William Moomaw, Ph.D., a lead author of the 2007 Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will discuss the ways that we in New England, can help mitigate climate change.
Moomaw is the Emeritus Professor of international environmental policy and founding director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. He will speak at the Holcomb Farm North Barn, 113 Simsbury Road, West Granby, on Thursday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m.
New England is fortunate that it has both dense concentrations of population and economic activity and some of the most productive forests and wetlands in North America. Reducing heat-trapping emissions is easier to achieve in high-density regions because of more efficient buildings, living arrangements and transportation options. In addition to these advantages, New England is adjacent to the largest zero-emission offshore wind electricity resource in North America.
Less appreciated is the fact that much of New England is covered by forests of an age that will remove and store vast amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide over the rest of this century and beyond. Our coastal wetlands are also among the most effective at storing carbon of any ecosystem.
According to Moomaw, a combination of technology, nature and smart designing and planning for the future can both reduce future adverse changes and enhance our adaptation as the climate continues to shift.
The Granby Land Trust and the Friends of Holcomb Farm are pleased to co-sponsor this discussion on mitigating climate change. All are welcome to this free and important educational event. Please register in advance; contact Trish at Percival@cox.net or 860-653-7095.
Moomaw currently serves as co-director of the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts, which he co-founded. He received his B.A. degree in chemistry from Williams College and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from MIT. He had a 26-year career in chemistry and environmental studies at Williams College. He served as AAAS Science Fellow in the U.S. Senate, where he worked on legislation that successfully addressed ozone depletion. He began working on climate change in 1988 as the first director of the climate program at World Resources Institute in Washington. He has been a lead author of five Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports. The IPCC shared, with Al Gore, the Nobel Peace Prize for its climate work in 2007.