Ams Meetings Go More Green

LETTER FROM HEADQUARTERS AMS MEETINGS GO MORE GREEN any of us who chose professions in the atmo- ing with the already contracted hotels and convention spheric and related sciences can look back to centers to adjust our plans and choose options to Man event when we experienced the power of allow those meetings to also be more green. nature—a tornado, hurricane, blizzard, flood, etc.—as The report from an ad hoc committee study- the spark that lit our interest in this career path. The ing green meetings that was presented to the AMS respect we all develop for nature's potential fury Council this fall included 28 specific recommendations. typically goes hand in hand with a respect for nature Among the strategies that will now be employed in in general, so a large percentage of us in the fields these increased efforts are: covered by the AMS have a deep concern for protect- ing the environment. Many of us were "green" long • For all goods procured for the meeting, prefer- before that term came into broad use. ence will be given to the most environmentally The AMS has, for many years, tried to exercise appropriate alternatives that are available at a environmentally friendly practices when planning and reasonable price and are locally produced. There executing its meetings where opportunities to do so is a willingness to pay more to be environmentally were available, but this fall the AMS Council endorsed responsible. a plan to be much more proactive in those efforts. • Attendees will be provided with options to offset As a result, more energy will go into planning and their transportation-related emissions at the time executing meetings with lower environmental impacts, of registration. from reducing the waste going to landfills to decreas- • Measures will be taken to reduce paper waste at ing the "carbon footprint" for the meeting. These check-in (e.g., short registration forms, computer- considerations will extend even to the site-selection ized systems). process, especially for the specialty meetings that oc- • Recycling and composting systems will be in place cur throughout the year. The AMS bid specifications with convenient and well-marked receptacles. now include our intention to plan green meetings, and a venue's responsiveness to this request will be given We view these efforts as being important for the weight when making the final choice of venue. impact they will have on the environment, but we We have much less flexibility in choosing locations also feel that taking these steps in a very visible man- for the AMS Annual Meeting, and those venues are ner represents an opportunity to educate meeting contracted many years in advance. Many of us have attendees, and ourselves, on environmentally respon- been stunned at the lack of something as simple as re- sible approaches. As such, we will also be providing cycling bins at some of the convention centers hosting information to attendees on ways they can reduce the Annual Meeting, even as recently as just the past their personal impact on the environment as they few years. We are finding, however, that both hotels participate in the meeting. As noted elsewhere in this and convention centers are now becoming more issue, a special town hall meeting on green meetings environmentally conscious. This is a very welcome will occur at the Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and development that will make it easier to implement a "green team" will be circulating at the meeting to green initiatives at all AMS meetings. We will be work- answer questions on this AMS initiative. AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY UnauthenticatedNOVEMBE | DownloadedR 2007 10/09/21 BANS' I09:14 1811 PM UTC Meetings that draw our community together for I hope you will support these efforts and consider face-to-face interactions are extremely important implementing some of the suggested personal actions in allowing our science and services to continue to coming from this initiative. progress, but they also result in a significant use of energy and materials. With all of us taking appropriate measures, we can continue to have highly effective meetings while at the same time helping to ensure KEITH L. SEITTER, CCM that our efforts bring the maximum benefit to society. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POLICY PROGRAM NOTES AN EXCITING YEAR ON CAPITOL HILL AMIDST A CHANGING CLIMATE ithout quite realizing it at the time, I made Meanwhile, recent decades of advancements in the a life-changing decision by stepping out of geophysical and biological sciences have dramatically Wthe climate research lab and into the policy outpaced the policies that are needed to address the en- fray when I accepted a Congressional Science and vironmental problems brought to light by this research. Technology Policy Fellowship. My fellowship was Fortunately, with energy bills having recently passed cosponsored by the AMS and the University Corpo- through both houses of Congress and greenhouse gas ration for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), and the emissions regulations under active and serious consid- program is administered by the American Associa- eration, science is playing an increasing role in shaping tion for the Advancement of Science. I spent the past how new policies are written and enforced. For ex- year working on Capitol Hill for a member of the U.S. ample, in order for ethanol production incentives to be Congress, learning about the political process and climate-friendly, they should be written with built-in trying to move America's energy and environmental science-based protocols for greenhouse gas emissions policies in a more sustainable direction. accounting throughout the fuel life cycle of cultivation, In retrospect, I should have known how far I would harvesting, processing and consumption. stray from the lab when I started taking breaks from Science also directly informs the complicated completing my dissertation to make volunteer con- matter of how future climate change is most likely to tributions—along with many other scientists—to the affect us in our daily lives. The Intergovernmental Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment report, orga- Panel on Climate Change recently reported to policy nized by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). makers that "it is very likely that hot extremes, heat My first clue came when the UCS was hosting one of waves, and heavy precipitation events will continue their first working group meetings and I approached to become more frequent." Yet, for over seven years a receptionist to ask for directions to the conference the federal government's coordinating body for sci- rooms. The woman behind the counter knew it before entific research—the Climate Change Science Pro- I did: "Are you a concerned scientist?" she asked. gram (CCSP)—has not produced any policy-relevant Somewhat amused by the question, I smiled and documents on the subject of regional climate change responded, "I'm actually very concerned." impacts or adaptation. This September, the National Without a doubt, America still has a very long way Research Council reported that local government to go in confronting the threat of anthropogenic cli- officials, water resource managers, and farmers are mate change, and our energy-use habits provide many not well integrated into the CCSP's research priorities. examples of this truism. For one, despite decades of The panel concluded that "[d]iscovery science and continued growth in the solar and wind industries, U.S. understanding of the climate system are proceeding consumption of electricity from nonhydro renewable well, but use of that knowledge to support decision- resources has remained below 2%. We also still rely on making and to manage risks and opportunities of oil to fuel all but 3% of our transportation needs. climate change is proceeding slowly." 1812 1 BAF15* NOVEMBER 2007 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/09/21 09:14 PM UTC Nevertheless, there are more reasons for optimism policy. This helps to explain the growing membership than many of us realize. The first bit of good news of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (U.S. CAP), is that several solutions to the climate challenge which now consists of dozens of major automobile are actually very popular. For example, Americans manufacturers, oil companies, utilities, and envi- support renewable sources of energy. According ronmental groups. All of them are at the table and to a 2005 Yale University poll, 86% of us think the committed to the common goal of avoiding danger- U.S. government should do more to expand our use ous levels of climate change. In fact, the entire U.S. of these technologies to fuel our homes, cars and CAP membership has unanimously agreed that an businesses. Less wasted energy saves money, while economy-wide cap-and-trade program should be large-scale investments in solar, wind, geothermal, established with aggressive greenhouse-gas emis- and even wave power technologies can help improve sions reductions targets. The group also agrees that air and water quality, protect human health, increase the United States must take the lead, regardless of energy security, and, as an added benefit, create commitments made by other nations. domestic jobs. Finally, a word of unsolicited advice to my fellow I often get asked if the U.S. Congress is really se- climate and weather scientists: I strongly encourage rious about considering mandatory greenhouse gas you to get involved with developing practical solu- emissions regulations. There is definitely momentum tions to the climate challenge, if you feel so inclined. in this direction, with state houses from Sacramento In academia, there are great opportunities to con- to Montpelier taking the lead in advancing climate- tribute by engaging with water resource managers friendly regulations like greater vehicle fuel efficien- and local farmers through extension programs, or by cy, low carbon transportation fuel requirements, and contributing to policy-relevant scientific assessments.

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