U.S. climate change efforts as VP Harris visits Denver
On March 6, Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Denver to highlight the Biden administration's efforts to build resistance to climate change. Expected topics of conversation include efforts outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as the strain on the Colorado River. CU Boulder experts are available to discuss these efforts and how they can stymie climate change.
On Inflation Reduction Act
Max Boykoff, professor in environmental studies and fellow in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), can discuss elements of the Inflation Reduction Act as it relates to his expertise in cultural politics and environmental governance, science-policy interactions, climate adaptation and the intersection of the political economy and the environment. Boykoff was a Working Group III author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, published in April 2022. He also monitors media coverage of climate change as part of the Media and Climate Change Observatory (MeCCO).
On Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Keith Porter, adjoint professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and the Natural Hazards Center, is an expert in how natural disasters affect the built environment and society. He led a recent study, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves, about the benefits and costs of disaster mitigation. He can discuss how investment in infrastructure today can mitigate financial losses from natural disasters long-term. ”I think $1 trillion may greatly reduce but will not close our infrastructure investment gap,” he said.
Kyri Baker is assistant professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, holds a courtesy appointment in electrical, computer and energy engineering, and has a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) through the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI). She can discuss carbon-free/renewable energy—including nuclear power—the challenges of operating such a complex system efficiently under the effects of climate change, and how the electrification of buildings and transportation can help us reach our climate goals.
Shideh Dashti is associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, acting associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and director of the interdisciplinary research group Resilient Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RISE). She studies how to engineer more resilient infrastructure in the face of increasing natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes and climate-induced hazards), keeping the needs of vulnerable populations in mind. She and her students are currently studying how climate change and resulting natural hazards impact incarcerated individuals and what prisons and other facilities can do to prepare for a changing climate.
Note: Available Wednesday, 3/8 and later.
On Colorado River policy
Mark Squillace is professor of natural resources law with a particular interest on water issues, including the Colorado River Basin. He can discuss policy changes needed to save the river and the communities who rely on it, how the seven Colorado River Basin states are doing in their work to come up with a plan to reduce river usage by mid-August of this year and other topics related to the Colorado River or the Colorado River Compact.
Edith Zagona is a research professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and director of the Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES). She can discuss modeling and projections of operations and future conditions of the river, methods for decision-making under deep uncertainty and using these techniques in working with stakeholders, and how operating policies may need to look different in the future to be more robust to highly uncertain and more variable future hydrologic conditions and demands.