Thursday, April 28, 2016

Energy and Water – Addressing Local and Global Challenges

by Carilyne Vance


World Green Energy Symposium
On Thursday, April 7, 2016 and Friday, April 8, 2016 the CAUSES hosted two very important and impactful events; the World Green Energy Symposium and the 2016 AWRA-NCR Annual Water Symposium. The World Green Energy Symposium, was held in the University’s new LEED Platinum certified Student Center and was moderated by Ms. Jan Fox, former news anchor for WUSA-TV9 and featured keynote speaker Tommy Wells, Director, Department of Energy and Environment.  Mr. Wells was joined by Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy of the United States Department of Agriculture, Mr. Michael Bae Johnson of ConEdison of New York and Dean Sabine O’Hara.  All speakers focused on the need to combat food insecurity, water scarcity and the availability of sustainable energy sources in a collaborative effort between Developed and Non-Developed countries. The importance of innovative technologies and the re-thinking of current practices were stressed along with the urgent need to prepare future generations for the challenges ahead through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs. 

AWRA-NCR Annual Water Symposium, held at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law, brought together leaders in the field of water resource and waste management from across the region to discuss new technologies for finding and supplying water where it is needed and efficiently treating waste. Presentations were given by Emily Feenstra, Deputy Director of the US Water Alliance, Dr. Kimberly L. Jones, Professor of Environmental Engineering and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Howard University, Saul Kinter, Innovation Program Manager for DC Water and Dr. Eugene Stakhiv, Associate Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering and Visiting Scholar at the Corps’ Institute for Water Resources. The accompanying panel discussion stressed the need for a unified approach to managing the Earths’ depleting water resource and the need to build a bridge between those who have a seemingly abundant source and those who suffer through cyclical or sustained scarcity.  


For more information on these events and organizations, please visit www.udc.edu/causes.  

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