Brownbag discussion covers law, science, politics of global climate change

April 2, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicting a dramatic increase in extreme weather, rising sea levels, acidic oceans and deadly heat waves around the world has drawn heavy attention from the media and public alike in recent weeks.

With that in mind, members of the University of Florida Levin College of Law faculty will gather at noon April 4 in Holland Hall Room 345 for a brownbag presentation on “Climate Change: An Overview of the Law, Science, and Politics.” The event is free and open to the public.

Professors Mary Jane Angelo, Tom Ankersen, Alyson Flournoy and Christine Klein will present a quick look at the myriad issues and try to link the various aspects of the debate, including the state of the science, the international context, domestic policies being considered, and potential impacts for other areas of policy.

“For the first time,” Flournoy said, “Congress seems ready to tackle this problem and is holding hearings to really explore the status of what we know and the policies that we might pursue to try to reduce the future impact that our emissions of greenhouse gases will have.”