Los Alamos County Council Chair Randall Ryti addresses local Rotarians at their April 5 meeting. Photo by Linda Hull
BY LINDA HULL
Vice President
Rotary Club of Los Alamos
Randall Ryti, chair of the Los Alamos County Council, spoke at the April 5 meeting of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos. With a nod to this month’s celebration of Earth Day, Ryti told Rotarians about the United Nations Climate Change Conference he attended in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021. Ryti was able to attend through the County’s membership in the Coalition for Sustainable Communities New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based leader in climate action and sustainability.
With narrative and PowerPoint slides, Ryti described the large representation of nations in the pavilion exhibits which included the United States, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the Congo, countries of Europe and South America, and even an “unofficial” presence by China, bringing together over 190 world leaders and 20,000 participants. Themes touched upon all facets of climate change, ranging from science and solutions to business, politics and action. Billboards, bus panels, and signage throughout Glasgow proclaimed slogans such as Net Zero Needs Nuclear and All in for 1.5°C, the Celsius temperature increase, 2.7° Fahrenheit, at which approximately 4% of the Earth’s land area is projected to undergo a transformation of ecosystems.
Ryti returned from Scotland with inspired ideas for active transport (walking, cycling), effective engagement with local communities, particularly with youth, and specific considerations for more sophisticated use of solar and electrical energy. Since the trip, Ryti said, “the Council has emphasized resiliency and sustainability in its 2022 priorities.” Specifically, he continued, “evaluating distributed solar generation with storage as component of infrastructure improvements. The County has developed a list of other Infrastructure project priorities, including regional or County located large scale solar coupled with battery storage or using local pumped hydro as storage.”
For more information about the U.N. Climate Change Conference, please go to https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/cop26
For more information about the Coalition on Sustainable Communities New Mexico, please go to https://www.coalitionscnm.org/
Randall Ryti was elected to the County Council in the November 2018 general election and elected as Chair in 2021. Ryti has lived in Los Alamos since 1992 when he came to start a small business, Neptune and Company, with four other scientists. In addition to helping lead a successful small business and raising a family in Los Alamos, Ryti has volunteered for community organizations such as the Pajarito Environmental Education Center Board and the Los Alamos County District Science Fair committee. He was a Los Alamos County Transportation Board member from 2012-2016, serving as Chair from 2014-2016.
Ryti earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from University of California Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in biology from University of California San Diego. Before retiring from Neptune and Company in 2018, he worked on basic and applied environmental problems, including ecological and human health risk assessments for Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Hanford Site, and other clients. Ryti is certified as a Senior Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America.
To contact Councilor Ryti, please email him at randall.ryti@lacnm.us
The Rotary Club of Los Alamos, through its Club Foundation, is a 501(c)3 non-profit and one of over 34,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary, which now has 1.5 million members, was founded in 1905; the local Club was chartered in 1966. Rotary areas of focus include promoting peace; fighting disease, particularly polio; providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; supporting education; saving and enhancing the lives of mothers and children; growing economies; and protecting the environment.
The Rotary Club of Los Alamos meets in person Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00, in the Community Room, Cottonwood on the Greens, at the golf course. A Zoom option is available by contacting Linda Hull, Rotary Club vice-president, 505-662-7950. Hull is also happy to provide information about the Club and its humanitarian service.