Hill Heat

Witnesses

• Ken Burns, Filmmaker, Florentine Films
• Michael Ward, Superintendent, Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, U.S. National Park Service
• Diane Shober, Travel and Tourism Director for the State of Wyoming
• Will Shafroth, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Scott Bacher, Owner, Carlsbad KOA
• Clyde Butcher, Photographer

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) invite you to a briefing on The Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Policy Options on the U.S. Economy, a new study by CCS that examines the nationwide impacts of 23 major strategies formulated by over 1,500 stake-holders in more than 20 states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve energy and environ-mental co-benefits. At a time of recession and high unemployment, many question putting demands on our economic sectors and fear that increased energy prices will slow the economy and harm jobs. But macro-economic analysis of a diverse set of policies and measures selected and designed by stakeholders in numerous states shows that addressing climate change and promoting energy policy can spur the economy, create jobs, and reduce energy prices. The briefing panel will provide perspectives on local, state and federal program opportunities for economic development and job creation in all sectors.

Speakers for this event include:

• Adam Rose, Economics Professor, School of Policy, Planning and Development (SPPD), University of Southern California
• Jeff Wennberg, Project Manager, Center for Climate Strategies; former Vermont Environment Commissioner and former Mayor of Rutland, Vermont
• Joe Sherrick, Climate Change Program Manager, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• Tom Peterson, President and CEO, Center for Climate Strategies, Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Global Security Center

More than 30 states have created comprehensive state climate action plans, comprised of balanced portfolios of mitigation measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and saving or diversifying energy within their states. These policies address several sectors of the economy, including energy supply, manufacturing, agriculture, buildings, transportation, and waste management. Many are highly cost effective, save consumers money, and have other co-benefits—such as improving public health or reducing reliance on imported oil. The report looks at recommendations for action at all levels of government under a national policy framework developed by stakeholders through climate planning.

This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, contact Laura Parsons at (202) 662-1884 or lparsons@eesi.org.

On Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 11:30 am Glen Bolger from Public Opinion Strategies will brief media on his findings from a national survey and a smaller five state survey asking likely voters about potential climate legislation. The state surveys were conducted in Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, and Virginia.

Joining Glen will be Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Chief Economist for President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors, domestic and economic policy advisor to John McCain’s presidential campaign, currently a Commissioner on the Congressionally-chartered Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission; and Dr. Andrew Maguire, former Member of Congress, currently Senior Advisor to Clean Air-Cool Planet, a leading science-based non-partisan NGO engaged in climate policy.

• Glen Bolger, Public Opinion Strategies
• Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin
• Andrew Maguire

To join the call:

Dial Toll-free: 866-866-2244
Participant Code: 1368508

Survey highlights include:

• Based on polling in five states that are politically moderate to conservative, a majority of voters across party lines want to overhaul the nation’s energy system to reduce polluting emissions and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

• For elected officials looking to address the issue, a clean energy refund has the best potential to attract Republican support.

• When we tested a description of a specific clean energy refund policy, similar to the Senate CLEAR Act, in a national survey, there is strong support from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.

Public Opinion Strategies completed a national survey of 800 likely voters on April 11-13, 2010. A question was piggybacked on the national survey, and the results have a margin of error of +3.46 in 95 out of 100 cases.

Earlier, Public Opinion Strategies completed a survey in five states – Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, and Virginia. The survey was conducted March 17-18, 20-21, 2010 among 200 likely voters in each state, for a total sample of 1,000 likely voters. The overall sample has a margin of error of +3.1% in 95 out of 100 cases, while each state sample has a margin of error of +6.93%.

Witnesses

• Sigourney Weaver, Actress
• Dr. James Barry, Senior Scientist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
• Donny Waters, Commercial Fisherman, Past President of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance
• Tom Ingram, Executive Director, Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA)
• Dr. John Everett, President, Ocean Associates, Inc.

Be at GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs for an insider’s guide to America’s next great legislative challenge. We’ll have a one-on-one discussion with top Obama official, Lisa Jackson, and a panel discussion with representatives from media, business and policy to get a picture of what the next stages of the climate debate will be. Will the upcoming Kerry-Lieberman-Graham bill get us on the right path? Or will it happen in the scientific or business sectors? Find out. And find out who really wins and loses when the stakes are this high?

Joining SMPA Director and Planet Forward Host Frank Sesno will be Lisa Jackson (US EPA), Ana Unruh-Cohen (House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming), Andrew Revkin (New York Times), Jim Connaughton (Constellation Energy Group), Dr. Dan Lashof (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Kate Sheppard (Mother Jones). We’ll also feature some of the best videos recently submitted to PlanetForward.org…including films from GW’s very own Planet Forward class!

A Co-presentation of GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs, The George Washington University School of Business and GW’s Environmental Studies program.

RSVP

Jack Morton Auditorium
School of Media and Public Affairs
805 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

With Congressman Ed Markey.

Advanced Electron Beams | Alcatel-Lucent | AT&T | BetterWorld Telcom | CEA – Consumer Electronics Association | Clean Economy Network | Control4 | CTIA – The Wireless Association | DAK Renewable Energy | Ericsson | General Compression | Motorola | OPOWER | Panasonic | Solazyme | Southwest Wind Power | Sprint | Standard Solar, Inc. | T-Mobile

RSVP Lexie Briggs | lbriggs@cleaneconomy.net | (202) 380-1941

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Jim Markowsky, Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
• Anne Castle, Assistant Secretary for Water & Science, U.S. Department of the Interior

Panel 2

• Joan MacNaughton, CB, Senior Vice President, Power and Environmental Policies, Alstom Power
• Ben Yamagata, Executive Director, Coal Utilization Research Council
• Mark Brownstein, Deputy Director, Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund
• Kurt House, Chief Executive Office, C12 Energy
• Adam Vann, Legislative Attorney, American Law Division, Congressional Research Service

Climate scientists have long projected that human-induced global warming would make spring arrive earlier than normal, and it is – about 10 days earlier so far. On Tuesday, April 20, a group of scientists will discuss the ramifications for plants and animals across the country.

• Melanie Fitzpatrick, a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, will moderate.

• Jake Weltzin, the executive director of the U.S. National Phenology Network and an ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, has found that an earlier spring creates “mismatches” for animals and plants that depend on each other. For example, it’s critical for butterflies to lay their eggs on the new leaves of certain plants. But many of these plants are emerging from dormancy earlier than normal, and butterflies’ reproductive cycles have not adjusted.

• Charles Davis, an assistant professor of evolutionary biology at Harvard University, recently discovered that invasive, nonnative plants in Concord, Massachusetts, that flower earlier are the “winners” in climate change. Using data taken by Henry David Thoreau, he found that native plants, such as lilacs, orchids and dogwoods, have maintained their historic flowering schedule and are disappearing from the woods around Walden Pond. His findings likely extend to all of New England.

• Anthony Westerling, an assistant professor of environmental engineering and geography at the University of California-Merced, has discovered that rising temperatures combined with early snowmelt are contributing to large forest fires in Western states.

• Erik Beever, a wildlife biologist, has been studying the pika, a rabbit-like mammal that lives in 10 Western states. He recently published a paper that found that the pikas’ mountain habitat is shrinking. He says the species may be an early-warming indicator of how alpine species will respond to global warming.

Call 866-282-2803 and provide the operator with the password: “spring climate change.”