A New Year’s Resolution for a New National Dialogue on Climate Change
Houston, TX (PRWEB) January 09, 2014 -- ClimateChangeNationalForum.org, a “go to” website for the American public to learn about climate change, is making its debut today. The blog, forum, and fact checker platform will feature an ongoing and open dialogue on climate change by scientists, experts, and policy makers. The Climate Change National Forum (CCNF) project is being led by Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon—Texas State Climatologist and Regents Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University, Dr. Barry Lefer—Associate Chair of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston, and Tracy Hester—law faculty and former Director of the Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Center at the University of Houston Law Center.
“As the Texas State Climatologist, I am often asked if there is an objective source where laymen can learn about climate science. We want CCNF to be that source. Additionally, I think the public can benefit tremendously from seeing how scientists think and reason. We ask them to trust our collective scientific wisdom without the opportunity to see how we evaluate conflicting or flawed evidence and develop judgments. Through CCNF, they will be able to follow our reasoning,” said Dr. Nielsen-Gammon.
The site will first be used by scientists to discuss the latest research on climate change and to share and debate aspects of climate change relevant to policy making. These scientists will also fact check claims being made in the news media.
CCNF’s growing community of science columnists include: Dr. Kerry Emanuel—Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. John Anderson—W. Ewing Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Shell Center for Sustainability at Rice University; Dr. Jim Bouldin—research ecologist and contributor to RealClimate.org; Dr. Bart Verheggen—atmospheric scientist and founder of the blog “Our Changing Climate;” Prof. Mauri Pelto—glaciologist, Professor of Environmental Science at Nichols College, and Director of the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project; and Lulu Liu—2nd year PhD student in Applied Physics at Harvard University.
The platform is open to any scientist – and later, subject matter or policy expert – that can meet CCNF’s columnist criteria. CCNF is actively soliciting Fellows of the American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, and American Institute of Physics in order to amass a columnist community that is representative of the greater climate and physical sciences publishing community.
The project was started by Michael Quirke, a law student at the University of Houston Law Center, web developer, and a former Army infantry officer. Quirke is serving as the Executive Director of CCNF.
“The American public is divided on whether man made climate change is real and even more so on what we can or should do about climate change as a nation. CCNF aims to bridge the communication gap by providing a site for everyone to gain a deeper understanding of the science so that informed and meaningful policy discussions can follow,” said Quirke.
In the second phase of the CCNF project, subject matter experts and policy makers will be able to join the discussion and compare and debate the costs and benefits of possible responses.
For More Information
General inquires: Michael Quirke, CCNF Executive Director, 281-832-3170, ClimateChangeNationalForum(at)gmail.com.
About Climate Change National Forum
Climate Change National Forum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded and led by leading climate scientists. The mission of CCNF is to educate the American public on the science of climate change and its policy implications. CCNF administers an ongoing public forum wherein scientists can discuss the latest research on climate change, share and debate ideas on aspects of climate change relevant to policy making, and fact check outside claims being made in the news media. In Phase II, subject matter experts and policy makers will be able to join this forum to compare and debate the costs and benefits of possible responses. CCNF is headquartered in Houston, TX.
Michael Quirke, Climate Change National Forum, http://climatechangenationalforum.org/, +1 2818323170, [email protected]
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