HARRISON — Earth Day has new meaning for Ray Sirois, who just bought a shiny new Toyota Prius.
On his first drive home in the hybrid car — powered by gas and electricity — he got 45 miles per gallon. On the way to Wright-Pierce in Topsham, where he works as an information technology manager, he got 54 mpg.
“I’m trying to talk the talk and walk the walk,” Sirois said. “I was driving a Ford Ranger, getting 18 to 19 mpg.” After calculating how much gas he was burning, he realized “that’s a humongous amount contributing to the problem.”
The “problem” is global warming.
His mission is to do something about it.
Sirois, 47, spent his elementary school years in Lewiston. He describes himself as a moderate Republican who voted for George Bush in 2000. Back then, Sirois thought climate change was a myth.
“Not long ago I joked on a cold winter’s day, ‘This ought to shut up the global warming people for a while.’ ”
But these days he’s a kind of environmental disciple. In January he attended former Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Change Project in Nashville, Tenn., and became a Climate Change Project presenter, speaking publicly about problems and solutions.
During a recent interview at his home, Sirois said he began to change his mind about global warming last year. He had noticed Maine winters were getting warmer and that his neighbor had difficulty harvesting winter timber because the ground wasn’t frozen, preventing heavy equipment from getting to trees.
He figured the federal Environmental Protection Agency, overseen by a Republican administration, would be an objective place to get facts.
EPA data ‘amazed me’
The EPA’s Web site said global warming reports were valid.
“That amazed me,” Sirois said. He learned that humans are causing climate change through transportation and by how buildings are heated and powered.
Then he saw Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” The movie alarmed Sirois and struck a nerve.
“That’s really when I started to say, ‘I’ve got to get boned up on this.’ ”
He read “Low Carbon Diet, a 30-Day Program to Lose 5,000 Pounds,” a book that tells people how their households contribute to climate change: how many kilowatt hours they’re using, how many gallons of oil they burn, and how much gasoline they consume in cars, trucks and SUVs.
“Every gallon of gas we burn contributes 20 pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere,” Sirois said.
The first thing he did was to replace light bulbs in his house with compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs. According to the EPA, if every U.S. household used five of the low-energy bulbs, it would prevent 1 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases from being produced.
Sirois also bought a new fuel-efficient motor for his boat and weather-proofed his home a bit tighter.
In August he applied for training in Gore’s program, got accepted and went to Nashville in January. There were 200 people in his group: doctors and nurses, architects, educators, actress Cameron Diaz, investment bankers, other IT managers.
On the second day, Gore led them in an all-day seminar. “He was not boring,” Sirois said. “He was very engaging.”
Since his training, Sirois has been busy speaking to citizens, business people and students.
The program has about 1,000 presenters nationwide. Sirois is one of seven in Maine.
Getting the word out
Sirois’ next goal is to speak to the Republican caucus in Augusta. Republicans are reluctant to see “An Inconvenient Truth” because they hate the messenger, Sirois said.
“I understand,” he said. “Al Gore took some cheap shots at the Bush administration.”
Sirois says he presents climate change data in a nonpartisan style, with no political slant. “You’ve gotta know about this issue. You need to look at it objectively.”
Reducing energy consumption and pollution has to happen everywhere: in homes, schools, businesses and local governments, as well as at the state, national and international levels, he said.
And everyone can make a difference.
“I’m an example,” he said.
Last week he spoke to middle and high school students in Fairfield. On Thursday he’s speaking in Cape Elizabeth, next Saturday he’s speaking in Auburn. “My dance card is full.”
And he’ll be observing Earth Day on Sunday for the first time since his son, now 13, was a Cub Scout. “Earth Day’s never been a big thing for me,” Sirois said. “This year’s different.”