media
Peter Gleick, double standards, and faith in science: Lessons for communicating climate issues?
26/02/12 09:49
The leadership of progressive thinking about water and climate has taken a major hit in the past ten days with the public shaming of Peter Gleick. Many of you are probably familiar with Gleick, founder and head of the Pacific Institute, but if not, Gleick is the closest that the water community has ever had to a “face.” Gleick never pretended to represent all of the water community — he didn’t champion WASH issues, for instance, and his discussions of water issues in the developing world and climate change adaptation around water have often been somewhat simplistic. But he has been an incredibly effective champion of issues for the energy-water nexus (the connections between energy generation of all kinds and water consumption, and the high energy costs of moving water, both virtual and real water). He has also been extraordinary in communicating to corporations about water issues, even corporations whose work is not obviously and directly connected to water. More generally, the Pacific Institute has served as a very effective communications hub for global water issues.
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Water Hackathon!
26/09/11 07:34
WaterHackathon Asks: What’s Your Problem?
In search of new ideas and solutions to water and sanitation problems, the World Bank and Water and Sanitation Program, in collaboration with NASA and Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), are reaching out to new partners. WaterHackathon will convene teams of software developers, programmers and designers to solve (“hack”) technical challenges facing the water sector as defined in advance by the water community. The global event will take place simultaneously October 21 - 23 at multiple sites, including Bangalore, Cairo, Kampala, London, Nairobi, Tel Aviv, and Washington, DC.
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In search of new ideas and solutions to water and sanitation problems, the World Bank and Water and Sanitation Program, in collaboration with NASA and Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), are reaching out to new partners. WaterHackathon will convene teams of software developers, programmers and designers to solve (“hack”) technical challenges facing the water sector as defined in advance by the water community. The global event will take place simultaneously October 21 - 23 at multiple sites, including Bangalore, Cairo, Kampala, London, Nairobi, Tel Aviv, and Washington, DC.
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Communicating adaptation: The triumph of personal hope?
05/11/10 13:23
Several times on this blog, I’ve provided anecdotes on the tensions around communicating climate change to diverse audiences, especially about how to prepare our families, communities, and societies for additional climate change impacts. Often, the conflicts around messaging are about how to communicate hope for immediate action to create a more positive future relative to trying to frighten people with negative futures into “acting right.”
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Meet the Press
23/08/08 05:12
World Water Week in Stockholm is very policy oriented. This year, much of the focus was on sanitation, but two days were spent in a series of linked symposia on water and climate. Talks ranged from more details on emerging climate impacts with the IPCC’s new technical report on water and climate to regional and local adaptation strategies and tactics. Easily two of the most novel experiences for me as a scientist were interacting with the press as an “adaptation expert” and holding some introductory climate adaptation conversations with two international development banks. I’ll write more about the banks later, but the media interaction was a good if difficult experience. Read More...
NEWS: Freshwater Climate Adaptation Primer
15/08/08 08:02
Just published online today, the ides of August, is a flyer for policymakers and water resource managers that I wrote with a good friend and colleague. Intended as a primer on climate change and freshwater conservation and economic development, it’s an introduction to some of the basic of my work. Read More...
