AU Wecycling

Panel: Risks and Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing

The School of Public Affairs and Center for Environmental Policy

Invite You to Attend

Risks and Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing:

Boom or Bane?

Monday, January 28th

4:00-5:30 p.m.

McDowell Formal

Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is being debated across the country with experts disagreeing on the risks and the benefits at stake. Many debates center on differing opinions policymakers have on how best to protect human health and the environment. The panel will discuss issues and challenges faced by the different levels of government (federal, state, local) in setting and implementing environmental policy for “fracking.” It will highlight the complexity of the environmental and health risks that must be addressed, and the difficulty inherent in working out a governance framework that is protective and fits very different environmental/geological as well as economic and social conditions. Panelists will include experts from federal, state and local government organizations who will discuss the governance issues from their differing perspectives.

Kindly rsvp to cep@american.edu.

The Center for Environmental Policy, led by Dan Fiorino, aims to improve the nation's ability to address environmental challenges through effective governance. For more information, please visit http://www.american.edu/spa/cep.

New Spring 2013 Course: COM 589 Sustainability Communication

COM 589

SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION

Navigating a Hot, Flat and Crowded World

Prof. Matthew C. Nisbet

Spring 2013

Wednesdays

11:45AM - 2:25PM

Open to All Majors with

2.5 GPA and Junior, Senior, or Graduate Standing

Problems related to sustainability -- including climate change, energy insecurity, income inequality, and extreme weather -- are the dominant social challenges of our time.  Effectively navigating these challenges will require a shift in how we participate in politics, think about the economy, define policy action, communicate with others, and invest in media and communities.  As a consequence, employers across sectors will be looking for graduates who understand sustainability challenges and who can communicate about them effectively and strategically.

In this seminar, students will be introduced to major areas of research, principles, and strategies for engaging the public, the media, and decision-makers on sustainability-related problems.  Readings, discussion, and assignments will be applied to debates such as those over climate change policy, organic and biotech food, natural gas fracking, biodiversity loss, ocean conservation, nuclear energy, nanotechnology, and efforts to protect communities from extreme weather events.  Across these topics and others, we will examine the communication strategies employed by the scientific community, government agencies, environmental groups, the conservative movement, industry organizations, and journalists. 

Readings will draw on scholarly studies and book chapters, reports, news articles, and popular books.  Students will also view documentaries and online presentations from experts and thought leaders.  Assignments include 4 two-page analysis papers, a midterm and final, and a 15-20 page research paper on a topic of the student’s choosing.  Students will also have the opportunity to turn their analysis papers into blog posts at BigThink.com.  Examples of past student posts are at the link below:

http://bigthink.com/blogs/age-of-engagement/tags/25279

About the Professor

Matthew Nisbet, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Communication and Co-Director of the Center for Social Media at American University. His research investigates the role of communication in policymaking and public affairs, focusing on debates over science, sustainability, and public health. He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed studies, book chapters, and monographs; writes and edits the Age of Engagement blog and is a contributing columnist to The Breakthrough.  Nisbet has been a Health Policy Investigator at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a Google Science Communication Fellow, and is currently a Shorenstein Fellow in Press, Politics, and Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. In 2011, the editors at the journal Nature recommended Nisbet's research as “essential reading for anyone with a passing interest in the climate change debate,” and the New Republic highlighted his work as a “fascinating dissection of the shortcomings of climate activism.” He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Communication from Cornell University and an A.B. in Government from Dartmouth College.

Fall 2012 Film Series

The 8th Annual Fall 2012 Film Series

Hosted by Chris Palmer and Justine Schmidt

Free and Open to the Public

No Reservations Required

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Wechsler Theater, 3^rd Floor, Mary Graydon Center

American University

4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8017

Directions: http://www.american.edu/maps/

Metro: Tenleytown/AU, shuttle bus service bus service to AU

For more information, please contact:

Chris Palmer (202)885-3408 or palmer@american.edu

Or visit environmentalfilm.org or filmmakersforconservation.org

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 7 PM

Alexandra Cousteau’s Expedition Blue Planet

A National Geographic “Emerging Explorer,” filmmaker, and globally recognized advocate on water issues, Alexandra Cousteau continues the work of her renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Phillipe Cousteau, Sr. Tonight, Alexandra talks about her stories and films from expeditions across North America and throughout the world.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30 at 7 PM

Stories from the Wilderness

SOC grad film students Sarah Gulick and Sylvia Johnson were on a mission last year: to go into National Park Service Wilderness areas and bring back stories from the wild. Working with the National Park Service's Wilderness Stewardship division and the Harpers Ferry Design Center through a special arrangement with SOC's Center for Environmental Filmmaking, Sylvia and Sarah braved the elements and brought back six stories from the wilderness. Join Sarah and Sylvia along with the National Park Service's Chief of Wilderness Stewardship, Garry Oye, and Producer Chuck Dunkerly for a screening of these short films and discussion about the role of film in protecting wild lands.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 at 7 PM

Classroom in the Wild: Film Screening Followed by Q&A

Come and hear first-hand about the extraordinary experiences of Classroom in the Wild in the Chesapeake Bay and Alaska. This past year, students ventured into the outdoors to produce original short films. In a presentation of photos, videos, and student accounts, you will learn more about these unique courses as well as future opportunities to practice environmental filmmaking with Classroom in the Wild in 2013.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 at 7 PM

National Geographic’s Television Film War Elephants

One of National Geographic’s top writer/producers, David Hamlin, shows clips from War Elephants and discusses the stories behind the film. In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, elephants are in crisis. Years of civil war and ivory poaching have left them frightened and hostile toward humans. The world’s foremost elephant researcher Dr. Joyce Poole works to build trust and retrain the animals away from their violent behavior.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 at 7 PM

Sneak preview of two documentaries produced by AU students for MPT and PBS

The documentaries - conceived, written, produced, shot, directed and edited - by students in Environmental & Wildlife Production (COMM 568), will air during MPT's Chesapeake Bay Week next April.  The films focus on net-zero housing and the health of the Potomac River. Professor Sandy Cannon-Brown and her students will introduce the films and answer questions.

AU Sustainability Interns wanted!

Looking to gain hands-on sustainability experience this summer or fall? Applications are now open for summer and fall 2012 internships with the AU Office of Sustainability for undergraduate and graduate students. For more information on all positions and to apply, visit http://studentjobs.american.edu and search for "sustainability."

Summer 2012:

Communications Intern: This position focuses on communication and outreach on behalf of the Office of Sustainability. Likely tasks include creating, redesigning, and disseminating outreach materials, helping with web reorganization, social networking, and providing administrative support and help with other projects as needed. Applications are now open and will be reviewed until the position is filled.

Research Intern: This position offers opportunities for a technically-minded student with strong Excel and research skills to collect and assess data, including collecting sustainability data for submittal in the LEED program, carrying out research related to carbon offsets, and provide administrative support and help with other projects as needed. Three positions are available. Applications are now open and will be reviewed until the positions are filled. 

Fall 2012:

Green Eagle Sustainability Interns
Green Eagles are part-time, paid ($10/hour) student interns hired to implement sustainable practices on campus and to conduct outreach to the university community, including in the residence halls as well as campus administrative and academic departments. Internships begin in August and run until the end of spring semester. Applications will be accepted until August 21st and applicants will be contacted over the summer for a phone, skype, or in-person interview.

Residential Green Eagles: Resident students work in their residence halls as peer educators to increase sustainability within the campus resident population. Resident Green Eagles work an average of five hours per week, including mandatory weekly meetings. As paid workers, unexcused absences are considered grounds for termination.  

Office Green Eagles: Office Green Eagles work an average of 10 hours per week to support campus greening activities that emphasize behavior change but might also include other project-based research, data collection, or administrative support, as determined by the needs of the Office of Sustainability.

AU Earth Day Photography Contest

AU Library Nature Photo Contest Submission Guidelines:

1. Contest is open to all members of the AU community.
2. Photograph entries must be the original work of the entrant.
3. Photos must be submitted with the dimensions of 4000 x 3000 pixels (at 150 dpi) or greater to ensure a high-quality print.
4. Each email submission must include the title, location of the work, and the full name of the photographer.
5. By submitting photographs to the contest via email, entrants agree to grant the AU Library permission to print and display photographs. All photographs will be credited to the photographer.
6. Entries will be judged by a committee of AU Library staff members (no professional photographers) on creativity, compliance with the theme, originality and overall quality of the image.
7. The contest organizers reserve the right to disqualify entries that do not conform to the stated rules and guidelines. By participating in the contest, the entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules, and it is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that s/he has complied. The determination of the winners will be final and binding in all matters relating to this contest.
8. The deadline for all entries to be received is April 13, 2012. Judging will be completed and winners will be announced thereafter.
9. Submit photos and associated information as attachments to aulibphoto@gmail.com. Each entrant may submit no more than three photos.