Climate Change

Stabinsky said: "African governments see money; and the picture that the World Bank is painting is a very worthy one. The more land you have, the more soil carbon you can sell. And there is so much land tenure based on customary tenure in Africa; lots of people don't have private title of their land. "So if you really can create the need for a verifiable commodity [in carbon], there may be a reason for governments to go in and claim that land. And the government can do it if they want," she said.

With soaring gas prices, international commitments toreduce carbon emissions, and domestic pressure to reduce dependence on foreign oil, there is significant momentum for the development of alternative energy within the United States. As a mature existing technology, wind energy is the fastest growing source of domestic alternative energy. However, the local siting of wind turbines has been rife with conflict.

2000 Fellow Jen Osha, Founder and President of Aurora Lights, an NGO based in Morgantown, West Virginia, has announced the production of a CD, called "Still Moving Mountains: The Journey Home" to raise awareness of mountaintop removal coal mining, as well as a companion website with educational a d outreach tools for activists, concerned citizens, and teachers.

A panel discussion sponsored by the Switzer Foundation with Switzer fellows Katrina Schneider (SYRCL), Dr. Amy Leurs (Google.org), Dr. Healy Hamilton (California Academy of Sciences), Steven Rothert (American Rivers) and facilitated by Dr. Elizabeth Soderstrom (American Rivers).

Several Switzer Fellows attended the COP 15 climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December through their various organizations. Some have contributed their experiences and thoughts on the proceedings. JASON DELBORNE, Assistant Professor at the Colorado School of Mines, attended the conference under an NSF grant studying process and outcomes. His blog entries are: