Environmental Security Events
IN DENVER, COLORADO - Global Choke Point: Confronting Energy Demand and Water Scarcity in China and the United States
April 11, 2013 // 5:00pm — 7:00pm
China Environment Forum
China’s soaring economy, fueled by an unyielding appetite for coal, is threatened by the country's steadily diminishing freshwater reserves. The United States faces similar water-energy confrontations—over millions of gallons of water are taken from ranchers to develop the deep oil and gas shale reserves of the west and there are battles between Georgia and Florida over diminishing drinking water reserves. Global Choke Point, though, is not necessarily a narrative of doom and gloom. The presentations will examine both the challenges and opportunities presented by these looming choke points.
What Does It Take to Cooperate? New Tools for Transboundary Water Cooperation
April 11, 2013 // 9:00am — 11:00am
Environmental Change and Security Program
Join us as we mark the Year of Water Cooperation with a discussion of tools, approaches, and mechanisms that advance global transboundary water cooperation. Over 260 watersheds are shared by two or more states, and 40 percent of the world’s population shares critical water supplies with another country. Although the world has largely avoided conflict over water, increasing population, economic, and climate change pressures could increase tensions over these shared resources making multi-country cooperation on water all the more essential.
Climate Change and Extreme Weather: Impacts on Public Health and Agriculture
April 10, 2013 // 3:00pm — 5:00pm
Brazil Institute
On April 10, the Wilson Center brings together a panel to discuss how climate change is affecting public health and agriculture
The Devouring Dragon: How China’s Rise Threatens Our Natural World
April 04, 2013 // 9:00am — 10:30am
China Environment Forum
While China’s rise is often viewed through its wide-ranging political and economic effects on the world, its growing impacts on the physical planet will leave a more permanent legacy. In his new book, The Devouring Dragon, Craig Simons argues that China’s growing consumer demands have pushed China from being a small player in global resource consumption to its most voracious participant in just a decade. China’s transition is already having massive impacts on the environment.
Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War
March 27, 2013 // 10:30am — 12:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
While there has been much research on the effect of valuable natural resource extraction on a state’s domestic development (e.g., the “resource curse”), Wilson Center Fellow Jeff Colgan focuses on how natural resource extraction affects foreign policy. In 'Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War,' Colgan finds that “petrostates” – countries where revenue from oil exports exceeds 10 percent of GDP – are twice as likely to engage in inter-state conflict than non-petrostates.
Environmental Film Festival: PHE in Tanzania & International Peace Parks
March 19, 2013 // 12:00pm — 2:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
Environmental security and international development aren’t typical movie-going fare, but at the 2013 DC Environmental Film Festival, ECSP premiered two short documentaries with unique environmental stories: ECSP's own 'Healthy People, Healthy Environment: Integrated Development in Tanzania' and 'Transcending Boundaries: Perspectives from the Central Albertine Rift Transfrontier Protected Area Network.'
Shale Gas Revolution in China: Game Changer for Coal?
March 15, 2013 // 9:00am — 11:00am
China Environment Forum
According to China’s 12th Fifth-Year Plan, the Chinese government is prioritizing more gas in the energy mix, using it as a “bridging” fuel between coal and a cleaner energy future. Although a shale and natural gas revolution is unlikely, at least in the short-term, these forms of energy offer promise of a more low-carbon development path for China.
Demographic & Environmental Dynamics Shape 'Global Trends 2030' Scenarios
February 26, 2013 // 10:00am — 12:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
The newest quadrennial report from the National Intelligence Council identifies the “game-changers, megatrends, and black swans” that may determine the trajectory of world affairs over the next 15 years, including population dynamics and natural resource scarcity.
Climate Change and Migration in Mexico: A Report Launch
February 15, 2013 // 9:00am — 10:30am
Environmental Change and Security Program
The conversation around immigration and Mexico has long been tied to the United States and the prevailing economic conditions in both countries. But a new report from the Royal United Services Institute argues that as temperatures rise and precipitation patterns change over the course of the next century, climate too will increasingly become a driver of both internal and international migration in Mexico.
Strengthening Responses to Climate Variability in South Asia
February 07, 2013 // 9:00am — 10:30am
Environmental Change and Security Program
Climate change and conflict can create a self-reinforcing feedback loop: Climate change exacerbates existing conflicts, while conflict makes adapting to climate change more difficult, said Janani Vivekananda of International Alert at the Wilson Center on February 7. She presented the results of nine case studies conducted in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal to find how communities are affected by and adapting to climate change in conflict-prone settings.