Science & Justice Working Group Meeting
November 27, 2012, 4:00-6:00pm
Engineering 2, Rm. 599
Panelists:
Ruth Langridge: Legal Studies/ Politics Department, UCSC
Lori Pottinger: International Rivers Network
Bruce Daniels: Earth and Planetary Sciences, UCSC; Soquel Water District Board of Directors
Decades of anti-dam activism around the world have generated a greater public awareness of the social and ecological consequences of large dams. But urbanization and increasing fears over the hydrologic effects of climate change have slowed this anti-dam momentum. Climate models play a crucial role in the decision-making process, meaning that an understanding of the limits and possibilities of these models is more important than ever. This event addresses this problem by bringing together a water policy analyst, an advocate for healthy rivers, and a climate modeler to explore the relationship between hydrologic climate modeling and regional water resource planning. The event will explore how data are constructed, analyzed, and used to make water resource planning decisions; what challenges arise in this process for scientists, policy makers, and everyday people in affected watersheds; and what possibilities for social and environmental justice arise from a better understanding of these factors.
We will hear from Ruth Langridge, an expert on water law and policy in the Politics and Legal Studies Departments at UCSC; Lori Pottinger, an advocate for healthy rivers with the International Rivers Network in Berkeley; and Bruce Daniels, a PhD Candidate working on hydroclimatology in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at UCSC and a member of the Soquel Water District Board of Directors. The event will explore how data are constructed, analyzed, and used to make water resource planning decisions; what challenges arise in this process for scientists, policy makers, and everyday people in affected watersheds; and what possibilities for social and environmental justice arise from a better understanding of these factors.
Co-Sponsored by the UCSC Department of Anthroplogy