Events
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Past Events at The Nicholas Institute

  • Climate Legislation and Alternatives
    Tim Profeta, Director of the Nicholas Institute
    Friday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m.

    Tim will give an update on where things stand with climate legislation before Congress, and he will introduce some work the Nicholas Institute has done recently on containing costs from climate legislation, including analysis of provisions on offsets, allowance price containment, and the competitiveness of domestic industry. Tim will also talk about some of the policy alternatives to addressing climate change if climate legislation is not enacted.

  • International Water Resources Management: Adaptation, Health, and Food Security
    Peter McCornick
    Friday, Sept. 25, 10 a.m.
    LSRC A158

    view event powerpoint slides (pdf) >

    schedule of presentations >

    Abstract: The presentation will include an overview of the emerging issues in water resources management in Asia and Africa, where each country is faced with its own particular water-related challenges that are determined by the present conditions, and a broad set of drivers beyond the water sector, including climate change and the growing demand for energy and food. We will present the strategic focus of the Nicholas Institute’s international water program which is focused broadly on the intersecting challenges of water management and adaptation to changing circumstances, including climate change; securing water supply and sanitation; and managing water for agriculture and food security. We will also provide details of on-going activities in South and South East Asia, and our engagement in understanding and facilitating the relevant policy, strategy and decision making environments at the national, regional and international levels. Finally, we will explore opportunities for collaborative research and other activities in these regions.
  • Saturday, December 6, 2008 - Side Event at COP14, Poznan - The Future of REDD - The Bali Action Plan, The EU-ETS and the Coming US Carbon Market
    Resources for the Future, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei invite you attend and expert’s discussion of the future of REDD focusing on negotiations to include forest carbon in a post 2012 UNFCCC regime, the current European Commission view pertaining to the inclusion of forest credits in the EU-ETS, and the likelihood REDD will be included in a new U.S. carbon market.
  • Saturday, December 6, 2008 - US Government Perspectives on Climate Change and Forests - Side Event at Forest Day 2 in Poznan Poland
    US government action on federal climate policy could move forward rapidly under the leadership of a new President and administration. The US Congress has introduced cap-and-trade bills that could have enormous implications for the climate, international policy momentum, the integration and growth of the carbon market and engagement of developing countries. Some bills have included specific language on funds or markets for international forest carbon or REDD, as well as the inclusion of domestic forest carbon in an offset program. This session will convene executive branch government officials central to US climate and forest policy, legislative branch staff of Senators and Representatives who are leaders on climate policy, and invites advisers to the incoming administration, and academic experts to discuss their insights into the US process on climate change and international forest carbon as it moves into high gear in the US.
  • Thursday, October 30, 2008 - Perspectives on Environmental Management, Lyons Gray, Chief Financial Officer, US Environmental Protection Agency
    Lyons Gray was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served in the United States Coast Guard.  Mr. Gray joined R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1967, where he worked for twelve years before going into business for himself.

    Mr. Gray was appointed to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1989 representing Forsyth County.  Following his appointment, he was elected to that position for six consecutive terms (in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000).  He retired from office in December 2002 after 14 years of public service. He was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the Chief Financial Officer of the US Environmental Protection Agency in September 2005. He was confirmed by the US Senate in October, 2005 and was sworn in to this office in mid-October of 2005.  
  • Friday, October 24, 2008 - Virginia's Comprehensive Strategy to Clean Up the Chesapeake Bay
    The Chesapeake Bay Program is a multi-governmental, interstate, cooperative partnership that includes the states of Virginia; Pennsylvania; Maryland; Washington, D.C.; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representing the federal government. The Department of Environmental Quality works with other state agencies, local governments, and citizens in the following general areas: nutrient point source reduction, toxic substance reduction, and a monitoring program.
  • Monday, October 20, 2008 - Choices and Voices: Activating the Climate Conscious Consumer
    Climate Counts brings consumers and companies together to tackle climate change. We score companies annually on the basis of their voluntary climate actions: the higher the score, the higher the commitment. The Climate Counts Company Scorecard, launched in June 2007, helps people vote with their dollars by making climate-conscious purchasing and investing choices that put pressure on the world's most well-known companies to take the issue of climate change seriously. Supported by organics pioneer Stonyfield Farm and based in New Hampshire, Climate Counts believes everyday consumers can be the most important activists in the fight against global warming.
    For more information, visit their website: www.climatecounts.org
  • Friday, April 25, 2008 - Clinton and Obama on the Environment
    Dan Utech, environmental advisor for Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Jason Grumet, environmental advisor for Sen. Barack Obama, discuss the Democratic presidential candidates’ positions on environmental issues.
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  • Friday, April 11, 2008 - Carbon Offsets:  Opportunities and Challenges for State Carbon Trading Schemes
    The Environmental Law Program at Harvard Law School, the Harvard University Center on Environment, and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University held a day-long conference focused on the design of carbon trading schemes, with particular attention to offsets.
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  • Thursday, April 3, 2008 - Corporate Sustainability Panel and Book Reading
    A panel discussion with industry leaders followed by a book reading by Fred Krupp
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  • Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - Gubernatorial Candidates Forum on Water
    The forum, “The Future of the Water in North Carolina,” was held in 500-seat Griffith Film Theater in the Bryan Student Center on Duke’s main campus.
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  • Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - Managing Costs in a U.S. GHG Trading Program: Issues, Options, and Implementation  
    Resources for the Future
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  • Wednesday, December 19th - Durham Drought Forum
    An informal, roundtable discussion among the top commercial, industrial, and institutional water customers in Durham and how they have been reducing water usage to meet goals and restrictions.
  • Tuesday, November 6th - Seminar with Stephen Faulkner, Research Ecologist, USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Evaluating Conservation Practices and Restoration of Ecosystem Services in the Lower Mississippi Valley: Science and Resource Management Challenges

  • Wednesday, October 24th - Brown Bag Lunch with TNC's Jeff Opperman: Integrating environmental flows into water management and policy
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  • Friday, October 5th - Complete Seafood Symposium
    Sponsored by the Nicholas Institute, The Green Wave and Duke Fish
  • July 21, 2007-- Linking air pollution, climate change, and human health: management of ozone air pollution by reducing methane emissions, a seminar by J. Jason West, UNC-Chapel Hill
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  • July 18-19, 2007-- D.C. Symposium Aims to De-mystify Economic Models
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  • June 29, 2007-- "Role of Efficiency Resources in State Energy and Climate Policy," a seminar by Dr. Neal Elliot, American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy
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  • June 15, 2007 - Institute for Emerging Issues Energy Calculator: Demonstration and Discussion
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  • May 17, 2007 - Seminars with Fred Keeley, Treasurer of Santa Cruz County, California
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  • March 5-8, 2007 - Forestry and Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Modeling Forum
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  • March 1, 2007- “The Future of Water in North Carolina: Strategies for Sustaining Abundant and Clean Water”
    conference web site >
  • Jan 18, 2007- “Don’t Be Such a Scientist” -- A seminar and video presentation by evolutionary biologist turned filmmaker Randy Olson
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  • Nov. 29, 2006 - Workshop on environmental peace building, Duke University
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  • Nov. 16, 2006 -- Launch of the Institute's Washington, D.C. Office -- Mellon Auditorium, Washington, D.C.
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  • Sept. 27, 2006 -- The Robertson Scholar Program Buses: A cost-benefit analysis of existing technology and fuel options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
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  • Sept. 25, 2006 --Marine Fisheries Management: What We Need to Know-- Rayburn House Office Building, Washington D.C.
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  • Sept. 22, 2006 -- Round Table: For Security's Sake: Can the U.S. Help Petroleum-Rich Nations Avoid the Resource Curse? -- Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. 
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  • June 29, 2006-- Washington DC Congressional briefing: Climate change and Tropical Forests - Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room SD-456
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  • April 25, 2006-- Understanding Acoustic Impacts on Marine Mammals - panel discussions 2:30 p.m. Love Auditorium
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  • April 24, 2006 -- Congressional briefing on Ecosystem Based Management of our ocean resources
  • March 9, 2006 --Press and Hill Briefings on International Water