A brief summary of events we are attending and tuning into this week.
Post by Alexa Jay
Wednesday, June 9
Climate Sustainability: Moving by Degrees
8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Pacific Time
As part of the American Public Media Sustainability Initiative, Marketplace presents a national, interactive, day-long symposium that brings scientists, policymakers and business leaders together with reporters from public radio and commercial stations around the nation. The event can be streamed live from the web, and no registration is necessary.
Notable climate scientist interviewees include: Dr. Stephen Schneider of Stanford University, Dr. Michael E. Mann of Penn State, and Dr. Ben Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Andrew Revkin of the New York Times will moderate a panel on the Regulation vs. Innovation Non-debate, featuring Joe Romm of Climate Progress and Michael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations. A panel on Connecting Media, Policy and Science includes Bud Ward, Editor of the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media, and Dr. Naomi Oreskes of the University of California San Diego, author of the excellent book Merchants of Doubt.
Today the EPA will deliver economic modeling results to the Senate authors of a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill, the American Power Act. The analysis will employ a variety of economic models and tools to estimate the economic and environmental effects of the proposed legislation.
More information on EPA’s Climate Economic Modeling here.
Thursday, June 10
Have Americans’ Views on Global Warming Changed? A New Look at Public Opinion
2:00-3:30 p.m.
SVC 209/208 Capitol Visitor Center
Washington DC
The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP required.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute is hosting a briefing on Americans’ views on energy and climate change, featuring Dr. Jon Krosnick of Stanford University and Dr. Mark Cooper of Vermont Law School. Some recent polls have suggested a decline in concern over climate change, sometimes attributed to media coverage of the “Climategate” emails and accompanying attacks on climate science. Dr. Krosnick has conducted national surveys on global warming for more than 15 years, and will offer an assessment of how the American public views issues surrounding climate change and the policies available to address it.
Backdraft – The Conflict Potential of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
3:00-5:00 p.m.
More information and RSVP.
Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Director of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, will lead a roundtable discussion of the potential for both conflict and peacebuilding in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. An overarching question: can investments in adaptation build resilience institutions that can respond to both climate and conflict threats?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will meet with Democratic committee leaders today to map out a strategy for advancing climate and energy legislation this summer. The Senate will also vote today on a resolution from Senator Lisa Murkowski designed to strip EPA of its ability to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act as granted by Massachusetts v. EPA. (from Climatewire, subs. required).
Senator Murkowski would need 51 votes to pass the amendment. According to the New York Times, Murkowski already has 41 sponsors, including Democratic Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
The American Power Act would also limit EPA’s powers to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, but the picture is much more complicated. Dave Roberts of grist.org took a detailed look at the issue.