Spring 2009 Climate Alert
Achieving Economic Prosperity and Climate Protection [ PDF ]
In this Newsletter:
Climate Institute News
NEWS FROM MEXICO
In cooperation with key scientific and environmental organizations in Mexico and abroad, the Climate Institute is creating the world’s first National Interactive Climate Awareness and Response Network. Building on Mexican national pride surrounding the 2009 construction of the world’s highest climate observatory, this evolving network seeks to link the Sir Crispin Tickell High Altitude Observatory with climate theaters in several museums and Observatory outreach centers. The Climate Institute has already begun taking greenhouse gas measurements at the observatory site atop Sierra Negra in the State of Puebla. Construction of facilities at the observatory is expected to be complete by early fall 2009.
Well before the observatory is fully operational, parts of the Interactive Network have already drawn wide interest. On February 20, 2009, the Sir Crispin Tickell Observatory Education and Outreach Center was opened in Flor del Bosque, an environmental education park in Puebla. During the observatory’s first month in 
operation, over 15,000 visitors received a 37-minute multimedia presentation on climate change implications. By mid or late 2009, it is anticipated that the Interactive Network will link the Tickell High Altitude Observatory, the Outreach Center at Flor del Bosque, a climate theater pending installation at the Mexico City Museum of Natural History, a climate theater at the Pelopidas Museum in Cancun, and the Climate Institute Training Center in Mexico City. Plans are being implemented to extend the national network to such cities as Cuernavaca and Veracruz, and to develop similar networks elsewhere in Latin America.
In February 2008, Climate Institute Chief Scientist Michael MacCracken was a principal briefer at a strategic retreat held in Cozumel for Board and Senior Staff of Televisa, Mexico’s leading television network. On April 6, 2009, the Puebla Televisa station filmed an hour and 50 minute panel discussion from the Tickell Center in Flor del Bosque. Participating in the experts panel on climate change were Hector Garcia, Director of the Mexico office of the North American Environment Commission; Eduardo Vazquez, Director of the National Natural History Museum in Mexico City; Francisco Castillo, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources of Puebla; and Luis Roberto Acosta, Director of Climate Institute Programs in Mexico and Latin America and the driving force behind the Tickell Observatory and Interactive Network.
By 2010 it is anticipated that as many as 20,000 people will visit sites in the network each week to experience comprehensive multimedia presentations on climate and be introduced to tools to enable and empower them to become problem solvers, working on innovative adaptation and emissions reduction. The network will leverage other joint efforts the Climate Institute is undertaking, including a national climate awareness campaign with CICEANA, efforts with the Climate Lab to enable climate network visitors to participate in this evolving wiki on climate solutions, and work with states and industry groups.
NEWS FROM DC
As part of the Climate Institute’s efforts to reach an international audience, much of the content on our website is being translated into an increasingly wide array of languages. Most recently, Valentina Agostinelli, one of the pioneers of the Climate Institute’s Virtual Intern Program, has helped to expand our international reach by translating articles into Italian. A native of Rome, Italy, Valentina has been residing in Washington, DC for the last year serving as an intern and diplomatic liaison for the Italian Embassy. Valentina holds a Masters degree in Advanced Forms of International Functions focusing on Agricultural Policy from Società Italiana Organizzazioni Internazionali (SIOI) in Rome. Her undergraduate studies at Universtià La Sapienza di Roma focused on International Cooperation and Development, and especially on energy and environmental issues such as environmental governance, sustainable development and the relationship between the environmental policies of European Union and United States. The Climate Institute thanks Valentina for her contributions.
Other Articles in this Newsletter:
Good Economics: A Strategy That Might Save the Climate
Does a Big Economy Need Big Power Plants?
Output-Based Allowances for Efficient Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Green Provisions in the U.S. Stimulus Bill: Reducing Emissions While Saving the Economy?
A Practical Roadmap for Efficient Vehicles