy efficiency and conservation need to be supported by public policy at the state and federal levels, a former Illinois gubernatorial candidate said Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugural Shawnee Energy Festival at Murphysboro's Green Retreat, Carbondale attorney and 2006 Green Party candidate Rich Whitney addressed a crowd of about 25 people on the role of government in ongoing "green" changes to American lifestyles.

"If the policies change, it's going to be easier for people to make the changes, the lifestyle changes, we need," Whitney said.

Soaring energy costs and global climate change, a "catastrophe already in progress," have made the topic an important issue and one legislators on all levels need to seriously consider, Whitney said.

He laid out 10 steps that legislators should take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 including adopting green building standards, raising energy efficiency standards for appliances, promoting cooperative and public ownership of utilities and banning development of any new coal-fired power plants until carbon sequestration can be determined as a viable option.

Illinois has the potential to move forward with these initiatives and others, but "what's lacking is political will," he said.

"We're greatly underestimating the seriousness of this crisis," Whitney said.

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