Solutions to Climate Change: “UW Grad Students in Hot Pursuit” Schooner Series draws a full house at Bickersons Brewhouse
The PCC Graduate Student Steering Committee (P-GraSC) hosted a winter Schooner Series event in collaboration with Cascadia Climate Action focused on climate solutions at Bickersons Brewhouse in Ballard on March 8, 2023. The Schooner Series started as an offshoot of the popular Climate Science on Tap from Cascadia Climate Action, a member of the regional CascadiaNow! nonprofit family. This month’s Schooner featured three presentations and a subsequent panel discussion under the theme “Solutions to Climate Change: UW Grad Students in Hot Pursuit”.
Quarterly, P-GraSC hosts the Schooner Series to bring climate outreach panels to breweries around Seattle to foster communication and conversation between UW graduate students and the public concerning climate change, its causes, impacts, and solutions. During the pandemic, the series temporarily switched to a virtual format, but last year organizers brought back the Schooner to a live and in-person form.
At this month’s Schooner, Christine Nolan, graduate student in Biology, spoke about one of our ocean’s secret weapons – seagrass – and current challenges to its restoration and population resilience. Christine is a third-year PhD student at the UW researching plant molecular biology. Annalise Stein from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance presented on Washington State’s energy transition towards 100% renewables. She currently pursues a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Environmental Policy. Her talk highlighted recent legislative and regulatory steps the state is taking to increase the share of zero-emission renewable energy sources in the electric grid and ultimately meet its emission reduction targets, including a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. Lastly, Sam Shugart from the Foster School of Business presented on corporate climate risk and how companies model and react to physical and transitional risks associated with their business. Sam pursues a Master’s in Business Analytics and has recently conducted an independent research project related to corporate climate risk disclosure. He is currently working on the development of a Climate Risk Lab at the UW.
The event, including its 20-minute panel discussion, was moderated by PCC Graduate Student Representative Andrea Richter-Sanchez. The more than 80 attendees enjoyed engaging with the speakers by asking questions, sharing their ideas, and following up after the event. While expressing their mixed feelings about the state of statewide, national, and global climate action, many event attendees spoke to/suggested/asserted gratitude for hosting this solutions-focused event. The audience was able to learn about ways to get involved with seagrass conservation efforts, how individuals can support Washington’s transition to clean energy, and how one can contribute to holding companies accountable for their climate goals and commitments.
There was also the opportunity to get to know other local and regional advocacy organizations. Besides Cascadia Climate Action, these included People for Climate Action, Green Buildings Now, and Climate Rail Alliance.
Local radio station KBFG recorded the event for rebroadcast in a mid-March “Morning News & Public Affairs” program, spreading the information even further around Seattle to folks concerned about climate change. We thank Pamela Burton of KBFG for providing us with the event recording, which can be accessed below. In addition, the three speakers provided their presentation slides for anyone interested as well.
Speaker presentation slides:
1 – Christine Nolan – Seagrass Restoration and Population Resilience
2 – Annalise Stein – Washington State’s Transition to 100% Renewable Energy
3 – Sam Shugart – Climate Modeling and Securities Fraud
PCC Graduate Steering Committee (P-GraSC)
Public Engagement Subcommittee
The Schooner series was organized by members of the P-GraSC Public Engagement subcommittee, with contributions from Steffen Coenen (CEE), Allison Fron (SEFS), Aina Hori (SMEA), Andrea Richter-Sanchez (SMEA), Song Sangmin (OCN), and Madeleine Strait (BIO). We want to thank our partners at Cascadia Climate Action for trusting collaboration and advertising the event to the community.