Category: Events

Webinar: Solutions for water in the 21st century

Jun 28, 2023, 3 pm CDT
Register here.

The Conversation invites you to a webinar to discuss today’s water challenges and potential solutions. Communities in the U.S. and around the world are facing water problems of all kinds – drought, flooding, contaminated water, lack of access to water, and more. You’ll walk away with an understanding of some of today’s most pressing water-related issues and ideas on how individuals and communities can address them.

Speakers

Rosalyn LaPier
An award-winning Indigenous writer, environmental historian, and ethnobotanist. Professor of History at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Gabriel Filippelli
Expert in climate change and environmental health. Professor of Earth Sciences and Executive Director of Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute.

Burke Griggs
Professor of law at Washburn University.  His scholarship explores the historical, technical, and cultural aspects of natural resources law, especially water law.

Moderated by Brett Walton, a journalist who has worked as a correspondent at freshwater news site Circle of Blue for more than a decade.

Speakers are all contributors to the book The Conversation on Water, part of the Critical Conversations series published by Johns Hopkins University Press. 

The Conversation on Water is a collection of essays from contributors to The Conversation on the world’s water crises and the necessary steps to build a more sustainable and equitable water future for all. The Critical Conversations series includes collections on gender diversity, biotechnology, guns and work.

DOD Climate Resilience Workshop 2023

Jul 10-13, 2023, St. Louis, MO
The event is free
More information and to register.

This Workshop will provide a forum for DOD stakeholders and partners to explore the many facets of climate change, a national security threat that has tangible impacts to military readiness. Installations, environmental organizations, and climate change professionals will all be broadly represented to help inform the Military Departments on data, tools, and resources for addressing and combatting climate change threats. Workshop attendees will share lessons learned on built and natural infrastructure solutions and set the course for new and improved partnerships to connect missions, resources, and communities in support of military installation resilience.

Webinar: Re-energizing the ecosystem approach in the 21st century

Jun 15, 2023, noon-1 pm CDT
Register here.

The Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the U.S. Clean Water Act, as well as many programs implemented across the Great Lakes region, are grounded in sound principles giving effect to ecosystem-based management. They recognize that healthy lakes are crucial to healthy economies and communities. 

Since the landmark Agreement and law have been in place, we have witnessed successes such as the reduction of municipal and industrial point source pollution, the slowing of introductions of invasive species, and the delisting of several Great Lakes pollution hotspots. However, many challenges remain. Thus, regional experts recently came together to take stock of what has been learned from historical applications of ecosystem approaches and to identify measurable ecosystem goals, co-produce knowledge, co-innovate solutions, and practice adaptive management until ecosystem goals are met.

The outcome was a set of recommendations on how boundary organizations, actors, and teams can better support and accelerate more strategic, holistic, and partnership-driven efforts, with a primary goal to help re-energize the use of an ecosystem approach in the 21st century to achieve healthy and sustainable Great Lakes, economies, and communities. 

During CGLR’s June webinar, this work will be presented and discussed and feedback from our audience is invited.  Join us for an informative discussion on different aspects of the ecosystem approach, including the history and origin of the ecosystem approach, blue economy, technological advances, Indigenous knowledge systems, science-policy solutions, education, and knowledge mobilization, and human dimensions.

More about the Ecosystem Approach Project: https://www.healthyheadwaterslab.ca/projects/ecosystem-approach

Online workshop: Developing wearable technologies to advance understanding of precision environmental health

Jun 1 – 2, 2023, noon-3 pm CDT
More information and to register

From coast to coast, technology is becoming more integrated into daily life. Now, cutting edge technologies, like wearable devices, can be used to spur progress in the biomedical and environmental health fields.

In this workshop, experts will discuss emerging applications of wearable technologies and the latest research and advancements in wearable technology for capturing, monitoring, and predicting environmental exposures and risks to inform precision environmental health.

Additionally, the workshop will explore other areas such as disease monitoring, interventions, and biomedicine, and discuss technology adoption, implementation, and science communication for advancing biomedical and environmental health research.

Webinar: A Just Transition Approach Powered by a Responsible Energy Industry

May 30, 2023, 11-noon CDT
Register here.

Urgent action is required to decarbonize the power sector in order to minimize global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Decarbonization within the supply chains play a critical role in realizing this ambitions. As a result, efforts are being made to have the power sector reach net-zero by 2040, as decarbonizing the power sector will enable other sectors to do the same.

The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy is working toward achieving the Paris Accord’s ambition to avoid the harshest impacts of climate change on both people and planet.

In this webcast, learn how the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy aims to accelerate a just transition to net-zero. In this 1-hour long webcast, you’ll further learn:

  • A view of how key players within the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy are working towards enabling the transition to fully sustainable energy across the entire value chain;
  • The findings and commitments of the industrial members of the Alliance detailed in their recently published Net-Zero position paper and pledge;
  • How utilities and suppliers can work together to decarbonize the entire energy sector;
  • Among other themes related to Circular Design Criteria.

Moderator:

  • Sarah Golden, VP, Energy, GreenBiz Group

Speakers:

  • Salvatore Bernabei, Enel Green Power CEO and Chairman of the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy (“The Alliance”).
  • Monica Oviedo, Iberdrola Head of Sustainability Management Iberdrola and Chair of Net Zero/Decarbonization Working Group of the Alliance.
  • Oluwadabira Abiola-Awe, Student Energy’s Ventures and Capital Campaign Associate, Advisory member of the Alliance.

If you can’t tune in live, please register and GreenBiz will email you a link to access the webcast recording and resources, available to you on-demand after the live webcast.

Webinar: U.S. Paint EPR: Challenges & Opportunities

May 25, 2023, 10-11:30 CDT
Register here.

Now in its second decade of operations, PaintCare – a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created by the American Coatings Association – has collected more than 63 million gallons of leftover household paint, most of which has been reused (5%), recycled into new paint (71%), or used for other products or fuel (15%). As both the environmental and business communities look ahead to building a more circular economy, PaintCare is expanding its footprint into new states and products, while recycled paint manufacturers are working to grow domestic markets. 

Join us for an engaging discussion among paint stewardship experts working at the frontlines of the second decade of paint stewardship in the United States. This webinar is open to the entire PSI community; however, the recording will be accessible only to PSI’s Members and Partners.


Workshop: Deploying purpose-grown energy crops for sustainable aviation fuel

June 6-7, 2023, Kansas City, MO
More information and to register.
This is a free event.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge is the result of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other federal government agencies working together to develop a comprehensive strategy for scaling up new technologies to produce SAF on a commercial scale. To meet the goal of supplying 100% of projected domestic aviation jet fuel by 2050, purpose-grown energy crops, including algae, will need to be cultivated on a large scale.

On June 6-7, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri, the DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is hosting a workshop titled Deploying Purpose-Grown Energy Crops for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. The workshop will discuss successes, challenges, information gaps, and opportunities for deploying these energy crops and novel ideas will be encouraged.

Overview

The SAF Grand Challenge will guide recent federal actions to support industry in reducing the cost, enhancing the sustainability, and expanding the production and use of SAF to:

  • Produce 3 billion gallons per year of domestic SAF production that achieve a minimum of a 50% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fuel by 2030, and
  • Meet a goal of supplying 100% of projected domestic aviation jet fuel use, or 35 billion gallons of annual production, by 2050.

To meet these objectives, there will be a need for development and widespread adoption of purpose-grown energy crops, including algae, on a large scale. These energy crops may include, but are not limited to, algae (e.g. microalgae, cyanobacteria), herbaceous crops (e.g. switchgrass, miscanthus, energy cane, high-biomass sorghum), short-rotation woody crops (e.g. hybrid poplar, shrub willow), and overwintering secondary crops (e.g. carinata, pennycress, and other oilseed crops). 

Desired Workshop Outcomes

  • Determine challenges and barriers to deploying purpose-grown energy crops and implementing climate-smart agricultural practices
  • Develop potential strategies to overcome the above challenges
  • Identify innovative solutions in the collection of reliable, long-term growth data and specific sustainability metrics of success
  • Establish and understand how to expand stakeholder networks in energy crops deployment

Vital results from this workshop will help guide future research and development directions in feedstock innovation to reduce the cost, improve the quality, increase the quantity, and maximize the environmental benefits of purpose-grown energy crops and renewable carbon resources. This work is critical to help achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s SAF goals and to advance a vibrant U.S. bioeconomy.  

Discussion and stakeholder feedback will be facilitated through interactive breakout sessions, and BETO will develop a summary of findings from the workshop with a public report.

Webinar: Indeterminate Savings Energy Conservation Measures: Get More Savings from Performance Contracts

May 24, 2023, noon-1:15 pm CDT
Register here.

This training informs attendees about an innovative way to integrate energy conservation measures (ECM) with “indeterminate” savings into energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and utility energy service contracts (i.e., ones whose savings aren’t clear from a typical performance contract’s investment-grade audit, or whose savings are likely to vary from year to year). Examples of these ECMs are whole-building re-/retro-commissioning, participation in demand response programs, and behavioral initiatives like ISO 50001.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, attendees will be able to:

  • Recognize examples of indeterminate savings ECMs and understand why they rarely appear in PCs despite typically having short simple payback periods.
  • Identify the advocated contractual techniques to incorporate these ECMs in PCs and the key issues to raise with agency legal and contracting colleagues.
  • Identify the generally accepted rules around the use of reserve accounts.

Take a look at the Federal Energy Management Program Training Catalog for a complete list of in-person and online energy management training.

Building with Benefits: Meaningful Benefits as a Foundation for Equitable Community Solar Webinar Series

Join the National Community Solar Partnership as they launch the webinar series, ‘Building with Benefits: Meaningful Benefits as a Foundation for Equitable Community Solar’ to highlight best practices in developing community solar projects and programs that deliver meaningful benefits to subscribers and their communities. The webinars showcase the winners of the 2022 Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar and are moderated by a leading industry expert about the unique challenges related to delivering specific meaningful benefits, the best practices their project or program developed to address these challenges, and how their solution can be replicated or scaled.

EPA Tools & Resources Training Webinar: PFAS Analytic Tools

Jun 1, 2023, 2-3 pm CDT
Register here.

To support EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, EPA is compiling and integrating a collection of data that can be used to evaluate what is known about PFAS manufacture, release, and occurrence in communities. As part of this effort, EPA is integrating data available nationally with other information from states, Tribes, and localities that are testing for PFAS pursuant to their own regulatory or voluntary data collection initiatives. The data included in the PFAS Analytic Tools have a wide range of location-specific data and, in general, are based on national scope and readily accessible, public information repositories.

The PFAS Analytic Tools make it easier to evaluate the collective PFAS information from 11 different databases – the application integrates these datasets into an interactive, web-based software. Consolidating all these data sources in one searchable platform will help the public, researchers, and other stakeholders better understand potential PFAS sources in their communities, including potential exposure pathways in communities with environmental justice concerns.

This training webinar will provide an overview of the PFAS Analytic Tools and a tutorial on how to use them.