RSVP by 1/24: Offshore Oil & Gas in the Arctic: The Next Five Years

WHEN:	January 26, 2012, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
WHERE:	Environmental Law Institute 2000 L Street, NW, Suite 620 (Sixth Floor) Washington, DC Click here for directions.
RSVP:	The event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP. To do so, please email Marcia McMurrin at mcmurrin@eli.org by Tuesday, January 24, 2011. Please indicate whether you will be attending in-person or by teleconference; teleconference information will be emailed one day prior to the event.

U.S. demand for energy resources continues to increase, along with growing concern about the short- and long-term impacts of domestic oil and gas development and consumption. In few areas is this tension so clearly exemplified as in the U.S. Arctic. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently published a mean estimate that the Alaskan outer continental shelf contains 26.6 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 131.45 trillion cubic feet of such gas. Yet there are significant concerns about how drilling will impact surrounding marine environment and subsistence harvest by Alaska Native communities, including the ramifications of an oil spill in this extreme environment that lacks infrastructure to allow for immediate response and clean up.
These issues are central to the discussion of U.S. plans to enable further exploitation of offshore oil and gas. On Nov. 10, 2011, BOEM disseminated a draft five-year leasing program for oil and gas on the outer continental shelf. As required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the plan must balance potential oil and gas discovery with potential impacts to the environment and coastal zone. The draft 2012-2017 leasing program (open for public comment through Feb. 8, 2012) includes multiple sites in the U.S. Arctic that will be made available for leasing.
In this seminar, panelists will discuss the draft leasing program and aspects such as science needs and availability, expected activity impacts, and how the program may align with other ongoing ocean management processes, such as coastal and marine spatial planning
PANELISTS:

• Eleanor Huffines, Manager, U.S. Arctic Program, Pew Environment Group
• Jessica S. Lefevre, Counsel, Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission
• Shoshana Lew, Senior Advisor, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Department of the Interior
• Stacy Linden, Managing Counsel, American Petroleum Institute

MODERATOR:

• Peter J. Schaumberg, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.

MATERIALS:

• Speaker Biographies (PDF)

The 2011 Ocean Seminar Series is generously supported by the
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation.

Transforming Transportation: January 26-27, 2012

EMBARQ, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank will host the ninth annual “Transforming Transportation” event at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. on January 26-27, 2012.

This year’s conference will focus on big ideas to scale up sustainable transport best practices in cities worldwide. In the previous years we have highlighted challenges facing urban transport and key projects that were good examples to emulate. The aim in 2012 is to reflect briefly on past successes and ongoing challenges of implementing sustainable urban transport and development, and then to turn our attention to scaling up for the future. Conference attendees will discuss and brainstorm practical ways to overcome obstacles and implement best practices. New ideas will be shared for scaling up solutions and transforming transportation in many more cities around the world.

The plenary session on Day 1 will discuss the future of the city, and on Day 2 we will look beyond the transport sector for inspiration on how to scale up best practices. Other sessions will include moderated panel discussions, and rapid presentations of innovative ideas. The agenda also features screenings of urban transport videos and a cocktail reception to honor the late Lee Schipper.

Transforming Transportation 2012 is open to the public but registration is required. Our guests will include about 200 of the world’s leading transport and urban development experts from national and local governments, multi-development banks, foundations, civil society organizations, research institutions, and private companies and associations.

Wilson Center Events - January 25

Is a Food Crisis Brewing in the Sahel?

January 25, 2012 // 9:00am — 12:30pm

  

While African nations and the donor community struggle to mitigate famine in the Horn of Africa, concern is growing that drought in the Sahel will trigger a food crisis of comparable proportion in West Africa by the spring of 2012. However, experts caution against misdiagnosing food insecurity in the Sahel, for fear that excessive band-aid treatments of emergency food assistance will squander energy and scarce resources that would be better utilized in treating pockets of severe food shortages and building resiliency in the region. With input from American and African experts on the Sahel, this event will explore the true nature of the emerging crisis in the Sahel and seek to identify effective responses, including regional trade and resilience-building through agricultural development.

To RSVP: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/rsvp?eid=21325&pid=25

Sustainable Solutions for the Planet’s Energy Challenge

January 25, 2012 // 3:00pm — 5:00pm

The environmental challenges of climate change, energy demands, and natural resource loss continue to mount. World population hit seven billion on Halloween and is projected to go to ten billion if not more. The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest in 130 years of recorded global temperatures and 2010 was the warmest year yet recorded. Extinction rates are 1000 times base rates. The Amazon had the greatest drought in recorded history in 2010. Droughts, floods, wildfires, and probably intense tropical storms are becoming more frequent. These challenges call for action at a planetary scale.
 The “Managing Our Planet” seminar series – developed jointly by George Mason University and the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and Brazil Institute -- addresses planetary scale problems and solutions.

Please RSVP to ecsp@wilsoncenter.org with your name and affiliation.

DC Update: Mayor Vincent C. Gray and U.N. Environment Programme Announce District Will Be North American Host City for World Environment Day 2012

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray and officials from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that the organization has named Washington, DC, as the North American host city for World Environment Day (WED) 2012. With the regional theme, “Unite for a Sustainable D.C.,” UNEP invites area residents and organizations take part in energy-efficiency and sustainability activities during the six weeks linking Earth Day on April 22 and WED on June 5.
Mayor Gray’s office and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) will work with partners that include UNEP’s Regional Office for North America, the D.C. Public Schools, local businesses, Earth’s Natural Force and other non-profit organizations to galvanize the D.C. community into action.

“By its 1987 U.N. definition, the word ‘sustainable’ means to ‘meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,” said Mayor Gray. “In other words, our resources are finite. We must do everything we can to protect the interests of our children, our children’s children and beyond. Through our Sustainable D.C. initiative, the District has been moving forward with purpose to ensure our city is the greenest in the world. We are honored and proud to be selected as the North American Host City for WED 2012, as it is the perfect platform to unite the city around its successes and future goals.”

This year, the overarching international WED theme is the “Green Economy.” The UNEP-led Green Economy Initiative aims to foster investment in green sectors and to fully value the Earth’s natural resources.
A key way that citizens and businesses can help create a green economy is through business efforts to promote energy efficiency. The WED 2012 celebration will highlight this link by focusing on energy efficiency, sustainability and the important role residents play in their local communities in these efforts.

“The District of Columbia was chosen as the North American host of WED 2012 not just because of the work that the city has already done for sustainability, but also because of the city’s plans for the future,” said Amy Fraenkel, Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for North America. “I am excited to see how WED will help link local and global actions — particularly in the lead-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development or Rio+20.”

Planned activities that highlight the regional theme, “Unite for a Sustainable D.C.,” will include the following:

• The District will be signing a Green Economy pledge with an array of international embassies at the end of January to show a united commitment to a green economy and sustainability.
• The International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment  will engage local students in a global art contest that addresses why environmental protection is important. Sponsored by UNEP, the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace, Bayer Corporation and Nikon, the competition has been held annually since 1991 and has received over 3 million entries from children in 150-plus countries.
• Elementary and high-school students in the District that participate in Energy Patrol programs  will receive energy education and assessment training that they can use to assess how their school uses energy. During WED, this program will expand to include additional D.C.-area schools and students.
• WED will offer the opportunity to forge linkages between the District of Columbia and Brazil, the global 2012 WED Host Country.
• Mayor Gray will present his 2012 Sustainability Awards http://ddoe.dc.gov/service/mayors-environmental-excellence-awards)  (to local individuals, schools, organizations and businesses just prior to WED, recognizing efforts to build a greener, more sustainable future for D.C.

UNEP and District leaders invite the entire DC community to participate in these activities, and to develop others in support of this United Nations day.

See full press release here.

Green Corps opportunity

Green Corps 2012-2013 Field School for Environmental Organizing

Green Corps is looking for college graduates who are ready to take on the biggest environmental challenges of our day.

In Green Corps’ year-long paid program, you’ll get intensive training in the skills you’ll need to make a difference in the world. You’ll get hands-on experience fighting to solve urgent environmental problems — global warming, deforestation, water pollution and many others — with groups such as Sierra Club and Food and Water Watch. And, when you graduate from Green Corps, we’ll help you find a career with one of the nation’s leading environmental and social change groups.

For more information, read below or visit our web site: www.greencorps.org.

In your year with Green Corps:
You’ll get great training with some of the most experienced organizers in the field: Green Corps organizers take part in trainings with leading figures in the environmental and social change movements: people such as Adam Ruben, political director of MoveOn.org, and Bill McKibben, author and organizer of the “350.org” rallies for climate action.

You’ll get amazing experience working on environmental issues across the country: Green Corps sends organizers to jumpstart campaigns for groups such as Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Food and Water Watch and Environment America in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and dozens of other places in between.

You’ll have a real impact on some of the biggest environmental problems we’re facing today: Green Corps organizers have built the campaigns that helped keep the Arctic safe from drilling, that led to new laws that support clean, renewable energy, that convinced major corporations to stop dumping in our oceans and much, much more.

You’ll even get paid: Green Corps Organizers earn a salary of $23,750. Organizers also have a chance to opt into our health care program with a pre-tax monthly salary deferral. We offer paid sick days and holidays, two weeks paid vacation and a student loan repayment program for those who qualify.

And when you graduate from the program, you’ll be ready for what comes next: Green Corps will help connect you to environmental and progressive groups that are looking for full-time staff to build their organizations and help them create social change and protect our environment.

In the next few months, we‘ll invite 35 college graduates to join Green Corps in 2012-2013. We’re looking for people who are serious about saving the planet, people who have taken initiative on their campus or community, and people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work for change over the long haul.

If you think you’re one of those people, visit http://www.greencorps.org/apply to submit your application to join the 2012-2013 class of Green Corps’ Field School for Environmental Organizing.

Green Corps’ year-long program begins in August 2012 with Introductory Classroom Training in Boston, and continues with field placements in multiple locations across the U.S. Candidates must be willing to relocate.

For more information, visit : www.greencorps.org.or contact Aaron Myran, Green Corps Recruitment Director, at aaron@greencorps.org or 617 747 4302.

Dierdre Stenson

Green Corps Recruitment Intern

617 747 4302

Dierdre@greencorps.org

Free Admission to All National Parks from January 14-16!

WASHINGTON: Start your new year with a free visit to a national park! All 397 national parks across the country will offer free admission from January 14 through 16 to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

You can literally walk in Dr. King's footsteps at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Georgia, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – just a few of the many national parks that have direct ties to Dr. King or the Civil Rights movement.

Other parks that will hold special events honoring Dr. King that weekend include the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey, Fort Donelson National Battlefield in Tennessee, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, DC.

“Dr. King led the fight to realize his dream of a nation free of discrimination, where every citizen was able to enjoy the inalienable rights promised to all Americans,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Dr. King’s story and those of so many others whose efforts changed our country are preserved in the national parks, places where history happened. I hope every American can take advantage of the upcoming fee free weekend and visit their parks to experience their history firsthand.”

Your nearest national park can also help you keep that New Year’s resolution, whether it is to get more exercise, spend quality time with family and friends, try a new sport, learn some history, expand your horizons, or enjoy the natural world. There’s something for everyone at a national park, even in the middle of winter. Choices include snow shoe hikes, canoe trips, campfire programs, film festivals, battle reenactments, and music jams. It is also a great time of year to view wildlife such as bison in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming or grey whales at Point Reyes National Seashore in California. A list of activities can be found at www.nps.gov.


The National Park Service will also waive admission fees on 14 other days in 2012 – National Park Week (April 21 to 29), Get Outdoors Day (June 9), National Public Lands Day (September 29), and the weekend of Veterans Day (November 10 to 12).

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Mountain Justice Spring Break in VA and WV

Friends of the Appalachian Mountains,

What are you doing for spring break?

Come to Appalachia and join the fight against mountaintop removal coal mining and hydrofracking for natural gas!  Meet awesome community activists and student leaders organizing in their communities to save their beloved Appalachian Mountains from blasting!  Have fun while while learning about coal mining, fracking, Appalachian music, culture and heritage - do community service work - go hiking in the mountains - see mountaintop removal and hydrofracking and learn about the death cycle of coal - hang out with other concerned, aware young people supporting local communities in their struggles against extractive industry.


This year, Mountain Justice is offering two Mountain Justice Spring Break weeks:

Virginia Mountain Justice Spring Break March 3-11, in Appalachia, Virginia - a historic town in the beautiful mountains of far western Virginia that has mountaintop removal coal mining very nearby.  Residents of the town and the community group SAMS (Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards)  are fighting to protect Ison Rock Ridge from mining.  You will see mountaintop removal up close, and meet with local residents who have lived in the mountains for a lifetime.  Workshops, organizing skills, trainings, site tours, mountain music and dancing.

To learn more and to register for Virginia Mountain Justice Spring Break, go to http://mjsb2012.wordpress.com/

From March 21-28, Mountain Justice Spring Break (MJSB) will be in northern West Virginia near Clarksburg, in the middle of the Marcellus Shale geological formation.  Driving in you will see dozens of active natural gas drill sites and hundreds of hydrofracking tanker trucks going up and down the highway.  This is a scenic and remote area of West Virginia that is getting drilled to death.

To learn more about hydrofracking, check out Steven Colbert's explanation of the issue.

Our West Virginia MJSB site is in a very comfortable and modern heated building with bunk beds, warm showers, and great home-cooked food lovingly prepared by volunteers.  The week will offer workshops, trainings and community-led presentations that focus on building bridges between the anti-hydrofracking and the anti-mountaintop removal campaigns.  Everyone is welcome and we have some awesome local West Virginia speakers lined up. 

We will offer site tours to see hydrofracking in nearby Wetzel County, West Virginia, and see mountaintop removal at Larry Gibson's famous Kayford Mountain.

Please note that the West Virginia MJSB begins and ends on a Wednesday - There will also be lots of activities and site tours (and possibly housing) before and after the camp.

MJSB is high-energy, youth-led and it's always exciting.  Check out this video from MJSB in 2007, when community members and college students entered the office of WV Governor Joe Manchin, demanding that a safe new school be built for the children at Marsh Fork Elementary, whose school was beneath a giant lake of toxic coal waste:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jqENyow0cQ

Registration for Mountain Justice Spring Break includes all food, workshops and lodging - it's low cost and no one is turned away for lack of ability to pay.

To register and for more information on the West Virginia MJSB, go to
http://www.mjsb.org/index.php

Masters and PhD students are invited to participate in the 6th World Water Forum

The 6th World Water Forum is looking to invite advanced Master’s and PhD students from around the world to present their solutions-based work and participate as fully engaged members of the Forum. Selected applicants will have the opportunity to work with high level experts from academia, the public sector, and private industry. They will take part in networking events with other young professionals and water experts from around the world. So don’t wait to  fill in the form to apply! 

Deadline: 15th January

http://wateryouthmovement.org/

http://www.jotform.com/wateryouthmovement/applicationforthe6thworldwaterforum

Wetlands Photo Contest

World Wetlands Day Photo Celebration: Wetlands Tourism
Jan. 3-20, 2012

Showcase the beauty of wetlands along with your talent! Submit your best photos to a World Wetlands Day photo celebration under this year’s theme “Wetlands Tourism: A Great Experience,” sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with the Ramsar Convention Secretariat. From January 3-20, 2012, upload your best photo(s) to our Flickr site in one of four wetlands and tourism-related categories: wildlife, landscapes, plants, and tourists (one per category per participant). ALL are invited to mark your favorite photo in each category through January 22. 


The top photos in each category will be showcased on U.S. Department of State, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Ramsar Convention Secretariat and its International Organization Partners’ websites and social media platforms around the world on World Wetlands Day, February 2, 2012. Visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/StateDepartment.OES and www.flickr.com/groups/WWD2012PhotoCelebration for instructions and more information.