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Climate Change Vulnerabilities and Opportunities: Michigan and Beyond

How will climate change affect Michigan? How can Michigan respond?

This symposium addressed these urgent questions.

A focus of the symposium was Michigan's Climate Action Plan, launched in 2009. MCAP is intended to guide the State's action on climate change. The conference reviewed current action in key areas of MCAP and looked at how to move it forward.

The symposium also examined what climate change means in diverse segments of society and the environment, from health to transportation.

The symposium took place at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the MSU campus on April 26 and 27, 2010. It brought together people from government, academia, business and non-governmental organizations, as well as interested citizens.

The symposium was sponsored by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, as a continuation of the Distinguished Lecture Series on Bioeconomy and Global Climate Change.

Below, for each session, we provide 1) speaker abstracts and bios; 2) speaker PowerPoints; and 3) video of the presentation (not available for all sessions). Please contact us with any questions. In some cases, videos do not show PowerPoints clearly; we suggest you download the separate PowerPoint file in addition.

Agenda

Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint [PDF], if available (technical glitches occurred with some videos).

Symposium Agenda for April 26
8 - 8:30 a.m.	Registration and continental breakfast in lobby outside auditorium
8:30 - 10 a.m. Auditorium	Plenary: Planning for climate change in Michigan View speaker biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Update on the Michigan Climate Action Plan: Michigan's plan so far Steve Chester, former director, Department of Environmental Quality The state of the nation: State and regional action on climate Tom Looby, senior project manager, Center for Climate Strategies Next steps for Michigan Rebecca Humphries, director, Department of Natural Resources and Environment A tribal perspective Frank Ettawageshik, executive director, United Tribes of Michigan Moderated by Mike Beaulac, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
10 - 10:15 a.m.	Break
10:15 - 11:45 a.m. Auditorium	Plenary: Economic impacts of mitigation and adaptation strategies View speaker biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Economic impacts of Michigan's Climate Action Plan Dr. Steve Miller, Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, MSU The impact of biofuels Dr. Harry de Gorter, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University The effect of the US biofuel mandate on world food prices and the effect on land use change (CO2 emissions) Dr. Wolfram Schlenker, Economics, Columbia University The cost of mitigation and adaptation in agriculture and forestry Dr. Bruce McCarl, Agricultural Economics, Texas A & M University Moderated by Dr. Jinhua Zhao, Economics and Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, MSU
11:45 a.m. - Noon	Break
Noon - 1 p.m. Big Ten C	Plenary and lunch: Michigan's changing climate View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Future climate scenarios for Michigan Dr. Julie Winkler, Geography, MSU Historial observations and trends Dr. Jeff Andresen, Geography, MSU
1 - 1:15 p.m.	Break
1:15 - 2:45 p.m.	Breakout Sessions
Room 103	Row crop agriculture and climate mitigation: A science perspective View speaker abstracts and biosketches (organized by Dr. Neville Millar and Dr. G. Phillip Robertson, MSU) Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Introduction Dr. G. Phillip Robertson, Crop and Soil Sciences and Kellogg Biological Station, MSU Carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes from agricultural crops of the US Midwest: The effect of land use change for new biofuel Dr. Terenzio Zenone, Landscape, Ecology & Ecosystem Science Laboratory, University of Toledo Growing biofuels for climate change mitigation: Can we customize the water footprints? Dr. Ajay Bhardwaj, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, MSU The energy efficiency of conventional, organic, and alternative cropping systems for food and fuel production in the US Midwest Dr. Ilya Gelfand, Kellogg Biological Station, MSU Farmers and climate change: Some socio-economic challenges to implementing mitigation practices Dr. Julie E. Doll, Kellogg Biological Station, MSU Offset opportunities for row-crop agriculture in the U.S. Midwest: The role of nitrogen fertilizer management for nitrous oxide (N20) mitigation Dr. Neville Millar, Kellogg Biological Station, MSU Linked with Breakout Session "Agriculture: A policy perspective" at 3 p.m.
Room 104	Energy supply: Revisiting the Michigan Climate Action Plan View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Nuclear power in Michigan Skiles Boyd, vice president, Environmental Management and Resources, DTE Energy Renewable Portfolio Standards Alex Morese, Electric Reliability, Michigan Public Service Commission Carbon sequestration in Michigan Dr. Dave Barnes, Geosciences, Western Michigan University Moderated by Dr. Maya Fischhoff, Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU
Room 105	Transportation, land use, and cities: Revisiting the Michigan Climate Action Plan View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Michigan's Green Communities Challenge Sue Jeffers, Michigan Muncipal League Grand Rapids movement toward sustainability Haris Alibasic, Office of Energy and Sustainability, City of Grand Rapids Smart growth in Michigan Wayne Beyea, Land Policy Institute, MSU Moderated by Mike Beaulac, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
2:45 - 3 p.m.	Break
3 - 4:30 p.m.	Breakout Sessions
Room 103	Agriculture: A policy perspective View speaker biosketches (organized by Dr. Neville Millar and Dr. G. Phillip Robertson, MSU) Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint The corporate market for carbon credits Adam Diamant, Global Climate Change Program, Electric Power Research Institute Agriculture and forestry in carbon markets Dr. Ruben Lubowski, senior economist, Environmental Defense Fund Linked with Breakout Session "Row crop agriculture" at 1:15 p.m.
Room 104	Residential, commercial and industrial efficiency: Revisiting the Michigan Climate Action Plan View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Energy efficiency in building codes Pat Hudson, Energy Office, Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth and Tim Mrozowski, Construction Management, MSU. Demand side management Jon Allan, executive director, Environmental Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs, Consumers Energy High performance buildings Guy Bazzani, president, Bazzani Associates Changing energy efficiency behaviors Dr. Thomas Dietz, Environmental Science and Policy Program and Sociology, MSU Moderated by Mike Beaulac, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
Room 105	Michigan's public health response to climate change View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint An overview of the link between climate change and health effects Molly Polverento, president-elect, Michigan Public Health Association Needs assessment for Michigan Dr. Lorri Cameron, Department of Community Health Climate change, heat waves and health: Current research in Southeast Michigan Jalonne White-Newsome, University of Michigan School of Public Health (presented by Lorri Cameron) Water quality and climate change Dr. Asli Aslan-Yilmaz and Marc Verhougstraete, Fisheries and Wildlife, MSU
	Closing sessions
4:40 - 5:30 p.m. Auditorium	Plenary and discussion: Next steps for Michigan View speaker abstract and biosketch Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint The Wisconsin model David Webb, Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) Discussion Moderated by Mike Beaulac, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Big Ten B	Reception and poster session Poster abstracts[PDF]. Linked titles below provide access to full posters MSU Residential and Hospitality Services sustainability initiatives Diane Barker, assistant director of sustainability, Residential and Hospitality Services, MSU Climatically resilient hybrid poplar clones for woody biomass feedstock development Sophan Chinn, Forestry, MSU Climate change in a Great Lakes state: A qualitative review of a climate change conference in Indiana John Clements, Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU Climate change in a Great Lakes state: A qualitative review of a climate change conference in Indiana Alexandre Ferreira da Silva, Northern Illinois University and Calumet College of St. Joseph The Kyoto Protocol: A preliminary assessment of compliance and enforcement issues Jessica Fry, Criminal Justice and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU The implementation of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and its impact on industrial competitiveness Jong Duk Kim, Economics, MSU Modeling: A tool for addressing the challenges of climate change Arika Ligmann-Zielinska (Geography and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU), Sandra Marquart-Pyatt (Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU), Laura Schmitt Olabisi (Community, Agriculture, and Resources Studies and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU) Carbon emission offsets from urban forests at Michigan State University Lisa Parker, Forestry, MSU Plausible climate change adaptations for crop production in the Upper Great Lakes Region of the United States Perdinan, Geography and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU Greenhouse-gas emissions associated with conversion of open lands to short-rotation woody biomass plantations David E. Rothstein (Forestry, MSU), et al. Minnesota GHG mitigation strategy modeling and application to Michigan Dr. Laura Schmitt Olabisi, Community, Agriculture, and Resources Studies and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU Climate change impact assessments: Moving from the local to the global Dr. Julie Winkler (Geography, MSU) et. al. Impacts of carbon sequestration projects on management of and access to forest resources in Malawi Heather Yocum, Anthropology, MSU Can GMOs play a role in adapting Uganda's agriculture to climate change? Barbara Zawedde, Horticulture and Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU

Symposium Agenda for April 27
8 - 8:30 a.m.	Registration and continental breakfast in lobby
8:30 - 10 a.m.	Breakout Sessions
Room 103	Biofuels done right: Integrating agricultural production with new technologies to create a sustainable biofuel economy View speaker abstracts and biosketches No video is available; click presentation title for PowerPoint Food and fuel: The technical potential of increasing bioenergy production and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States using land efficient animal feeds Dr. Bryan Bals, Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory, MSU Land usage in a sustainable landscape, feedstock logistics and the operation of Regional Biomass Processing Depots Pragnya Eranki, Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory, MSU Potential for biofuel and animal feed production from low-input mixed-species feedstocks with comparison to conventional corn stover Rebecca Garlock, Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory, MSU
Room 104	Climate in the media View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video; no PowerPoints were used A view from the ground John Flesher, Associated Press The evolution of media coverage of climate change Julie Halpert, freelance journalist A new model for reporting on climate change Michael Lemonick, senior science writer, Climate Central Moderated by Jim Detjen, director, MSU Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
Room 105	Understanding climate change: Insights from public opinion research View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint Political polarization in views on climate change Dr. Riley Dunlap, Sociology, Oklahoma State University; and Dr. Aaron McCright, Sociology and Lyman Briggs, MSU A pilot study on increasing acceptance of an increase in the gas tax Dr. Stan Kaplowitz, Sociology, MSU; and Dr. Aaron McCright, Sociology and Lyman Briggs, MSU The color of confusion Dr. Julie Libarkin, Geological Sciences and Division of Science and Mathematics Education, MSU Understanding public opinion formation: Why do people reject or support climate change policies? Dr. Rachael Shwom, Human Ecology, Rutgers University Note: This talk continued through the second breakout session at 10:15 a.m. Additionally, the afternoon had an open workshop on these topics. See here for details.
10 - 10:15 a.m.	Break
10:15 - 11:45 a.m.	Breakout sessions
Room 103	Making smart decisions: Exploring the Smart Grid at Michigan State University View speaker abstracts and biosketches Click presentation title for video and PowerPoint What is the "Smart Grid?" Dr. Joydeep Mitra, Electrical and Computer Engineering, MSU Smart Grid economics and policy Dr. Satish Joshi, Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics, MSU Communications technology concerns - Energy Ron Choura, Telecommunications, Information Studies & Media, MSU Lynda Boomer, Energy & Environmental Engineer, MSU Physical Plant
Room 104	Communities preparing for climate change: Insights from community development and roundtable discussion View session abstract and speaker biosketches Click presentation title for PowerPoint; no video is available Communities preparing for climate change: Presentation and roundtable discussion Dr. Jeff Sharp, Rural Sociology, Ohio State University Dr. Steve Gasteyer, Sociology, MSU
Room 105	Understanding climate change: Insights from public opinion research View Abstract This session is a continuation of the "Public and climate change" session held from 8:30 - 10 a.m. in Room 105. Please see earlier session for PowerPoints and videos. See here for more description of the mini-symposium.
11:45 a.m. - Noon	Break
Noon - 1:30 p.m. Big Ten C	Lunch and structured listening session with affiliates of Regional Integrated Science and Assessment Center View abstract and speaker biosketches MSU, the University of Michigan and other colleges and universities in the region are creating a center to examine the effects of climate change on the watersheds of Lake Huron and Erie. The research priorities for this effort will be developed in collaboration with stakeholders and this session was a first effort to identify those priorities. Watch the listening session. (No PowerPoints were used.) The session is led by RISA Principal Investigators: Dr. Tom Dietz, Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy, MSU Dr. Don Scavia, School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Graham Sustainability Institute, UM