VA youth award - as promised at Tunza

An award that rewards environmental actions

Do you want international recognition for your project? Would you like the chance to win a trip to Sweden? We are now searching for the 2012 winners of the Volvo Adventure (organised in partnership with UNEP). Could it be a team from your school, youth or community group network wining one of the awards this year? The Tunza Conference in Bandung showed us there are amazing projects in Indonesia that should be applying because they have a possibility of winning.

All you have to do is follow this link and register yourself and your group http://www.volvoadventure.org/env_register.aspx to get the free materials and have a chance to win one of the UNEP-Volvo Adventure awards. The groups whose projects are deemed to be the best this year will get an all expenses paid trip to Sweden. You can enter as many teams as you want. This is an excellent opportunity for young people to promote themselves as it looks good on school, job, and college applications.

There are several ways for a project to receive endorsements and international recognition for the efforts young people are making to solve environmental problems. The projects act as a gallery of all the ways that young people are finding to ensure they inherit solutions rather than problems. Anyone working with on a practical environmental project with young people aged between 13 and 16 years of age can enter. They need to be working in groups of two to five people and actively involved in devising and managing the project.

Please take the time to register, and then put your project in this year's gallery of projects that are helping solve environmental problems around the world.

Climate Change Research Symposium and Resources for Early-Career Scholars

DISCCRS VII
Interdisciplinary Climate Change Research Symposium
http://disccrs.org/disccrsposter.pdf
October 13-20, 2012

La Foret Conference and Retreat Center
Colorado Springs, CO

 

Application Deadline: February 29, 2012

Participation limited to 30 early-career Ph.D. scholars
Airfare and on-site expenses are supported through grants from NSF and NASA
http://disccrs.org

 

As our understanding of climate change and its far-reaching ramifications continues to grow, it is imperative for climate change researchers to form strong collaborative bonds that reach across disciplines and other boundaries. Every year the DISsertations initiative for the advancement of Climate Change ReSearch (DISCCRS, pronounced discourse) hosts a symposium for early-career climate change researchers. Our goal is to catalyze international, interdisciplinary collaboration while laying the foundation for dynamic, communicative collegial networks that are better-equipped to understand and respond to the myriad challenges posed by climate change.

During the week-long symposium, the 30 invited DISCCRS Scholars will have the opportunity to present their research, hone interdisciplinary communication and teambuilding skills, and discuss emerging research and trends. Scholars will also have the chance to talk about the societal and professional challenges involved in climate change research, with each other and with established researchers invited to serve as mentors.

Applications will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee of research scientists. The selection committee will favor applicants who plan to engage in interdisciplinary research careers in any subject relevant to the study of climate change, its impacts or its solutions. We encourage applicants from the natural and social sciences, mathematics, engineering, and other fields, so long as their research focus relates to climate change, its impacts or its solutions. Although the emphasis is on the U.S. research system, we welcome applicants from all countries who are interested in learning about the U.S. research system or connecting with U.S. researchers. Airfare and on-site expenses are supported through grants from NSF and NASA.

Symposium application instructions: http://disccrs.org/application_instructions

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

In addition to our annual symposia, DISCCRS provides online tools for catalyzing interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration:
http://disccrs.org/disccrsposter.pdf
Please display and distribute the poster as widely as possible!

Online Ph.D. Dissertation Registry: Join over 2500 climate change researchers by registering your Ph.D. dissertation and adding your abstract to our fully searchable database. You can also browse the registry to see what other climate change researchers have been doing recently. http://disccrs.org/register

Electronic newsletter: With timely climate change job listings, news stories, funding opportunities and more, our weekly e-newsletter is automatically provided to anyone who registers their Ph.D.
You can also subscribe online. http://disccrs.org/subscribe

Career Resources: In addition to the registry, our website includes a wealth of valuable resources for finding a job, developing your professional skills, locating funding opportunities, crafting grant proposals and more. http://disccrs.org/career

DISCCRS Sponsors:
AAG, AERE, AGU, AMS, ASLO, ESA, ESS-ISA, STEP-APSA, TOS, USSEE

DISCCRS Funding:
U.S. National Science Foundation
Collaborative Grant Numbers: SES-0931402 to the University of Oregon
and SES-0932916 to Whitman College
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Grant number NNX10AJ53G to Whitman College

Contact: info@disccrs.org
Organizers: Ronald B. Mitchell and C. Susan Weiler

Energy Challenge and Environmental Sustainability, Venice, September 9th - 12th, 2012

CALL FOR PAPERS

12th IAEE European Energy Conference
"Energy Challenge and Environmental Sustainability"
Venice, September 9th - 12th, 2012
http://www.iaeeu2012.it

Deadline for submission: April 9th, 2012

The Italian affiliate of the IAEE (AIEE) will be the host of the 12th IAEE European Energy Conference - "ENERGY CHALLENGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY". The conference, organised by the AIEE - The Italian Association of Energy Economists, with the support of Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, will be held on 9-12 September 2012, in Venice, Italy at Ca' Foscari University of Venice - the Campus of San Giobbe.

The geopolitical events that are changing the international context and the costs of energy supply in most of the European countries and world industrialized nations, make us believe that there will be significant changes in the energy sector during the next years.
The oil markets and the petroleum products will be characterized by high volatility and instability, with rising prices; the gas market will be more open and less tied to oil prices: the coal market, as well as the renewables market will be in strong recovery.
The nuclear accident in Fukushima has brought uncertainty about the development of nuclear power in many countries where this source was present or was being considered as a future resource, thus leading to a closure or a stand-by of many nuclear power plants. This will have two effects: the first is a greater reliance on fossil fuels for electricity production, the second is a negative impact on the environmental sustainability and on the future monitoring of the climate change on our planet.

The increasing dependence on fossil fuels, the problems of security of supply and the best solutions for mitigating climate change require urgent measures that Europe should quickly adopt.

As usual there will be a lot of concurrent sessions organized that should cover a broad spectrum of energy economics topics. The deadline for abstract submissions is April 9, 2012, so please do not wait any longer to submit your abstract at the following link http://www.iaeeu2012.it/pages/abstract.html. The abstract may be up to two pages in length and should include: (1) overview (2) methods (3) results (4) conclusions. A sample abstract may be found by visiting the conference website.

The high-level program committee, headed by professor Carlo Carraro, President of Ca' Foscari University of Venice, will confirm paper acceptance by May 22, 2012. Authors whose abstracts are accepted will need to submit their full-length paper by July 1st, for the conference on-line proceedings.

Learn more about the conference by visiting http://www.iaeeu2012.it.

CONTACTS
Phone: +39.06.3227367; Fax: +39.06.3234921

e-mail: assaiee@aiee.it; info@iaeeu2012.it

Climate Adaptation Futures: Second International Climate Change Adaptation Conference, 29-31 May 2012, USA

Climate Adaptation Futures: Second International Climate Change Adaptation Conference, 29-31 May, 2012

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Deadline for abstracts: 30 January 2012 (Conference registration/call for abstracts opens September 5)

Climate change is one of the most important environmental, social and economic issues facing the world today. Despite growing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some impacts such as higher temperatures, more intense floods, droughts, wildfires, and rising sea levels are now inevitable. We must plan for and adapt to these changes, to minimize the negative impacts and enhance the benefits to natural systems, societies, and human activities and well-being. This challenges decision making at all levels, from individuals to governments, as well as in business and industry.

Co-hosted and convened by the University of Arizona (www.arizona.edu) and by UNEP’s Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (PROVIA www.provia-climatechange.org), the conference focuses on adaptation to climate variability and change. The conference will bring together researchers, policy makers, and practitioners from developed and developing countries to share insights into the challenges and opportunities that adaptation presents.  It will showcase cutting-edge research from around the world, focusing on themes of equity and risk, learning, capacity building, methodology, and adaptation finance and investment. It will explore practical adaptation policies and approaches, and share strategies for decision making from the international to the local scale.

This conference follows on the success of the pioneering Climate Adaptation Futures Conference, co-hosted by Australia’s National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and the CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship in Australia in 2010 with nearly 1,000 participants from around the world.  Inspired by this 1st conference we hope to build on the community that came together in Queensland and foster a connected, collaborative and creative international network of adaptation researchers, decision makers and interested citizens. 

·         The conference program includes plenary lectures and panels, paper sessions, posters, and workshops. Conference Registration opens September 5, 2011 with deadline for abstracts January 30, 2012.  Conference themes and possible ideas for presentations include:

·         Regional studies: where are the places and people most at need? What are their adaptation options and strategies for implementation?

·         Update on key emerging climate change and impacts science, including the latest on future extremes, sea level change, water supplies and landscape transformation; how will uncertainties change in the coming decade?

·         Communicating climate risks to facilitate adaptation: what do people want and need to know and how best to understand and deliver information?

·         Building adaptive capacity: communities, institutions, and individuals lack sufficient capacity for implementation; what are the most effective ways to build capacity? What types of investments in capacity are appropriate and what scale of decision-making should be targeted?

·         Examples of adaptations through case studies and best practices, including costs and benefits of implementing these options

·         What can we learn from past adaptations to environmental change? How can we foster adaptations to futures characterized by surprise, non-linear change and unexpected consequences?

·         Ecosystem based adaptation

·         Funding priority research and adaptation: who pays, and for what, where, and how?

·         Tools for adaptation: what approaches, tools, and methods are available? How do we judge their effectiveness?

·         What are the relationships between mitigation and adaptation? How can the green economy facilitate adaptation?

·         Measuring and evaluating adaptation: how do we know whether investments in adaptive capacity and adaptation are working?

·         Adaptation under 4 degrees Celsius warming: as mitigation options are exhausted or delayed how might we face the challenges of adapting to 4 degrees C of warming?

Conference timeline

(All updates will be posted to the conference website at http://www.adaptation.arizona.edu/adaptation2012)

·         Call for papers and posters will be posted on web site and circulated by email  July 2011

·         Outline program and key speakers announced: September 5th 2011

·         Registration opens: September 5th 2011

·         Deadline for abstracts: January 30th 2012

·         Deadline for funding assistance requests: January 30th 2012

·         Deadline for early discounted registration March 1st 2012

Sustainability Science Fellowships at Harvard University, USA

Doctoral, Post-doctoral, and Mid-career Fellowships: Sustainability Science Fellowships at Harvard University, USA

Due date for applications: January 15, 2012

http://www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci/fellowship

The Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University invites applications for resident fellowships in sustainability science for the academic year beginning in September 2012. The fellowship competition is open to advanced doctoral and post-doctoral students, and to mid-career professionals engaged in research or practice to facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective interventions that promote sustainable development. Some of the most serious constraints to sustainable development lie in the interconnections among sectors: energy’s growing need for water; the impacts of water use on human health; the competition for land among food, energy and conservation initiatives; and the cumulative impact of all sectoral initiatives on climate and other key environmental services.  A central challenge moving forward is to develop an integrated understanding of how sectoral initiatives for sustainability can compete with and complement one another in particular regional contexts. The 2012-13 fellowship competition will therefore focus on regional initiatives pursing an integrated perspective on sustainable development in India, China and Brazil. It will also include a cross-cutting research initiative to integrate work focused on the theme of Innovation for Sustainable Development. Preference in this year’s competition will be given to applicants whose proposals complement one or more of these four initiatives.  The Initiatives (see below), are led by Professors William Clark, Michael Kremer, Henry Lee, Paul Moorcroft, and Rohini Pande. The Program is also open, however, to strong proposals in any area of sustainability science.  In addition to general funds available to support this fellowship offering, special funding for the Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships in Sustainability Science is available to support citizens of Italy, Brazil, China, India or developing countries who are therefore especially encouraged to apply. For more information on the fellowships application process seehttp://www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci/fellowship. Applications are due January 15, 2012 and decisions will be announced by March 2012.

India: Building public-private partnerships to promote sustainable development in India

Faculty leader:  Rohini Pande, Mohammed Kamal Professor of Public Policy

Sustainable development, by its nature, requires government and private actors to work together.  Externalities from rapid growth, such as the depletion of subsidized resources, widespread air and water pollution or unsustainable energy use, arise from a joint failure of government and industry to create an economy where the most profitable action is also best socially.  The India Initiative will address sustainability problems in India of both national and global import.  The motivation for this research program is to work with governments to channel the enterprising potential of the private sector to correct such externalities.  The research will address questions in sustainable environmental regulation and provide evidence on how public-private partnerships can contribute to solving existing challenges.  We focus on three research areas.  First, existing environmental regulations are weakly enforced by possibly under-resourced regulators, leading to poor environmental quality.  Second, traditional regulations, even if strengthened, are not the right tools to address many of India’s pollution problems.  Third, from the perspective of sustainability of resource use, India’s inefficient and rapidly growing energy consumption threatens to undermine its own development by contributing to global climate change. The research team will partner with government and private institutions in order to conduct field trials of innovative environmental policies to provide rigorous evidence on the impact of these policies for sustainable development. Doctoral, post-doctoral, and mid-career candidates are encouraged to apply.

China:  Energy in China: Environmental implications and management for sustainable development

Faculty leader: Henry Lee, Jassim M. Jaidah Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program

The China Initiative will address the environmental implications of electrification and other energy policies in China and explore how China can manage these implications.  Fellows will work to identify and promote policies that will contribute to thoughtful use of China's natural resources (e.g., water, land) and/or the adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive industrial and energy technologies. Research areas include, but are not limited to: analyzing the impact of energy and industrial policies on water scarcity; assessing barriers to the development or deployment of cleaner energy technologies; and studying the impact of industrialization on health and fragile ecosystems.  Post-doctoral and mid-career candidates, especially those who speak Chinese, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Brazil: Sustainable Development of the Amazon and its surrounding regions: The interplay of climate, hydrology, and land use

Faculty leader:  Paul Moorcroft, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Ongoing agricultural expansion and other land use changes in Amazonia and the surrounding regions are expected to continue over the next several decades as global demand for food and biofuel increases and regional economies expand. The conversion of natural forest and cerrado ecosystems to pastureland and agricultural crops creates warmer and drier atmospheric conditions than the native vegetation. In addition, human induced climate change arising from increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is also expected to push the Amazon region towards a warmer and drier state. In a number of recent climate modeling studies, the Amazon has been shown to exhibit two contrasting states for the water cycle and ecosystems of the region: a moist forested state, and an alternate drier and warmer state with sparser vegetation.  This has raised the question of whether deforestation and conversion to agricultural land cause the atmosphere-vegetation-hydrologic system of the Amazon to switch from its current moist state to the warmer and drier one?  And if so, will this new state have sufficient precipitation to sustain the native forest and productivity of adjacent agricultural areas?  In this study we propose to answer these questions by developing a coupled vegetation-atmosphere model to investigate the stability of the Amazonian hydrologic system (“rivers in the sky” as well as flows on the ground) to scenarios of land use and climate change .  We expect to come closer to capturing the true response and thresholds of the Amazonian system than previous studies because our model has a more realistic representation of the dynamic response of the native vegetation, and the study will incorporate a range of land change scenarios.   By doing so we will be able to answer the question: How much deforestation is too much? Post-doc candidates who have experience with integrated land-water-climate models and/or experience analyzing patterns and trends of land use and land use change are particularly encouraged to apply.

Innovation for Sustainability: Enhancing the Production of Essential Global Public Goods

Faculty leaders:

William Clark, Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development

Michael Kremer, Gates Professor of Developing Countries and Professor of Economics

This Initiative seeks to transform our understanding of the processes governing innovation in the production of global public goods (GPGs) needed for a transition toward sustainability.  In particular, we aim to discover how innovation systems can be designed that will simultaneously stimulate needed inventions and promote widespread and equitable access to the fruits of those inventions. The last two decades have served up a surprising number of ad-hoc operational experiments in improving the production of sustainability GPGs on topics as different as anti-retroviral medicines for HIV/AIDS, the development of gene banks, and the deployment of famine early warning systems.  Those experiments, however, are generally poorly described, little known beyond their respective sectors and therefore not contributing as much as they might to understanding or promoting the production of GPGs essential for sustainability.  This project is an effort to move to the next level of integrated and synthetic understanding. We propose a 3 track approach: 1) Reconceptualizing innovation of global public goods for sustainability: We will construct, apply, evaluate and revise an integrated framework for understanding the innovation process involved in the production of sustainability GPGs.  2) Comparing sectoral experiences: We will analyze a global cross-section of ad hoc experiments in new ways of providing sustainability GPGs using a template.  3) Conducting in-depth empirical studies: We will carry out a set of detailed empirical studies to test specific hypotheses about successful production of sustainability GPGs that arise from our sectoral comparisons. This research will employ our conceptual framework to pose similar questions across sectors and countries about how the system of GPG provision has responded to the full range of “push” and “pull” mechanisms that we will have identified through our sectoral comparisons.  Doctoral, post-doctoral, and mid-career candidates are encouraged to apply.