Panel and Book Launch: Environmental Politics of Sacrifice

Invitation for September 30th:

American University’s Global Environmental Politics program and Allegheny College present a public Book Launch and Panel Discussion of:

The Environmental Politics of Sacrifice

Featuring:

Erik Assadourian, Senior Fellow, Worldwatch Institute

Leslie Fields, National Environmental Justice Director, Sierra Club

John Meyer, Department of Politics, Humboldt State University, (Co-Editor)

Matthew Nisbet, School of Communication, American University

Paul Wapner, School of International Service, American University



Moderator: Michael Maniates, Dept. of Political Science, Allegheny College, (Co-Editor)


Thursday, September 30th
5:00 – 6:30pm

A reception and book signing will follow from 6:30 – 8:00pm

School of International Service Building
Founder’s Room, Terrace Level
4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington DC 20016

If the current impasse over energy and environmental policy teaches us anything, it should be that the election of sympathetic leaders is insufficient to tackle environmental challenges meaningfully. Politicians appear stymied by the fear that substantive action will be viewed as harmful to their constituents, especially during economic hard times.

This panel will explore new strategies and ways of thinking about environmental challenges featured in Michael Maniates and John Meyer’s new MIT Press book The Environmental Politics of Sacrifice. Can this fear be successfully countered by optimistic narratives about bold technological innovations? Must environmentalists also confront the fear of ‘sacrifice’ that is so often the basis for oppositional attacks?

Parking is available beneath the School of International Service building or in the Nebraska parking lot (corner of Nebraska Ave, NW and New Mexico Ave, NW) . For directions, see www.american.edu/sis/about/directions.cfm

For more information, please contact Simon Nicholson, simon.nicholson@american.edu, (202) 885–1614

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Panel on GE Fish 9/22 (off campus)

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

GE Salmon Could Be Your Main Course

Join Us For A Panel Presentation Wednesday, September 22nd

From 12 noon – 2pm at

Busboys and Poets

2021 14th St NW

Washington, DC 20009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that they are in the process of approving genetically engineered (GE), or transgenic, salmon.

Untested, Unlabeled, and You’re Eating It

If the FDA approves GE salmon, they may not require labeling of these fish.

Transgenic salmon is the first GE animal intended for food yet impacts on human health have not been sufficiently reviewed. Additionally, GE fish pose unacceptable risks to wild salmon populations and the marine environment.

Come learn what you can do about it!

Speakers Include:

Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director, CFS

George Kimbrell, Senior Attorney, CFS

Jaydee Hanson, Senior Policy Analyst, CFS

Moderated by Debbie Barker, International Program Director, CFS

Climate Change and the Energy Economy: Challenges and Opportunities

Wednesday, September 22, 6:00 p.m., SIS Founder's Lounge
SPA and SIS invite the AU community to a lecture featuring Eamon Ryan T.D., Ireland's minister for communications, energy, and natural resources.
Sponsor: SIS, SPA, and the Center for Environmental Policy
RSVP: Cassandra Szczechowicz, 202-885-2660 or szczecho@american.edu

Seminar: David Ropeik, Expert in Risk Communication, Harvard University Extension

Friday, September 17, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Butler Board Room
The Media and Communication Research Group Seminar Series features David Ropeik, Harvard University, as he presents "The Perception of Risk: Why Our Fears So Often Don’t Match the Facts." Book signing to follow. All are encouraged to attend.
Sponsor: MCRG, School of Communication
Contact: Jessica Weber, jweber@american.edu

Food events in town

From http://www.sare.org/mysare/Events.aspx
September 16, 2010
Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century
Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century Recommendations included in a recently-released study on sustainable agricultural systems will be the focus of a workshop 8 a.m. to 4:30 p
Location: Washington, D.C, DC
Scope: National
Website: http://www.farmfoundation.org/webcontent/Sustainable-Agricultural-Systems-in-the-21st-Century-1729.aspx?z=na&a=1729

From:
http://dc.about.com/od/wine/a/VAWineFestival.htm
The Virginia Wine Festival, the largest wine festival in Virginia, features wine tastings from 60 Virginia wineries, gourmet food samples, seminars, concerts, arts and crafts and more. Seminars include everything from wine and food pairing to wine history to planning a tour of Virginia’s wineries.

Peak Oil Conference (wants you to help!)

Stay tune for updates from me on this one. This group was asking for students to help out.

Join us in Washington, DC Oct 7-9 for our
6th annual dialogue with the experts on peak oil, energy and the economy.

ASPO (The Assoc. for the Study of Peak Oil)-USA members and subscribers receive a $100 discount on all registration categories through Sept 14, 2010

Register Now

More Tangible Benefits Than Ever!

Sometimes change is glacial, sometimes swiftly chaotic. Get the latest data from the best sources with up-to-date numbers on both conventional and unconventional production, depletion, flows, costs, and the opportunities and challenges that come with them.

Keynote Speakers

Geopolitics: Dr. James Schlesinger will announce and explain, once and for all, with updated finality that "The Peak Oil Debate is Over", for above-ground and below-ground reasons;

Global Trade: Jeff Rubin will present his views on the "End of Globalization" due to energy constraints and be available all week as part of our interactive discussions;

National Security: Admiral Lawrence Rice will explain the U.S. military's peak oil warnings during our Saturday plenary on national security with Michael Klare, Lt. Colonel Danny Davis, and Tom Whipple;

Transportation: Dr. Charles Schlumberger of the World Bank will discuss liquid fuel concerns in aviation while Dr. Roger Bezdek, Anthony Perl and others will focus their analysis on the future of transportation.

Investing: learn the personal and institutional upsides and downsides from the Dean of the Energy Analysts, Charlie Maxwell, and don't miss our popular peak oil investing sessions with Dr. Schlumberger, Jim Hansen, Lily Donge, Gregor Macdonald and others.

See Full Agenda and Speakers

* It's not just another great ASPO-USA Conference. It's Conference+Plus. It's the Year of Hydrocarbon Hell, and our peak oil message will not be ignored by the powers that be. Just to make sure, we are taking the message to the policymakers with a Senate Briefing, a House Briefing, a National Press Club news conference, and other targeted outreach efforts inside and outside the Beltway. Two highly-respected consulting firms are helping to organize ASPO's first ever fire-hose-data-flow to lawmakers. First come, first served with strictly limited seating for these special events.

* Sometimes wine and hors d'oevers are better than PowerPoints. Imagine you're at the opening reception having a drink with Art Berman, and you ask about his work on the 2010 National Petroleum Council Study. He shares with you the latest input from Jean LaHerrere. Or you overhear some information about the forensic investigation of the BP blowout preventer. This kind of information doesn't come with the DVDs.

Come to the Conference on the Future of Energy

Register Today!

Van Jones on campus, September 15, 8:00-9:30pm

The Kennedy Political Union is proud to present Van Jones in the University Club on Wednesday, September 15th.

Van Jones is a pioneer in human rights and the clean energy economy and the best-selling author of, The Green-Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Solve Our Two Biggest Problems. Most recently, Jones served as the Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for the White House Council on Environmental Quality until September 2009.

The founder of three successful nonprofit organizations, Jones is a constant innovator in the quest to create a sustainable, environmentally beneficial economy. He co-founded a national coalition that promotes the idea of a national “Clean Energy Jobs Corps,” a federal initiative that would put hundreds of thousands of people to work improving the American energy infrastructure. At the political level, Jones worked successfully to get the Green Jobs Act of 2007 passed, which authorized $125 million to train 35,000 people a year in “green-collar jobs.”

A 1993 Yale Law graduate, he was recognized as one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2009.