National Climate Seminar Continues at Bard College

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—In his State of the Union address this week, President Obama called for the United States to slash subsidies to oil companies and increase spending on moving America toward a greater reliance on clean and renewable energy. The Bard Center for Environmental Policy is leading a national effort to explore the issues, politics, and science driving important decisions focusing on climate change. Regularly convening national experts, the Center this spring continues the National Climate Seminar (NCS), a national phone conversation featuring top climate scientists, political leaders, and policy analysts. Highlights of this spring’s schedule include a national Earth Week webinar with writer Bill McKibben, Nike’s Sarah Severn, and Native American activist Wahleah Johns*. Their subject will be personal reflections on “Why We Fight.” The National Climate Seminar is sponsored by Bard CEP and made possible by a grant from the Clif Bar Family Foundation.

The National Climate Seminar is available live to educators, students, and the public by telephone. The half-hour seminars are held select Wednesday afternoons via conference call at 12 p.m. EST. Questions for the presenters can be e-mailed to [email protected] prior to the seminar; all conversations are available following the seminar on the Bard CEP website and in podcast. To dial in to the NCS, call 1-712-432-3100, conference code 253385.

For more information, visit www.bard.edu/cep/ncs, or contact Bard CEP at 845-758-7073 or [email protected].

 Spring 2011 Schedule:

 Feb. 2             Donald Brown, associate professor of environmental ethics, science and law, Pennsylvania State University, “Climate Ethics: Do the Right Thing”

Feb. 16            Andrew Stevenson, Resources for the Future, “A Global Warming Primer on China”

Mar. 2             Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Inuit leader, “Arctic Meltdown”

Mar. 16           Bob Langert, McDonald’s vice president of corporate social services, “McDonald’s and Climate”

Mar. 30            Team 350, 350.org, “Global Organizing”

Apr. 13             Majora Carter, consultant, “Green Jobs—Headed Where?”

Apr. 20            Sarah Severn, director of Horizons, Corporate Responsibility, Nike Inc., “Earthweek Webinar: ‘Why We Fight’”

Apr. 20            Bill McKibben, writer, “Earthweek Webinar: ‘Why We Fight’”

Apr. 20            Wahleah Johns*, Navajo activist, “Earthweek Webinar: ‘Why We Fight’”

* Invited

The Bard Center for Environmental Policy was created to promote education, research, and public service on critical issues pertaining to the natural and built environments. Its primary goal is to improve environmental policies by facilitating the use of the best available scientific knowledge in the policy-making process at the local, regional, national, and international levels. Bard CEP’s premise is that to address environmental problems and pursue sustainable use of natural resources, scientists, economists, lawyers, ethicists, and policy makers must understand one another’s perspectives and values, and communicate effectively with the general public.

Bard CEP’s cohort-based program and intensive, campus-based, first-year curriculum requires students to synthesize information from a range of disciplines and sources. The emphasis on science-based policy enables students to progress from knowledge of the issues to the formulation of feasible, effective policy responses. Distinctive program features include a modular approach to course work; close student-faculty interaction; professional internships; practical training in geographic information systems (GIS), statistics, and communication strategies; and research opportunities created to fit student interests.

Directed by Eban S. Goodstein, Bard CEP offers graduate degree programs for the next generation of environmental leaders. Earning either an M.S. in environmental policy or an M.S. in climate science and policy, Bard CEP graduates enter the workforce with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue high-level careers in research and policy. The value of Bard CEP’s approach as been recognized through established partnerships with Pace Law School, the Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching Program, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and Peace Corps.

For more information about the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, please call 845-758-7073, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.bard.edu/cep.

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(1/26/11)

Website: https://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/

This event was last updated on 01-31-2011

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