Carleton College invites the public to participate in the next session of its four-part discussion series, “What’s Next for the Country?,” designed to take a closer look at issues concerning the nation in light of the Trump presidency and a Republican Congress. The series hopes to clarify major concerns and inspire discussion in the Carleton and larger Northfield community based on informed opinions.
All sessions are free and open to the public, followed by a dessert reception with panelists.
The next panel takes place Tuesday, April 4 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Severance Great Hall, and will focus on climate change and environmental policy. With the Trump administration dedicated to rolling back environmental regulations it sees as inefficient, those concerned with pollution and climate change have become more actively mobilized.
Featured panelists will include:
Kim Smith, professor of environmental studies and political science at Carleton, teaching courses in political theory, constitutional law, environmental ethics and environmental politics. She earned her PhD in political science from the University of Michigan and a JD from the University of California at Berkeley. Her publications include African American Environmental Thought (University Press of Kansas, 2007) and Governing Animals: Animal Welfare and the Liberal State (Oxford University Press, 2012). Smith will speak about the effort to create a national climate policy, from the 2007 Supreme Court decision Massachusetts v EPA to President Trump's recent Executive Order regarding the CPP. She will also clarify the legal context and map out some possibilities for moving forward.
Ellen Anderson, executive director of the University of Minnesota’s Energy Transition Lab. From 2012 to 2014, Anderson served as senior advisor on energy and environment to Governor Mark Dayton and she assisted the state Environmental Quality Board. From 2011 to 2012, she served as Chair of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Before then, she served for 18 years in the Minnesota Senate. Currently, as director of the Energy Transitions Lab, she oversees an organization that leverages University expertise in law, policy, and other disciplines, in partnership with the public, private, community, and nonprofit sectors, to help solve our biggest energy challenges for the future. On the panel, Anderson will address trends in our energy transition—where we have been, where we are going, and what it will take to get to a functioning low-carbon energy system.
Dan Hernández, associate professor of biology at Carleton, an ecologist who studies the conservation and restoration of grassland ecosystems. His research is focused on the drivers of biodiversity loss in grasslands and how alternative management approaches may lead to better conservation outcomes. Hernandez will discuss how climate change threatens our conservation priorities.
Previous installments of “What’s Next for the Country?” have focused on Immigration, Civil and Political Rights and Healthcare Reform. Videos of those sessions were recorded and archived for online viewing here.
The series concludes Thursday, May 4 focused on Foreign Policy.
“What’s Next for the Country?” is sponsored by the Carleton College Community, Equity, Diversity Initiative (CEDI). For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-5597. Severance Great Hall is located off College Street on the Carleton campus.