Monday, September 13, 4:30 pm, Zoom: Casey Bartrem on “Making “Green” Energy “Clean” Energy: The Minerals that Will Power the Low-Carbon Future”

The fight against climate change requires a shift to low-carbon technologies, but these alternative energy sources are not completely green, clean, or renewable. In addition, many of the minerals needed to power climate-friendly initiatives are linked to violent conflict, child labor, and severe environmental and public health impacts for the communities where these mines are located. Recent proposals for mining development in the Pacific Northwest bring the trade-offs of low-carbon energy closer to home, especially to tribal lands where many of these minerals are located. An honest assessment of what renewable energy means is the first step towards developing a framework for responsible mining at home and abroad in order to attain a low-carbon future that is both sustainable and equitable. Casey Bartrem is the executive director of Terregraphics International Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to address growing disparities in environmental health.

Hosted by the WSU Pullman Common Reading Program Zoom link: https://wsu.zoom.us/j/93296958136

Join the former US Vice President and Nobel Laureate at our next Frontiers Forum speaker session to hear encouraging progress on the sustainability revolution plus what’s needed to reach net zero emissions by mid-century.

An environmental, business and tech visionary, Al Gore is the undisputed epicenter of the global conversation surrounding climate change. He is the co-founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit devoted to solving the climate crisis, and was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless campaign to focus global public and political attention on the climate crisis.

The case for climate optimism | Wednesday 29 September 2021
06:30-07:45 Los Angeles | 09:30-10:45 New York | 15:30-16:45 Paris | 21:30-22:45 Beijing
Al Gore | Former US Vice President
RSVP for the session (register or decline)

The Vice President’s talk will be followed by a discussion with global experts on climate change and emissions reductions.

When: OCTOBER 6th, 2021 (10:30 AM to 5:00 PM) and OCTOBER 7th, 2021 (10:30 AM to 4:50 PM, followed by a virtual Happy Half Hour, 4:50 PM to 5:20 PM)

On October 6 and 7, 2021 the Washington Section of the American Water Resources Association will host a virtual conference on: “Transboundary Water Resources Management and Water Marketing Trends.” This year’s Keynote address will be presented by Robert W. Sandford. Bob holds the Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. In this capacity Bob was the co-author of the UNWater in the World We Want report on post-2015 global sustainable development goals relating to water. He is also lead author of Canada in the Global World, a new United Nations expert report examining the capacity of Canada’s water sector to meet and help others meet the United Nations 2030 Transforming Our World water-related Sustainable Development Goals. Bob is also the author, co-author or editor of over 30 books on topics including the history and water resources of the Canadian Mountain West.

Sessions for day one of this two day event will highlight interagency management in the Spokane, Palouse, and Walla Walla River Basins. The Spokane and Walla Walla basin sessions will address ways of maintaining river flows under water stress situations. The Palouse Basin session focuses on the declining water levels in the aquifer serving the University communities of Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington.

Day two sessions will include International considerations for the management of the Columbia River including elements of the current negotiations of the Columbia River Treaty and US Tribal and Canadian First Nations efforts to reintroduce salmon above Grand Coulee Dam and the proposed temperature TMDI for the Columbia. Day 2 will also cover recent developments on salmon recovery on the Snake River and Trends in Water Marketing.

A unique feature this year will be two presentations by former Washington Section Fellowship winners.

Early bird registration for this information packed event is $35; late registration will be $50. Mark you calendar now so you don’t miss this conference (registration will open soon).

Also: please submit your poster presentations.  New to our conference this year, we’re offering attendees the opportunity to submit posters, which will be shared with other attendees via Whova in a “virtual room”.  If you’re interested in submitting a poster, please email Katherine Ryf at KRyf@landauinc.com.

For more information

UCOWR/NIWR Annual Water Resources Conference
June 14-16, 2022 / Greenville, SC Hyatt Regency Hotel
Proposals for special sessions due October 8
Acceptance notifications will be emailed October 22
General call for abstracts issued October 25
Abstracts due January 24, 2022
Abstract acceptance notifications sent late February 2022
Call for Special Sessions
UCOWR Conference

This workshop includes three 2-hour sessions on Tuesday October 5, Wednesday October 6, and Thursday October 7, 2021 from 1 pm to 3 pm PT/2 to 4 pm MT. To help us plan for an effective virtual workshop, please register by Tuesday September 7, 2021. Your registration will include answering a brief questionnaire to help inform workshop planning. If you consider someone else within your entity or organization is better placed to participate or if you know of another individual or organization that you think is important to include, please let us know who that is, so we can extend this invitation to them.

Registration and questionnaire: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-OpBJvxzmVZxcRZ9Zb73XvkgekAJwAppkHfTW-MIJpPztEA/viewform

This 2021 Deep Dive aims to support the co-development of an actionable science agenda and a community of practice around managing climate change impacts on stream permanence in the Pacific Northwest.

The October Deep Dive Workshop will bring together researchers and managers from across the region to develop this agenda. To inform these discussions, the Deep Dive team, guided and supported by an Advisory Group, have been working over the summer to assess the state of knowledge and practice associated with managing this emerging climate risk. For more information on the NW CASC Deep Dives and explore the outcomes of previous ones, please visit https://nwcasc.uw.edu/resources/actionable-science-deep-dives/.

Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Symposium taking place (virtually) Sept 15-16. The NW RISCC Network is a partnership of regional agencies and organizations dedicated to helping practitioners address the nexus of climate change and invasive species. The network is sponsored by the NW CASC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and facilitated by EcoAdapt, and it follows the successful model established by the Northeast RISCC Network.

Excellent line-up of symposium speakers and over 350 registrants so far! Please join us if you can and spread the word to your networks.

NEON is excited to announce the launch of a new NEON Ambassador program! Our vision is to scale up awareness and use of NEON data through our support of a small cohort of passionate NEON Ambassadors. We are formulating the program and initiating the outreach through a series of workshops facilitated by Knowinnovation (KI), beginning in November. We are seeking researchers and educators who are eager to help others use NEON data for scientific discovery, educational opportunities, increasing diversity and inclusion, or informing public policy.  If you are interested, please apply! And – if you have colleagues who might be interested, please encourage them to apply. Thanks for helping us get the word out. We want to make NEON data and other resources as valuable as possible to the community.

You are invited to participate in the Idaho Science and Technology Policy Fellowship (ISTPF) orientation! Orientation will be held Monday, August 30 through Friday, September 3, 2021, online and in-person.

This is an opportunity to learn about science policy, the history of science and technology policy in the U.S., how science policy works in federal government, public policy analysis, the three branches of government in Idaho, science policy communications and more from local and national experts. Additional information about orientation and the schedule (also attached) can be found here: www.uidaho.edu/istpf

Register for all main sessions here.

Limited space is available for the following ISTPF orientation modules taught by renowned science policy expert Dr. Deborah Stine; please register by Thursday, August 26.

Monday, August 30, 9:30AM -12:30PM MDT
Science & Technology Policy History and Organization
Overview of the history and organization of science and technology policy in the United States, including the role of the White House, Congress and federal agencies.

Wednesday, September 1, 9:00AM-12:00PM MDT
Public Policy Analysis Part 1: Question and Policy Options
Overview of public policy analysis. Participants will identify a policy question of interest and three policy options to analyze. 

Friday, September 3, 9:30AM-12:30PM MDT
Public Policy Analysis Part II: Analysis and Recommendation
Participants will analyze their options based on four criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, equity and ease of political acceptability. They will then develop a recommendation for a policymaker based on that analysis.

You are invited to a meeting this Thursday, April 22^nd, at 3:00 PM, to discuss the USDA’s Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Strategy (Zoom link copied below, and attached as an Outlook item).  What we are aiming for is a set of answers to the questions posed by the USDA in the following document:

Federal Register :: Notice of Request for Public Comment on the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad

These questions span agriculture, forestry, biomass/biomass engineering, and environmental justice.   I welcome your written comments also, especially if you cannot attend the meeting, which I am happy to summarize in a response document to the USDA (due date is April 30^th).  The USDA is not looking for a lengthy document (2-3 pages maximum).

Zoom info:     Meeting ID: 944 4803 7685   Passcode: 013155

Mark Swanson
Email: markswanson@wsu.edu