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The Rubenstein School
of Environment and Natural Resources
News
Vol. XXXI, No. 4 March 2010, The University of Vermont, http://www.uvm.edu/rsenr/
REFLECTIONS ON THE UNITED NATIONS
CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE
By Professor Saleem Ali
The Rubenstein School News,
published monthly from
October through May, is one
of the school’s primary vehicles for keeping students,
faculty, and staff informed.
We publish news and highlight coming events, student
activities, and natural resources employment opportunities. Copies are available
in the Aiken Center lobby
and in the third floor mail
room.
http://www.uvm.edu/rsenr
Editor:
Becca Pincus
[email protected]
ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:
Service Learning Updates
p. 2
New ESA SEEDS
Chapter at UVM p. 3
Focus on Graduate Research: Rebecca Stanfield
McCown p. 4
Costa Rica Travel Study,
Joshua Carrera p. 5
SOLUTIONS Seminar
Announcement p. 8
Green Flash p. 9
RSENR Community
Celebration p.9
I arrived in Copenhagen in the middle of the two-week long United Nations Conference on
Climate Change and was overwhelmed by the scale of involvement from all professional
arenas at this mega-meeting. The first week of the meeting was fairly mellow and manageable. I got a chance to meet with country delegates, attend scholarly presentations at side
events and conduct interviews for some research I was doing on epistemic conflicts over
climate change.
The Pakistani and Afghan ministers of environment invited me for a luncheon to consider
regional cooperation over Himalayan water availability and population rise which was also
quite positive.
The mood changed dramatically after the arrests of almost 400 people on the seventh day of
the conference. Soon thereafter, government delegations descended upon the meeting in unprecedented hordes. The largest of the delegations was Brazil, with over 700 official delegates! This is when the system for crowd management broke down and people were waiting
for six to seven hours just to get through security.
Thankfully, apart from the main United Nations conference which became a pandemonium
at this stage there were other important events around town too. I also went to the industry
event called "Bright Green" -- a forum on technological solutions to climate change and also
to the activist's shadow forum called Klimaforum. Luminaries were speaking at both events - Nobel laureate (Physics) and Energy Secretary Steven Chu spoke at the industry forum and
gave a convoluted Powerpoint about all the innovative research projects that DOE was supporting. He was articulate and came across as "knowing the stuff."
Continued on p. 6
One of many creative campaign posters from protesters at the Copenhagen conference.
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The Rubenstein School News
THE RUBENSTEIN SCHOOL IN ACTION
PUBLICATIONS
Mazet, J.A.K., Clifford, D.L., Coppolillo, P.B., Deolalikar, A.B., Erickson, J.D., Kazwala, R.R. 2009. A “One Health”
Approach to Address Emerging Zoonoses: The HALI Project in Tanzania. PLoS Med 6(12): e10000190.doi:10.1371/
journal.pmed.10000190
2010 NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL
CAMPUS COMPACT CONFERENCE
The 2010 New England Regional Campus
Compact Conference will be held in Burlington on April 13th and 14th. This
year’s conference will focus on how engaged learning strategies and practices can
enhance academic and civic outcomes,
meet important institutional goals and prepare students to become global problem
solvers. RSENR has involved with many
endeavors that align with the conference’s
themes and the School is well represented
at this year’s conference. Walter Poleman will present Ecology of Place: A Systems Approach to Service-Learning, Kim
DePasquale and the CUPS Office will
present Service Learning in the Engaged
Department: Tools for Revising the Curriculum to Enhance Learning Outcomes
and the Rubenstein School Stewards will
participate in the poster and panel Session
on curricular and co-curricular models for
student leadership and participation.
For more information on the conference,
or to register, visit:
http://
www.vtcampuscompact.org/necc/
RegionalConference.htm
The UVM Spatial Analysis Lab (SAL) recently completed tree canopy assessments for Jefferson County, WV
and Howard County, MD.
The Rubenstein School News
3
Interested in Ecological Education, Sustainability and
Diversity?
GET INVOLVED WITH SEEDS!
We are happy to announce that a chapter of the Ecological Society of America's
(ESA) SEEDS program has been established at UVM. SEEDS stands for Strategies
in Ecological Education, Diversity and Sustainability and is a joint effort between the
National Science Foundation (NSF), Andrew Mellon Foundation and the ESA.
This is an exciting opportunity for undergrads, grad students and faculty in all of
the environmentally related disciplines. Field trips, internships (including specific
NSF Research for Undergraduate opportunities), volunteering and community service, and funding to attend the annual conference in Pittsburgh from August 1-6,
2010 are available to SEEDS members. Applications for student travel grants are
open now until March 15. If you are interested in attending the conference, please
contact Samir Doshi at [email protected] for more information. Faculty can also apply as SEEDS partners for NSF grants and offer research positions to chapter members in other institutions.
The UVM chapter is an initiative co-sponsored by the RSENR Diversity Task Force,
Gund Institute for Ecological Economics and the Environmental Program. The first
infosession, held in February, was well attended, and we hope that many members of
our community will be involved in building a strong and active SEEDS chapter at
UVM.
Stephanie Lyons, the undergraduate point person for our new SEEDS chapter, will be
holding another information session on Wednesday, March 17th at 5:00 pm
in Aiken 105, so please plan to attend! Refreshments will be served. Please don’t
hesitate to contact Stephanie ([email protected]) with any questions!
You can find out more information about SEEDS at http://www.esa.org/seeds.
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The Rubenstein School News
FOCUS ON GRADUATE RESEARCH:
REBECCA STANFIELD MCCOWN
Rebecca Stanfield McCown is a PhD candidate
units have highly visible programs designed to engage
working in the Park Studies Laboratory and an emyouth of color and are located in diverse urban areas.
ployee of the National Park Service (NPS) ConservaWith programs ranging from 5th grade curriculumtion Study Institute (CSI). Working with the CSI has based education programs to career intake programs
enabled Rebecca to focus her research on addressing
for young adults, each park has made engaging youth
underrepresentation of people of color in national
of color a priority and a vital step in their efforts to
parks.
reach a broader, more diverse audience.
Underrepresentation of communities of color in
While visiting each park, Rebecca has interviewed
outdoor recreation and national parks is an increasingly park staff, personnel from partner organizations, prourgent issue for the NPS. As the NPS approaches its
gram participants and their families, teachers, coaches,
centennial in 2016, the agency is faced with the chaltribal leaders, and community members. These interlenge of remaining relevant to an ever changing U.S.
views provide an in-depth understanding of how the
population. One way to address this challenge is by
programs actively engage diverse youth, address needs
engaging diverse communities neighboring NPS units. of local communities, and foster a sense of ownership
The objectives of Rebecca’s research is to identify
and stewardship among participants. Rebecca hopes
promising practices for engaging communities of color this study will provide a better understanding of how
in national parks by examining successful efforts alparks, partners, and communities implement successful
ready in place in the NPS.
youth and outreach programs, and that this will ultiRebecca’s study is being conducted in two phases. mately help inform how programs are designed and
Phase one examined the current state of knowledge and implemented throughout the NPS.
learning needs of the NPS related to relevancy among
new and diverse audiences
through the use of qualitative interviews with NPS
staff and select individuals
outside the NPS. The findings from the interviews
were used to develop a
conceptual program theory
model based on key themes
for successful engagement.
The model focused on areas such as creating a welcoming NPS climate, using
new media and communication styles, increasing
workforce diversity, and
actively involving communities in park planning.
The second phase of
the study examines youth
programs at two NPS units,
Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area
and Boston Harbor Islands 5th graders tending to their native plants garden in the SHRUB program at Santa
National Park Area. Both Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
The Rubenstein School News
5
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ECOTOURISM IN COSTA RICA:
A WINTER BREAK TRAVEL STUDY COURSE
This January, during the winter break, fifteen students traveled
to Costa Rica with instructor Dave Kestenbaum. They spent two
weeks studying Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (RM
188 or NR 185), and earned 3 credits. Sophomore Joshua
Carrera describes his experience, and shares some of his photographs.
My travel study to Costa Rica was one of the best experiences that I've had here at UVM so far. It led me to
change my major and gave me insight into a field of
work that I would enjoy. Learning about sustainable
development and ecotourism through the eyes of stakeholders in Costa Rica was an incredible opportunity. It
was the kind of experience that I could never get in a
classroom. There were no PowerPoint or videos in this course. It
was all about taking what we were
learning throughout the day and
then reflecting critically. The
course assignments and readings
were also very fun and thought provoking. I am very grateful that my
group was assigned a project that
looked at how different forms of
capital (social, human, built capital,
etc.) build upon each other to create
communities. I was able to apply
what I learned from that project to the
experiences of the different stakeholders we met.
I think about my two week experience
in Costa Rica almost everyday. It is
for this reason that I plan to study
abroad for a full year. Dave Kestenbaum was an incredible professor
who I found very inspiring. I'll never
forget this course.
6
The Rubenstein School News
REFLECTIONS ON THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CONFERENCE CONTINUED...
However, I could also see
many on the other side of
the aisle saying "the Obama
administration is too professorial." He was quite vocal
in support of nuclear power
with a new generation of
reactors and indicated that
the waste problem "could be
solved" -- though no specifics were offered.
There was more of a focus
on energy efficiency technologies, conservation and
new ways of storing energy.
He mentioned that during a
recent visit to Norway he
A panel with Nobel peace laureate Wangaari Maathai
was impressed with the use
of solar and wind for hydropower pumping into reservoirs at an elevation from where electricity could be generated at peak times using hydropower. Also, geothermal building technologies for heat exchange were presented with great enthusiasm. Dr. Chu was clear about some
high-risk, high-reward strategies such as manganese-antimony cells and enzymes for harnessing biotic energy which DOE was also supporting.
At the activist's forum there was a presentation by famed Indian environmentalist Dr. Vandana
Shiva who spoke about a "Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security."
She continued with her usual anti-technology stance about farming and was championed by a
contingent from Italy where the government of Tuscany has been supporting her call for GMO
-free farming. According to Dr. Shiva, the Italian support stemmed from how activists were
shot at the trade talks in Genoa three years back. The Tuscans have also supported an ad hoc
"International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture" which has apparently been
adopted by more than 50 regional governments in Europe.
While I found myself agreeing with her concern about the estimated €350 billion subsidies for
agriculture worldwide versus a paltry €1.5 billion for adaptation to climate change that the
Europeans have pledged, her anti-technology stance was disturbing. She even dismissed biochar as an "industrial trick" of "carbon colonists." However, her supporters at the Klimaforum
were all applause. Debi Barker, often credited as the mind behind the Seattle anti-trade protests was also critical of Obama's plan and called for more protests and action.
Such meetings are often less about tangible action and more about networks and acting as
points of intersection between North and South, private and public, academic and nonacademic communities of interest.
Continued, next page...
The Rubenstein School News
7
While it is easy to be cynical about all the consultants, academics and entrepreneurs who scour
such events in search of contracts, these interactions are essential for many of the incremental
improvements in the larger schema of development and must not be trivialized.
Even if no meaningful agreement is reached on the larger politics of climate change, Copenhagen 2009 will be remembered for raising the level of engagement on this intractable issue to
an unprecedented level.
Climate change has brought together a host of issues linked to sustainable development which
have merit on their own. Planning for planetary energy needs, addressing deforestation and
biodiversity loss, emerging diseases and the predicament of long-forgotten small-island states
are all being brought to prominence through this lens. Climategate or other scandals about the
issue cannot obfuscate the salience of these issues regardless of the uncertainty about the impacts of global temperature change itself.
Thus Copenhagen should be viewed as an instrumental means of reconsidering a plethora of
sustainable development challenges with urgency in their own right.
The luncheon of Pakistani and Afghan environmental ministers to which Dr. Ali was
invited, along with Dr. Pachauri, chair of the IPCC. A new report on population and
climate change in Pakistan was showcased.
8
The Rubenstein School News
RSENR SPRING SEMINAR SERIES:
"SOLUTIONS" FOR THE GLOBAL
CLIMATE CRISIS
Climatologist James Hansen and colleagues have recently suggested that we must rapidly stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide, then bring its concentration back down to 350 parts per million. On October 24,
2009, millions of people in 181 countries around the world gathered to put world leaders on notice that it's
time to commit to the 350 ppm target. In this seminar series, speakers will discuss how "Getting to 350”
must entail building reinvigorated economic and political systems that improve well-being for the world’s
poorest and assure the most basic freedoms for all.
Bring your lunch and join us this
semester for The Rubenstein School
Spring Seminar Series on
Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
Aiken 104
On February 9, Rich Wolfson gave a talk on
“Understanding 350”. The number 350 has become a
rallying cry for climate activists. Most know that 350
refers to a proposed maximum safe concentration of
carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, measured in
parts per million. This talk focused on the science behind 350, summarizing the reasoning that led Jim Hansen and colleagues to propose a 350-ppm limit and Bill
McKibben to declare that 350 "may now be the most
important number on Earth."
Upcoming guest speakers include:
March 2, 2010 – Randy Kritkausky
“Journey to Addressing Climate Change: Traveling the Silk Route Versus Hitting the
Great Wall “
March 16, 2010 – Alan Betts
“Rules for Managing the Earth System”
Please visit the website for more information about the topics and speakers for this semester, and a link
to view video of the talks:
http://www.uvm.edu/rsenr/?q=spring-seminar-series
The Rubenstein School News
9
GREEN FLASH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS FEATURED ON
VERMONT PUBLIC TELEVISION
Vermont Public Television’s series “Emerging Science” recently
ran an episode on Ecological Economics. In light of the recent
failures of our financial system in the United States, our very own Bob Costanza
and Jon Erickson of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics explain the concepts of ecological economics. Ecological Economics is a different framework to
answer the age-old economic question: how do we allocate scarce resources to create alternative desirable ends?
The episode premiered on VPT on February 8th, but can be viewed anytime online
at: http://video.vpt.org/video/1409029473/#
Save the Date!
The Rubenstein School Annual
Community Celebration
Join your fellow students, faculty and staff on
Sunday, May 2nd
Details to Follow
HELP WANTED
The following is a sampling of positions listed at The Rubenstein School. Job postings are updated daily on the Job Board outside the Dean’s
office in the Aiken Center and weekly on the web at http://www.uvm.edu/envnr/?Page=employment/employmt.html. For further information contact: Marie Vea-Fagnant, Career Services Coordinator, 656-3003, email: [email protected]
Street, Woodstock, VT 05091. For further Duties assigned to an entry level Field
information please call (802) 457-3368 ext Technician may include, but are not limSeasonal park rangers sought at Marsh18.
ited to, one or more of the following as
Billings-Rockefeller National Historical
assigned and overseen by a Project ManPark, Woodstock, VT.
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is seek- ager or Senior Field Technician:
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National ing summer interns to work on trail pro Sample collection and field analysis
Historical Park is the first unit of the Na- jects alongside area land managers and
(air, soil, groundwater, water, and
tional Park Service to focus on the theme community volunteers in New York, Verbuilding materials).
of conservation history and the evolving
mont, Quebec, New Hampshire, and
nature of land stewardship in America.
Maine. To apply, email Walter Opuszyn-  Surveying (differential level & triangulation).
College students are eligible to be consid- ski, NFCT Trail Director, at walered for Seasonal Park Ranger/Summer
[email protected], or call
 Basic remediation systems (SVE, AS,
Intern positions under the Federal "Student (802) 496-2285 x.2
GWPT) installation and/or O&M.
Temporary" hiring authority. Interested
 Pilot/slug test (pump, AS, SVE, high
candidates should mail an up-to-date Re- BACHELOR’S DEGREE REQUIRED
vac., bio) data collection.
sume OR optional Application for Federal
 Remediation system component conEmployment, form number OF-612 (form Entry-level Environmental Field Technistruction and installation.
can be electronically downloaded from
cians south at Environmental Compliance
HTTP://WWW.USAjobs.OPM.GOV)
Services, Inc. (ECS)
And much more! To apply, E-Mail realong with an official college transcript.
sume and cover letter to [email protected],
Application materials should be mailed to ECS has hired a number of RSENR
Tim Maguire, Supervisory Park Ranger,
alumni and interns!
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP, 54 Elm
INTERNSHIPS
The UNIVERSITY of VERMONT
THE RUBENSTEIN SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT
AND NATURAL RESOURCES
George D. Aiken Center
81 Carrigan Drive
Burlington, VT 05405-0088