This event is intended to educate the state’s legal and policy communities and the public on local climate impacts and associated costs now facing communities and taxpayers, and to initiate a dialogue on the growing trend of climate damages litigation in the U.S. Panelists will discuss the extent of climate harms in New Jersey as well as the scientific basis for holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for them. Panelists will also offer legal and community perspectives on damages litigation as a means to shift some of the burden from taxpayers to polluters.
Panel members will include Bob Kopp, director of the Rutgers University Institute of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences; Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science with the Union of Concerned Scientists Climate & Energy Program; and Jonathan Abady, a partner with Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP. The discussion will be moderated by Monmouth University Rechnitz Family/Urban Coast Institute Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy Randall Abate. The names of additional speakers will soon follow.
The event will take place from 3:30-5:15 p.m. at the Wilson Hall Auditorium. A free reception will follow. For more information, contact Aliya Satku at asatku@monmouth.edu or (732) 263-5662.
PLEASE NOTE: This event has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Registration is now open for the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS) Spring Meeting, to be held March 26-28 at Monmouth University. With a theme of “Estuarine Science in a Changing Climate,” the event will feature expert presentations, networking opportunities, a poster session, field trips and a concurrent Margaret A. Davidson Coastal Careers Workshop on March 26.
AERS brings together students, scientists, managers, and educators from the states of Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C., to discuss estuarine and coastal environmental issues and policies. The group’s mission is to a foster broader interest in our environment by increasing public awareness of current issues.
Among the planned field trips are a walking and birding tour of Sandy Hook, a Cheesequake State Park and Matawan Creek shark attack tour, and a ride aboard Monmouth University’s research vessel Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe in the Sandy Hook Bay area. Keynote speakers include Rutgers University Climate Institute Co-Director Anthony Broccoli, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Senior Science Director Danielle Kreeger, and Monmouth University Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy Program Director John Tiedemann. Participants may submit abstracts until Feb. 18 for oral presentations or poster presentations.
Students are eligible for discounted registration costs and early bird rates are available through Feb. 22. Registration will also include an opening night social and a day two continental breakfast, lunch and evening banquet.
Separate registration is required for the career workshop, which will feature a morning of talks on career options, employment prospects, successful pathways toward local opportunities and opportunities around the nation, as well as inspirational testimonies from coastal professionals. The afternoon will offer a series of smaller group discussions about various skills needed to succeed, such as leadership, networking, mentors, publishing, resumes, and more. Students and young professionals in the coastal and environmental field are encouraged to attend.
For more information on the meeting and career workshop or to register online, please use the link below:
Bill Schreiber, “Introduction, Basic Climate Science, Basic Chemistry of Climate Change”
Catherine Duckett, “How Does Past Climate Change Help Us Understand the Present?”
9:30 a.m.
Randy Abate, “The Plight of Climate Refugees: Rising Seas, Melting Ice, and Inadequate Legal Protections”
10:00 a.m.
Pedram Daneshgar: “Climate Change Impacts on Plants and Plant Communities”
10:30 a.m.
Golam Mathbor, “Effects of Global Climate Change on Bangladesh and Implications for Other Countries”
11:00 a.m.
Walter Greason, “ADRIFT: Climate Change and the African Diaspora in the 21st Century”
11:30 a.m.
Peter Reinhart, “The Impact of Climate Change on Real Estate”
12:00* p.m.
Kayla Lewis, “Why Climate Models are Trustworthy”
12:30 p.m.
Nancy Mezey, “Global Capitalism and the Anthropogenic Causes of Climate Change”
1:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion
Megan Delaney, “Climate Stress and Mental Health”
Courtney Werner and Patrick Love, “Climate Rhetoric and Persuasion”
Heide Estes, “What Can You Do?”
2:00 p.m.
Coffee and Snacks
2:15 p.m.
Panel Discussion
Jason Adolf, “Climate Change Impacts on Oceans”
Keith Dunton, “Climate Impacts on Fish and Fisheries”
Sean Sterrett, “Climate Change Impacts on Reptiles and Amphibians”
3:30 p.m.
Tom Herrington, “Determining the Onset of Chronic Flooding in Coastal Communities”
4:00 p.m.
Depart for Red Bank Climate March, Riverside Park, Front Street, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Walk (or otherwise proceed) to Elberon train station (1.4 miles) to take the 4:34 p.m. train
We welcome faculty, students, staff, friends, and companions.
“Just Beachy” – DiMattio Gallery – Rechnitz Hall
ALL DAY: A public participatory art installment that highlights the effects of Hurricane Sandy and shares the stories of residents impacted.
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. – Opening Reception – Rechnitz Hall
* Vegetarian and Vegan salads and snacks will be offered.
Future generations, wildlife, and natural resources – collectively referred to as “the voiceless” in this presentation – are the most vulnerable and least equipped populations to protect themselves from the impacts of global climate change. This presentation first identifies the common vulnerabilities of the voiceless in the Anthropocene era. It then proposes how the law can evolve to protect their interests more effectively through a stewardship-focused and rights-based system derived from the mandate inherent in the concept of sustainable development.
This presentation, sponsored by the Monmouth University Council of Endowed Chairs, is drawn from Professor Randall S., Abate’s forthcoming book, which will be published by Cambridge University Press in October 2019.
With a theme of An Ocean for All: Ecosystems, Economies & People, the symposium will assemble nationally recognized experts to share insights on the research, science and technology priorities necessary to ensure our oceans continue to thrive ecologically while serving an expanding cross-section of users.
Monmouth University President Emeritus and UCI Ocean Policy Fellow Paul G. Gaffney II will moderate a panel discussion with perspectives from the ports/maritime, offshore wind, ocean sciences and marine conservation communities. Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will deliver plenary remarks. The panel will include Bradley Campbell, Conservation Law Foundation executive director and former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner; Scott Glenn, distinguished professor in the Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and co-director of the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership; David Hang, Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind president; and Bethann Rooney, deputy director, Port Department, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
At the subsequent luncheon, the UCI will honor three symposium speakers with Champion of the Ocean Awards. The UCI will present its highest honor, the National Champion of the Ocean Award, to Gallaudet; the Regional Champion of the Ocean Award to Campbell; and the Coastal and Ocean Leadership Award to Glenn.
The symposium will take place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Wilson Hall Auditorium. The luncheon will directly follow the symposium from noon to 2 p.m. in the Wilson Hall Versailles and Pompeii rooms.
Tickets are required for the luncheon, with proceeds supporting student research activities through the UCI Scholars Program.
Professor Keith Rizzardi, St. Thomas University School of Law
Professor Keith Rizzardi from St. Thomas University School of Law will speak about climate change, rising sea levels, and professional ethics. Discussions will also include insights into how the historic commitment to water management in South Florida has dramatically decreased and considerations on how water managers can best prepare before the next disaster strikes in the future.
Please Note: This event if free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Event Schedule
Registration & Coffee: 9:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Program: 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Program Participants
Moderator: Joseph M. Kyrillos, State Senator (Ret.) and Monmouth University Public Servant-in-Residence 2018-19
PANELISTS:
Chris Daggett,Former Regional Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Cindy Zipf,Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action
Tony MacDonald,Director of the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute
The “new normal” of increased storm events, flooding, sea level rise, and coastal erosion from climate change presents daunting adaptation challenges for New Jersey in the years ahead. This symposium features leading experts in climate change adaptation law and science to discuss lessons learned from other states and countries to assist New Jersey in navigating these challenges.
Topics will include:
S. and Australian case studies in coastal adaptation;
Public health dimensions of coastal adaptation;
Human rights impacts to vulnerable coastal communities;
Climate change impacts to “voiceless” communities (future generations, wildlife, and natural resources);
Strategies to combat climate change-induced and other anthropogenic factors in eutrophication of coastal marine ecosystems, and the impacts to ecosystem services and the communities who depend on them.
Visit the symposium web site for a full list of speakers and more event details. Admission is free for Monmouth employees and students (registration required), $35 for the general public, and $25 for Monmouth alumni and non-Monmouth students. (Cost covers Wednesday evening reception and Thursday breakfast, lunch and refreshments.)
Future generations, wildlife, and natural resources – collectively referred to as “the voiceless” in this presentation – are the most vulnerable and least equipped populations to protect themselves from the impacts of global climate change. This presentation first identifies the common vulnerabilities of the voiceless in the Anthropocene era. It then proposes how the law can evolve to protect their interests more effectively through a stewardship-focused and rights-based system derived from the mandate inherent in the concept of sustainable development.
