[media-credit name=’BEN CLASSON/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

Wisconsin lawmakers and community leaders told University of Wisconsin students and Madison residents Thursday it is imperative to immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make Wisconsin a ?green state.?

?It is time to set aside blue states and red states and make all 50 states green states,? said Nino Amato, a local member of the National Advisory Board for Focus the Nation, the group hosting the discussion.

Green Democracy was one of four components of Focus the Nation, a two-day event to engage citizens as political decision makers and also raise awareness about global warming.

Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton introduced the panel of lawmakers who support one piece of green legislation. The bill, known as the Safe Climate Act, calls for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020.

?I urge you to ask them if it is ambitious enough,? Lawton said.

Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, co-author of the bill, said most of the opposition comes from special interest groups, like the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce organization, who argue it will hurt the state?s economy.

?We need to move beyond that Madison Avenue approach and mobilize the voters in our state to realize this is an issue,? Miller said.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said the opposition against the Safe Climate Act is even stronger than the opposition faced by City Council?s proposed plastic bag ban.

Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said California?s passage of Safe Climate Act ?made it possible for other states to pass similar legislation.?

?We shouldn?t have to author a safe climate act in Wisconsin, because it should be done on a national level,? he added.

Black said opposing groups often argue the passage of the bill will hurt Wisconsin?s economy, adding that because imports provide the majority of Wisconsin?s energy, the switch to alternative energy would stimulate the economy by creating jobs and reducing spending.

The panel urged attendees to e-mail their local legislators asking them to vote yes to the bill Feb. 19.

Planning for the event, led by Ryan Hanke, a member of WISPIRG, began last November.

?I was real pleased with the teach-in this afternoon. Tonight, I would have liked a bigger turnout,? Hanke said.

The teach-in was one of the four components of Focus the Nation, along with The Two Percent Solution, a live webcast scheduled for Wednesday evening that experienced technical difficulties.

The final component, Choose Your Future, is an online vote open to anyone from Jan. 21 to Feb. 12. People choose five out of 10 solutions to global warming. The top five will be announced to every state legislature Feb. 18.