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from the issue of June 12, 2008
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Climate change event draws 150
BY VICKI MILLER AND ASHLEY WASHBURN, OFFICE OF RESEARCH
Climate change is a complex, global problem that demands integrated and highly collaborative research to provide the answers society needs.
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| | | CLIMATE TALK - Participants at the 2008 Climate Change Workshop and Conference hear about UNL research being conducted at Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory near Whitman. UNL's Office of Research and the United States Geological Survey hosted the event. Courtesy photo.
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That was the recurring message from speakers at the 2008 Climate Change Workshop and Conference May 19-22. The UNL Office of Research and the U.S. Geological Survey partnered to host the week's events.
The conference, May 21 in North Platte, drew about 150 UNL and USGS researchers, representatives from state and regional organizations, farmers and decision makers.
Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research and economic development, said the conference set the stage for developing a comprehensive research plan to address the challenges of dealing with climate change and building critical research partnerships with USGS and others.
"This has the potential to position UNL as a leader in studying natural resources in Nebraska and worldwide," he said.
Before the conference, about 80 UNL faculty and USGS representatives learned first hand about each other's research projects in the Platte River valley and the Sandhills during a two-day rolling workshop. Participants viewed research at the UNL's South Central Agricultural Laboratory, Clay Center; a Nature Conservancy research plot, Overton; Rowe Sanctuary, Gibbon; a woodlands evapo-transpiration site, Riverdale; an aquifer optimization site, Lexington; Dismal River stream gauging station, Thedford; Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, Whitman; and Cedar Point Biological Station, Ogallala.
The conference featured panel discussions and presentations exploring potential impacts of climate change on the Great Plains. Panelists included scientists, farmers, ranchers, business people, resource managers and policy makers who discussed the effects of climate change on agriculture, water resources, biofuels, sustainability, energy challenges, wildlife and invasive species. Participants explored research needs and shared ideas and concerns.
These stakeholder concerns and needs factored into discussions when UNL and USGS researchers broke into work teams to brainstorm specific long-term research and monitoring needs and approaches to address them. The team reports will provide the foundation for a longer-term goal of developing a plan for a collaborative research network for the region.
Organizers said the workshop and conference will help shape a research partnership.
"Climate change is real. The question is: what are we going to do to mitigate it," said Tom Armstrong, senior adviser for global change programs at USGS, during his keynote address. "The bottom line of this meeting is that we need your help because we are all in this together."
GO TO: ISSUE OF JUNE 12
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