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Alumni Home > Learning & Travel > Learning

Washington Seminar Series

Annual Seminar Series

The Great Climate Change Debate

October 2007 through March 2008

Kenwood Country Club
5601 River Road
Bethesda, MD

The MIT Club of Washington is pleased to present its 26th annual Seminar Series on an important national topic related to science and technology. Each year, the series offers engineers, scientists, industry leaders, policy makers, and educators an opportunity to explore a specific topic in depth. Those both within and outside the Washington area MIT community gain the opportunity to develop a better understanding of recent developments and key issues.

Presentations by distinguished speakers are followed by ample time for questions and discussion. The social hour and dinner provide additional opportunities to meet the speakers, renew acquaintances, and join in stimulating discussions with other participants.

One of the most controversial policy debates in contemporary US society is on the issue of climate change. The complexity of the debate stems from the mix of scientific, economic, and political issues that interact at all phases of the conversation. The contention is enhanced by the tendency of people on all sides to denigrate the motives, competence, and integrity of those with whom they disagree. This is compounded by the difficulty of achieving clarity either in specialized policy forums or the mass media resulting from the intricacy of the issues and the difficulty of framing understandable analytical questions.

This Seminar Series will define the basic issues in the discussion in order to provide a framework for thinking about the problems and understanding the public debate about global climate change. We will focus on exploring some basic questions:

What is the nature of the science in the development of positions on climate change, i.e., how do we know what we know?
What are the key contentions in the debate and what are the bases for their claims?
What are the economic consequences of both action and inaction?
What are the underlying political positions that lead people to accept or reject the implications of the climate change debate?
What is the role of scientific paradigms in influencing scientists to accept or reject the assumptions and implications in the climate change debate?

Tuesday, October 2, 2007	The Nature of the Debate Antonio J. Busalacchi Director, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland When science meets controversy in the public policy arena, both the science and the policy can become transformed. When this occurs, it is essential to have a guide who can sort out the essential items of each. Professor Busalacchi is uniquely positioned to provide this guidance as a result of his experience as Chair of the National Academy of Sciences' Climate Research Committee combined with his work as Chief of the NASA/Goddard Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes in the 1990s and since 2000 as Director of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) at the University of Maryland College Park.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007	The Science of Climate Change--How Knowledge is Created and Evaluated Peter H. Stone Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, MIT One of the sources of contention in the climate change debate is the difficult way that contemporary climate science is carried out. The interaction between computer models (at different time and space scales) with data and theory (often developed for other purposes) has rendered the chains of induction and deduction complex and, for some people, problematic. Professor Stone will help us understand the sources, strengths, and weaknesses of scientific knowledge in this area.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007	Challenges to the Consensus: Evidence and Findings S. Fred Singer Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science, The University of Virginia While there is a developing consensus on the nature and causes of climate change, there is also a community of scientists which rejects that consensus. Professor Singer is a leader among those who have emphasized natural factors over anthropogenic causes to explain global warming. An atmospheric physicist, he is a former director of the US Weather Satellite Service.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008	The Findings and Forecasts of the Climate Change Scientists Ronald G. Prinn TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Director, Center for Global Change Science, MIT One of the most difficult aspects of the debate is the number and complexity of the claims that go into the consensus conclusions. Professor Prinn will sort out these claims and help us understand the strengths and limitations of the most important positions and the science and modeling that was used to develop the positions. Prof. Prinn is a long-time researcher in climate change and has chaired many international and U.S. scientific organizations in the field.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008	The Economics of Climate Change Henry D. Jacoby Professor of Management and Co-Director, Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, MIT Some of the most important aspects of the debate are the consequences to the U.S. and the world if the consensus forecasts actually come to pass. Policy-makers in this area also need to understand the costs of action (and inaction) to change the future to moderate the predicted effects. Professor Jacoby will talk about some of the areas where climate change and amelioratory policies will have a significant economic effect.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008	The Future of the Climate Change Debate Andrew C. Revkin Environment and Science Reporter, The New York Times The climate change debate will continue to be a key point of contention in American society and politics. With a presidential election on the horizon and clear distinctions among candidates on the issues presented in this Seminar Series, we are well advised to understand where the debate will be taking us in the next year or two. Mr. Revkin will talk about how the debate is likely to develop in this highly charged environment.

SCHEDULE

The October session meets on the first Tuesday of the month, the January session meets on the third Tuesday, and the remaining sessions meet on the second Tuesday.

Each session begins at 6:15 p.m. with a cash bar, followed by dinner at 7:00, and the seminar from approximately 8:00 to 9:30.

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING

Each of the seminar sessions will be held at the Kenwood Country Club, 5601 River Road, Bethesda, MD.

From the Beltway (I-495), use Exit 39, River Road. Go toward Washington, continue 2.8 miles. At the Springfield Drive stoplight turn left into Kenwood CC. There is plenty of free parking in the lots left and rear of the clubhouse.

From D.C., take Massachusetts Ave. NW to Westmoreland Circle at the DC line, turn right onto Western Avenue, turn left onto River Road. Proceed to 5601 and turn right into Kenwood Club.

Using mass transit take the Metro Red Line to Friendship Heights, then take the nine minute ride on the T2 Metrobus that leaves the station at 5:35, 5:57, and 6:15.

For more specific driving directions visit maps.google.com.

REGISTRATION AND COST

Register and pay by check using the coupon below. Or register online and pay by credit card using SmarTrans. Registrations will be accepted for the complete series only, although spaces are transferable for individual sessions.
Club Partners may register via e-mail to Ray Daniels to raphaeldaniels@alum.mit.edu. Registrations must be received by September 28. Please note that SmarTrans does not do refunds, so there will be no refunds or credits if you pay by SmarTrans and cannot attend the series. Federal employees may submit an approved SF-182 for payment.

The series is open to MIT alums, their guests, and all others interested in the topic. Reservations will be accepted in the order received. Register early to avoid disappointment from oversubscription.

The cost of the series is $268 per person for members/guests and $300 for non-members, including dinner each session.
Registration Form (PDF)

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about this event, contact Ken Gordon at 301-469-9240 or kengordon@alum.mit.edu.

STEERING COMMITTEE

General Chairman
Dr. Kenneth Gordon

Program Committee
Dr. Michael R. Leavitt
Mr. Ray Daniels
Dr. Robert Hershey
Mr. Robert L. Plouffe
Mr. Martin Rush
Dr. Robert Summers

Treasurer
Mr. Mark Joseph

Registration
Mr. Ray Daniels

Publicity
Dr. Robert Hershey