Climate Change Science and Policy Webinars

The Union of Concerned Scientists' Sound Science Initiative hosts webinars to help busy scientists like you stay up to date on the latest climate science. An audio recording and PowerPoint presentation from each webinar are posted here, along with additional relevant resources. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Jean Sideris at ssi@ucsusa.org

To be notified of upcoming events and opportunities for your voice to be heard to advance sound scientific and economic policy, become a member of the Sound Science Initiative.

Click on the links below to jump to the webinars.

Climate Emails Controversy: A Balanced Response (December 4, 2009) 
Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest (October 28, 2009)
Global Change Research Group: Global Climate Change in the United States (September 29, 2009)
Climate Policy: The State of Play in the U.S. Congress (May 27, 2009)
Tropical Deforestation in the United States: International and Domestic Solutions (April 16, 2009)
The Latest Climate Science (March 30, 2009)

December 4, 2009
Climate Emails Controversy: A Balanced Response
Recently, thousands of emails and other electronic documents were stolen from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Great Britain. In their ongoing campaign to distort the facts and deceive the public, climate policy opponents are misrepresenting these illegally obtained e-mails and are taking passages out of context to try to undermine public confidence in climate science. Listen to a presentation from UCS staff on the controversy surrounding the stolen emails, how the media and Congress are responding, what you can do to effectively counter the disinformation campaign, and why it is important that you do so, followed by questions and answers.

Listen to the conference call 20 min presentation, followed questions and answers

October 28, 2009
Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest
A new series of reports by Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and leading climate scientists provides an in-depth look at the potential consequences of climate change in the U.S. Midwest. The Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest series shows that without strong action to reduce heat-trapping emissions, midwestern states could face dramatic changes including increases in the number of extreme heat days, heavier rains in the spring causing delays in agricultural planting, and an expansion of the range for crop-damaging pests.

However, the report also shows that with strong action in the Midwest, and the nation, many of these worst consequences of climate changes could be avoided. Many opportunities to reduce heat-trapping emissions are ready and available today and would help put the region on the path to a clean energy future and be an example to the nation.

Illinois and Iowa

Listen to the webinar for Illinois and Iowa (.mp3 file) 30 minute presentation, followed by questions and answers

Download the PowerPoint to follow along with the recording. (Part 1, Part 2)  The slides are available for you to use in your classroom or for speaking events.

Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest (UCS analysis)

Michigan and Wisconsin

Listen to the webinar for Michigan and Wisconsin (.mp3 file) 30 minute presentation, followed by questions and answers 

Download the PowerPoint to follow along with the recording. (Part 1, Part 2)  The slides are available for you to use in your classroom or for speaking events.

Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest (UCS analysis)

Ohio, Missouri, and Indiana

Listen to the webinar for Ohio, Missouri, and Indiana (.mp3 file) 30 minute presentation, followed by questions and answers

Download the PowerPoint to follow along with the recording. (Part 1, Part 2)  The slides are available for you to use in your classroom or for speaking events.

Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest (UCS analysis)

Minnesota

Listen to the webinar for Minnesota (.mp3 file) 30 minute presentation, followed by questions and answers

Download the PowerPoint to follow along with the recording. (Part 1, Part 2)  The slides are available for you to use in your classroom or for speaking events.

Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest (UCS analysis)

September 29, 2009
Global Change Research Group: Global Climate Change in the United States
In the summer of 2009, the U.S. Global Change Research Program, an interagency research program comprised of 13 federal agencies, released a comprehensive report about climate change in the United States and what it will mean for our future and way of life. The report is the first nationwide snapshot of our vulnerability to climate change since 2001 and represents the best available climate science in the United States. Report author Katharine Hayhoe, Texas Tech University, and Dr. Melanie Fitzpatrick, UCS climate scientist, reviewed the key findings from the report, including extreme heat, changes in precipitation patterns, impacts on agriculture, and impacts on transportation and energy infrastructure.


May 27, 2009
Climate Policy: The State of Play in U.S. Congress
UCS is actively engaged in crafting and advocating for the best available policy options to reduce heat-trapping emissions and transition to a low-carbon clean economy. During the webinar, Lexi Shultz, Deputy Director of the UCS Climate Program, spoke about how the legislation is coming together, UCS policy priorities (including science review provisions and emissions reduction goals), and why scientists and economists have such an important contribution to make to these policies.



April 16, 2009
Tropical Deforestation: International and Domestic Solutions
Tropical deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s heat-trapping emissions, an amount greater than the emissions from every car, truck, plane, ship, and train on earth. The international climate negotiations as well as the upcoming climate legislation provide the United States with a global leadership opportunity.  Dr. Doug Boucher will review UCS analysis on the role of REDD (Reducing Emissions from tropical Deforestation and degradation in Developing countries) in domestic legislation and international climate treaty negotiations.



March 30, 2009
The Latest Climate Science
Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, UCS climate scientist discussed the major developments in climate science that have been reported since the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report in 2007. Dr. Melanie Fitzpatrick, UCS climate scientist provided an overview of the events in Copenhagen, Denmark where more than 2,500 delegates from nearly 80 countries gathered to discuss the developments in climate science. 


 

Last Revised: 10/14/09