Call for the 4th Transdisciplinary Geoengineering Summer School at Harvard University from 5-10 August 2013

The fourth transdisciplinary geoengineering summer school will take place at Harvard University from 5 to 9 August this year.  The full Call for Applications will be distributed soon, but please save the date (and start your applications).

The school, which will focus on solar geoengineering, is open to graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and recently appointed faculty and researchers working in any applicable discipline. The number of participants is limited to 80.  To apply, please submit a short letter (300 words or less) covering your research interests and an explanation of relevance of this summer school to your research. We request a short letter of recommendation from applicants who have not attended a previous geoengineering summer school and whose research is in the early stages (that is Master’s students and PhD candidates in their 1st or 2nd years).

Cost
The summer school will cost $300 USD. This includes shared accommodation, all lunches and a banquet dinner.  Single accommodation will be available at a first-come-first serve basis for an additional $21/night. Please indicate on your application if you would like a single room.  Cost of travel is the responsibility of participants. Some scholarships will be available for participants who would otherwise not be able to attend, and a request for support should accompany the application in such circumstances. 

Application deadline
The US Department of State advises that visa applicants from many countries must now apply 3–4 months in advance of their travel date. Please check the U.S.Department of State website for information about travel to the USA and to verify whether you require a visa.  Due to processing times there is an early application deadline for those who need visas of 18 April 2013. The general application deadline is 01 May 2013.

Please contact Hollie Roberts with any questions (hroberts@seas.harvard.edu)

In Addition a message from Andy Parker 

I am helping to organise the school and just wanted to add in a note to everyone about deadlines. Even though the Call for Applications states a deadline of 18 April for those who need visas, we will continue to accept applications after that date. We would not want to miss out on a good candidate for the sake of a few days. The deadline was put in place in part to encourage early application and to draw attention to the long US visa application process.  Also note that experience working on geoengineering is not mandatory, we welcome applications from people working on relevant related disciplines.

Even if you can't make it to the summer school you might be interested in a forthcoming report on a series of meetings on geoengineering run by the African Academy of Sciences, which is due for release soon.

Best wishes,

Andy

Andy Parker

Research Fellow - Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Harvard Kennedy School

79 John F. Kennedy Street, Box 117

Cambridge, MA 02138

email address: aparker1@gmail.com

YES Session @ EGU: Geoethics and Natural Hazards

Hello everyone

Just a reminder about the YES session that is taking place NOW at the European Geoscience Union General Assembly (EGU), Viena, Austria.  If you're on site, join us in Room G7 and Online via FREE Webinar hosted by the AGI (register now through this link https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/702947129)!. You can follow the YES Network update on twitter @NetworkYES and also on our Facebook page

YES@EGU: FREE Webinar on Geoethics and natural hazards - The role and responsibility of the geoscientists

The YES Network will participate in the EGU 2013 through co-convening the NH9.8 session under the theme “Geoethics and natural hazards: the role and responsibility of the geoscientists”. During this session, an oral presentation will be given by the President of the YES Network, Meng Wang, about the YES perspective on Geoethics.

If you're participating to the EGU this year, feel free to join us in Room G7, on Tuesday 09^th April 2013, if you're not on site, you can join us online through a FREE webinar hosted by the AGI; registration can be done through the following link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/702947129 .

Below, detailed programme for this session:

======================================================================
Chairperson: Susan Kieffer and Silvia Peppoloni
Geoethical implications in the L'Aquila earthquake case

08:30–08:45 : The L'Aquila trial

Alessandro Amato, Massimo Cocco, Giovanna Cultrera, Fabrizio Galadini, Lucia Margheriti, Concetta Nostro, and Daniela Pantosti

08:45–09:00 : Lessons from the conviction of the L'Aquila seven: The standardprobabilistic earthquake hazard and risk assessment is ineffective (solicited)

Max Wyss

09:00–09:15 : The Role of Geoethics in Geohazards Mitigation: A YES NetworkPerspective

Meng wang, Amel Barich, and Silvia Peppoloni               

09:15–09:30 : The Value, Protocols, and Scientific Ethics of Earthquake Forecasting(solicited)

Thomas H. Jordan

09:30–09:45: Communicatinguncertainty: managing the inherent probabilistic character of hazard estimates

Dario Albarello

09:45–10:00 :The challenge of Risk Communication: an Australian perspective

Valentina Koschatzky, Katharine Haynes, and John McAnene

COFFEE BREAK
Chairperson: Silvia Peppoloni and Janusz Wasowski
Hazards mitigation: a geoethical perspective

10:30–10:45 : Stealth Disasters and Geoethics (solicited)

Susan W. Kieffer

10:45–11:00: Natural Hazards in Earth Science education projects

Elena Ferrero and Alessandra Magagna

11:00–11:15: Theimportance of professional skills alongside scientific and technical excellenceto underpin ethical geoscience practice

Ruth Allington and Isabel Fernandez-Fuentes

11:15–11:30: Warningand prevention based on estimates with large uncertainties: the case oflow-frequency and large-impact events like tsunamis

Stefano Tinti, Alberto Armigliato, Gianluca Pagnoni, and Filippo Zaniboni

11:30–11:45 : Communicating natural hazards. The case of marine extreme events andthe importance of the forecast's errors.

Eduardo Marone and Ricardo Camargo

11:45–12:00: Pitfallsof negationist approach in communicating induced seismicity hazard in Italy

Marco Mucciarelli

For the session link at the EGU please see the following link http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2013/orals/11853

Earth Hour 2013

Earth hour has become one of the global activities of raising awareness about climate change and protecting the planet. For the past  six years, earth hour has created a collective impact in over 130 countries pledging support for this initiative. It has become a unique way of getting individual, organizations and corporate to get involved and do something sustainable for the environment. 

This year earth hour will take place tomorrow 23rd March 2013, at 8:30 pm. I would like to challenge you to get involved and please do share with us your experience of the earth hour by emailing us and will share your story with the rest of the YES members. 

 For more information about  earth hour visit earth hour website.

Day for Earth Sciences in Africa and the Middle East

The African Association of Women in Geosciences and African Geoparks Network  are proclaiming the 20th March as a “Day for Earth Sciences in Africa and the Middle East”.

Why the 20th March?

Equinoxes have been celebrated in cultures all over the world. In the northern hemisphere the March equinox marks the start of spring and has long been celebrated as a time of rebirth. The 20th March corresponds to the March equinox where night and day are nearly of the same length all over the world. However, even if this is widely accepted, it isn't entirely true. The March equinox occurs the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator from south to north. This happens either on March 19, 20 or 21 every year. In that way, the activities, related to the “Day for Earth Sciences in Africa and Middle East”, could be extended on the 19th and the 21st March."

Objectives of the Day
The day aims to promote Earth Sciences for Society and to increase the awareness about the role that earth scientists could play to help to build a peaceful, healthier and wealthier continent.

Activities:
Conferences, seminars, courses, presentations, field trips, exhibitions, films, games, visits of Earth Sciences departments…etc It is up to you to create and innovate in order to answer the need of your respective societies.

Target public
Pupils from primary and secondary schools, students from universities, policy makers, large public, potential partners and sponsors…all the components of your respective societies.

Partners
Include: YES Network and Society of African Earth Scientists

Climate Change Infographics

Our today's post is from our guest writer Allison Lee, who will be discussing about the climate change and possible impact

Thanks to extensive research and noticeable changes in weather and storm prevalence, it’s getting harder to turn a blind eye to the reality of climate change. Since the Industrial Age spurred the increasing usage of fossil fuels for energy production, the weather has been warming slowly. In fact, since 1880, the temperature of the earth has increased by 1 degree Celsius.

Although 72% of media outlets report on global warming with a skeptical air, the overwhelming majority of scientists believe that the extreme weather of the last decade is at least partially caused by global warming. Some examples of climate calamities caused partly by global warming include:
Hurricane Katrina
Drought in desert countries
Hurricane Sandy
Tornadoes in the Midwest

These storms, droughts, and floods are causing death and economic issues for people all over the world – many of whom cannot afford to rebuild their lives from the ground up after being wiped out by a tsunami or other disaster.

Evidence also indicates that the face of the Earth is changing because of warming trends. The ice caps of the Arctic are noticeably shrinking, the ice cap of Mt. Kilimanjaro alone has shrunk by 85% in the last hundred years, and the sea levels are rising at the rate of about 3 millimeters per year because of all the melting ice. Climate change is also affecting wildlife – for instance, Arctic polar bears are at risk of losing their environment; the Golden Toad has gone extinct; and the most adaptable species are evolving into new versions capable of withstanding warmer water.

Despite some naysayers with alternative theories about why global temperatures are rising – including the idea that the earth goes through natural temperature cycles every few millennia – the dramatic changes in the earth’s atmospheric makeup suggests humans are to blame. In fact, 97% of scientists agree humans are responsible for climate change. Since the Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide levels increased 38% because of humans, methane levels have increased 148%, nitrous oxide is up 15% – and the list goes on and on, all because of human-instigated production, manufacturing, and organizations and individuals work hard to promote an Earth-friendly existence, resistance to change is rampant and actions are slow. For instance, while the US Environmental Protection Agency is still working on collecting data to support development of greenhouse gas reduction expectations for businesses, most of their efforts feel more like pre-research than actual change. Other countries have made efforts – such as signing to Kyoto Protocol to reduce their 1990 emission levels by 18% by 2020 – but the only solution will require the whole world band together.

Steps anyone can take to reduce global warming include:
Driving a car with good gas mileage, or investing in a hybrid or electric car
Switching from incandescent light bulbs to CFL or LED
Insulating your home and stocking it with energy efficient appliances
Recycling
Using green power available in your area

Check out the infographic below to see what else the changing climate is affecting.

Created by:learnstuff.com

Engineer your Earth competition

The UNESCO Engineering Initiative and Earth Science Education in Africa Initiative propose this competition to bring together creative young African innovators from engineering and the Earth Science fields to propose concrete new solutions to major environmental challenges facing sustainable development which they identify in their communities.

who: diverse teams of up to three young (ages 18 – 30) African engineers, geologists, hydrologists, scientists, policy makers, creative-thinkers, problem-solvers.

what: proposal identifying a major challenge to sustainable development in Africa and suggesting a concrete science and engineering based solution on the ground. The best proposals will reflect the applicants’ personal challenges and experiences and could range from issues related to mining, natural hazards, drinking water, sanitation and more.  Proposals should be realizable!

when: 2-page proposals in English are due to UNESCO (engineeryourearth@unesco.org) by 1 February 2013.

prize: participation in the Engineer your Earth side event at the Science and Engineering Fair in Nsukka, Nigeria from 26 to 29 March 2013 with 2 days to refine the proposal in consultation with expert mentors, and the opportunity to present the proposal to Fair sponsors (INTEL, IEEE, ASME, Microsoft) for funding

partners: Young and early career Earth Scientists (YES) Network, Youth Committee of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, Engineers without Borders, Geoscientists without Borders, South African women in Engineering (SAWomEng), Association of African Women in Geosciences, WFEO Youth Committee.