News from UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources

March 15, 2009

Professor Max Auffhammer honored with 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award

Maximilian Auffhammer, assistant professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics and International and Area Studies, has received the Distinguished Teaching Award for 2009.

Auffhammer has been at Berkeley since 2003. Auffhammer revitalized one of the least successful courses in ARE, turning it into one of the most popular and successful courses in the graduate program. Students time and again point to the fact that he manages to turn a subject that they don’t necessarily respond to, economics, into something fascinating and relevant: “I have done poorly in econ before,” says one student, “and this is a 360 degree change for me. I now actually like econ.” Auffhammer’s colleagues, too, praise his teaching: “Not more than one in a hundred ladder faculty members achieve the kind of success in the classroom that he routinely achieves, year after year.” The Committee noted that he is both an incredible mentor and an incredible teacher, leading students through dense material with clarity and enthusiasm.

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Posted by Cyril at 10:58 AM | Permalink

March 2, 2009

Prof. John Harte: Understanding the Global Environmental Crisis

Professor John Harte discusses what environmental science teaches us about the potentially catastrophic consequences of a failure to address the current environmental crisis. His intellectual odyssey from physics to environmental studies offers important insight into how scientists have come to understand the relationship between humanity and nature and the necessary conditions for providing a balance that insures the well being of future generations. The conversation concludes with a discussion of how the present moment can be seized to meet the challenge of global warming.

Posted by Cyril at 10:27 PM | Permalink

March 1, 2009

Climate Action, Adaptation, & Job Creation in America:
Lessons from California

David Roland-Holst, professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources, will speak on Climate Action, Adaptation, & Job Creation in America: Lessons from California at a special event for Washington, D.C.-area alumni and friends of the College of Natural Resources.

Sunday, March 1, 2009, 3 to 5 p.m.
University of California Washington Center | Washington, D.C.

As the U.S. economy sinks deeper into crisis and the outlook for a warming planet looks ever bleaker, many pundits and politicians have pinned their hopes on a new, “green” vision of economic recovery. Are these hopes realistic or just rhetoric?

California's experience suggests that there need not be a tradeoff between economic growth and environmental progress, and the state offers lessons for a new generation of national policy.

David Roland-Holst, a leading scholar of California policy, will present his analysis of links between energy efficiency and job creation, as well as a broad assessment of the climate risk and adaptive responses that offer employment‐intensive investment opportunities.

Roland-Holst is one of the world’s leading authorities on economic, energy, and climate policy modeling. He has extensive research experience in economics related to environment, development, agriculture, and international trade, authoring three books and over 100 articles and chapters in professional journals and books. Professor Roland-Holst has served in several academic posts in the United States, Europe, and Asia and has conducted research in over 40 countries, working with many public institutions including a variety of federal and state agencies. Most recently, his research has been central to the passage, design and implementation of California’s groundbreaking Global Warming Solutions Act.

RSVP by February 20, 2009 by calling (510) 643-1051 or emailing brittsan@nature.berkeley.edu

Continue reading "Climate Action, Adaptation, & Job Creation in America:
Lessons from California" »

Posted by Cyril at 1:39 PM | Permalink