Speakers for Special Events

Boise Conference, March 12-16, 2008

Agents of Change: People, Climate, and Places Throughout Time

Mark Kurlansky

"The Last Fish Tale," Keynote Talk, March 15, 2008

Mark Kurlansky is well-known for his popular book Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, and, more recently, The Basque History of the World and Salt (all published by Walker and Co.). He has written articles for The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, The International Herald Tribune, and Partisan Review. He is also the author of two additional books, A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny (Ballantine) and The Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry (Ballantine).

Patricia Limerick

Speaker in Fire History Workshop,
March 12, 2008

Patricia Limerick is the Faculty Director and Chair of the Board of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado, where she is also a Professor of History. She has dedicated her career to bridging the gap between academics and the general public and to demonstrating the benefits of applying historical perspective to contemporary dilemmas and conflicts. For more information, see

http://www.centerwest.org/about/patty/index.php

Stephen Schneider

Plenary Speaker,
March 13, 2008

Dr. Stephen H. Schneider is the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biological Sciences, Professor (by courtesy) of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Dr. Schneider received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Plasma Physics from Columbia University in 1971. He studied the role of greenhouse gases and suspended particulate material on climate as a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1972 and was a member of the scientific staff of NCAR from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project.

Internationally recognized for research, policy analysis and outreach in climate change, Dr. Schneider is an expert in climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technology and other solutions. He has consulted with federal agencies or White House staff in the Nixon, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton and G.W. Bush administrations.

Actively involved with the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization since its origin in 1988, Dr. Schneider was co-author of “Uncertainties in the IPCC Third Assessment Report: Recommendations to Lead Authors for More Consistent Assessment and Reporting” in 2000 and the cross-cutting theme paper #4: “Assessing the Science to Address UNFCCC Article 2” in 2004. He has been a contributor to all four IPCC Assessment Reports and is currently a Coordinating Lead Author of Working Group II Chapter 19, "Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change." For the 2001 IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR) and the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), Dr. Schneider has also been a member of the Core Writing Team for each of the Synthesis Reports, which integrate the contributions of Working Groups I, II, and III. The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report will be used by governments world-wide as the most up-to-date, credible document regarding climate change science, impacts, adaptation, vulnerability, and mitigation until 2012. After decades of work, Dr. Schneider, along with four generations of IPCC authors, received a collective Nobel Peace Prize for their joint efforts in 2007.

In 1991, Dr. Schneider was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science/ Westinghouse Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology for furthering public understanding of environmental science and its implications for public policy. In 1992, he was honored with a MacArthur Fellowship for his ability to integrate and interpret the results of global climate research through public lectures, classroom teaching, environmental assessment committees, media appearances, Congressional testimony and research collaboration with colleagues. Dr. Schneider was elected to membership in the US National Academy of Sciences in April 2002. He received the Edward T. Law Roe Award of the Society of Conservation Biology in 2003. He and his spouse-collaborator, Terry Root, jointly received the 2003 National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation and the Banksia Foundation’s 2006 International Environmental Award in Australia.

Dr. Schneider is founder and Editor of the interdisciplinary journal, Climatic Change. Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather and author of The Genesis Strategy: Climate and Global Survival; Global Warming: Are We Entering the Greenhouse Century? and Laboratory Earth: The Planetary Gamble We can’t Afford to Lose.  In addition, he has authored or co-authored over 345 scientific papers, proceedings, legislative testimonies, edited books and book chapters, and over 145 book reviews, editorials and other popular media pieces. He is featured in numerous films and video productions, and gives frequent interviews for print and television media.

Patricia Romero Lankao

Patricia Romero Lankao is Deputy Director of the Institute for the Study of Society and Environment at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, US. A sociologist by training, she holds two PhD degrees - one in Regional Development and the other in Agricultural Sciences and Environmental Policy. She taught graduate and post-graduate students in Mexico City for 14 years, has collaborated with the Mexican Government, NGOs and public stakeholders, and has led a range of outreach activities on environmental issues. Additionally she has contributed to a number of interdisciplinary international research networks (Global Carbon Project, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Human Dimensions Programme and Inter American Institute for Global Change Research). Her research interests are at the interface of the human dimensions of global environmental change (e.g. the causes and societal impacts of climate change, especially as applied to cities). She was a lead author of the IPCC WGII Report.