Norwegian Embassy briefing on Climate Change in the Arctic

The Royal Norwegian Embassy, Clean Air-Cool Planet, the Center for Innovation and UND Nordic Initiative are pleased to invite you to an exclusive briefing “Climate Change in the Arctic:  Global Implications.”  The briefing will be held on Wed, May 19th from 4:30 pm to 7 pm in the Idea Lab of the Center for Innovation, 4200 James Ray Drive in Grand Forks.  A reception at 4:30 pm precedes the  roundtable which starts at 5 pm.

We would be honored to have you participate in this exclusive event. Please RSVP by Friday, May 14th  to Grant Gullicks at events@innovators.net  or 701-777-3132.  Please RSVP early as attendance is limited to 60 people to facilitate discussion.

The purpose of this roundtable is to acquaint opinion leaders with the challenges and opportunities facing the United States and the international community regarding the warming Arctic climate. The Arctic is undergoing significant ecological change. This transformation, brought on by a powerful regional warming trend which is occurring more rapidly than scientists predicted. While the shores of the Red River are far from the Arctic, changes experienced there are harbingers of changes that may affect natural resources, commerce,  trade routes, and public health.  This unique event will highlight the dramatic environmental changes in the Arctic region as national and international leaders grapple with efforts to combat global warming.  There will be time for facilitated questions and responses.

The featured speakers are:

Ambassador Wegger Chr. Strømmen came to Washington, D.C. in 2007, after serving as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva since 2005. He was Norway’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2002-2005, served on the Security Council during Norway’s tenure from 2000-2002 and as Norway’s Deputy Foreign Minister from 1999 - 2000. Ambassador Strømmen joined the Norwegian Foreign Service in 1984 and has also practiced as an international lawyer. He is married to Reverend Cecilie J. Strømmen and they have two daughters.  He has been to Grand Forks several times.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin is an economist who was formerly a top adviser to McCain, both Presidents Bush, and head of CBO.  He is currently directing a new Republican policy 501(c)(3) and serving on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and is focused on getting climate legislation passed in the Senate.  In DC, Holtz-Eakin is regularly in touch with several Republican Senators and their key staff making the case for policy positioning among Republicans that recognizes the importance of addressing the interrelated security/climate issues from the perspectives of established science, sound economic principles, and business-oriented practices such as limiting risk and conserving capital, resources, and flexibility in relation to future opportunities.

Dr. Geir Wing Gabrielsen is the Ecotoxicology Coordinator at the Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromso, Norway, and has been involved in research at the Polar Institute since 1984.  His research involves mapping contaminant levels in the Arctic and evaluating contaminant levels in the food web and in seabirds. He has a Bachelor’s degree (1982) and a Ph.D. (1994) from the University of Tromso in Norway. 

Dr. Walt Meier is a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, part of the University of Colorado in Boulder. At NSIDC since 2003, his research focus is on remote sensing of Arctic sea ice and implications for Arctic climate change. He is also the science lead for several of NSIDC's sea ice data products. From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Meier was an adjunct assistant professor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, where he conducted research and taught courses in satellite remote sensing and polar climate. From 1999 to 2001, he was a visiting scientist at the U.S. National Ice Center, a U.S. Navy/NOAA center for operational support of vessels navigating in and near ice-covered seas. Dr. Meier has a B.S. degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in atmospheric and oceanic science at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Clean Air-Cool Planet is a science-based, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit in the business of solving the global warming problem through civic engagement, education and effective policy.  http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/about/

More information on Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Respected economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin speaks on  economics of public policy in all areas including energy policy, trade, and entrepreneurship.

As an economic advisor to policy makers Holtz-Eakin has a distinguished career of public service:

• He served as the sixth Director of the Congressional Budget Office, the government’s main number cruncher, where he won universal respect as a fine, nonpartisan economist.
• He also served for 18 months as Chief Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors under President George W. Bush and for two years as Senior Staff Economist for President George H. W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors.
• Douglas Holtz-Eakin served as Director of Domestic and Economic Policy for the John McCain presidential campaign.
• He has also recently been Senior Fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, and the Paul A. Volcker Chair in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Holtz-Eakin has advised several state governments and was principal investigator for several federal government agency research initiatives and has joined Clean Air - Cool Planet in strategy discussions with the White House climate policy team. 

Since leaving government he has shown commitment in various venues to stimulating thinking and progressive policy solutions among Republican thinkers and leaders, including on issues such as climate change.  He is a respected economist who over the years has established strong personal relationships with numerous Senators, member of Congress, and leaders in political and policy communities.  He believes that global warming is a critical issue that should be a major concern of the Republican Party, and provides unparalleled insight about mechanisms and policies to control the emissions of greenhouse gases.