A Cookeville High School graduate who travels the world studying climate change says individual action can power change.
Dr. Michael Gunter Jr. leads the Political Science Department at Rollins College. He spoke Wednesday night at Tennessee Tech.
“Climate change is a big, global, complex problem,” Gunter said. “But the only way we’re going to address it is with the independent actions of lots of individuals committed to making positive change.”
Gunter calls himself an ecotourist, a term describing individuals who travel to natural areas to study the environment while minimizing your carbon footprint and promoting well-being of local residents.
“Where you travel, the people there have to benefit,” Gunter said. “The money you spend needs to find a home in those pockets there locally. It can’t just be some exclusive resort that’s owned by Canadians, Japanese, Americans or Europeans.”
Gunter said when the money stays at home, it gives residents the incentive to protect the natural beauty of the area.
Such ecotourism, Gunter said, can help explain climate change. Gunter’s new book “Tales Of An Eco-Tourist” combines humor and anecdotes to explain the phenomena.
Gunter described Wednesday night his visits to areas including the Amazon River, the Great Barrier Reef, and Galapagos Islands, seeing the effects of global warming.
Gunter, Jr. graduated from Cookeville High in 1987. His father, Michael, teaches sociology and political science at Tennessee Tech.
