Seminar Series
The Environmental Ethics Seminar lectures feature a variety of environmental ethics related topics from university faculty and guests lecturers. Lectures are open to the public and required for students enrolled in EETH 4000/6000 Environmental Ethics Seminar.
FALL 2022 Seminars
NOV 1: Forests as Fuel: Energy, Landscape Climate and Race in the U.S. South
Sarah Hitchner, John Schelhas and J. Peter Brosius | JSB 125 | 5:30 - 7:30 pm
In the US South, wood-based bioenergy schemes are being promoted and implemented through a powerful vision merging social, environmental, and economic benefits for rural, forest-dependent communities. While this dominant narrative has led to heavy investment in experimental technologies and rural development, many complexities and complications have emerged during implementation. This seminar, and the recently published book of the same name draws on extensive multi-sited ethnography to ground the story of wood-based bioenergy in the biophysical, economic, political, social, and cultural landscape of this region. This careful and nuanced analysis that can provide guidance for promoting meaningful participation of local community members in renewable energy policy and production while recognizing the complex interplay of factors affecting its implementation in local places.
Sarah Hitchner is assistant research scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Georgia.
John Schelhas is research forester with the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service.
J. Peter Brosius is distinguished research professor of anthropology at the University of Georgia and founding director of the University of Georgia's Center for Integrative Conservation Research.
SEPT 20: Dr. Dan Matisoff, Associate Professor in Public Policy, Georgia Tech
Green Market Transformation: Learning to LEED
With the imminent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, hopes have risen that the US has finally taken meaningful steps to address Climate Change. Recent research on Green Market Transformation suggests a number of policy levers that can help maximize the impact of federally allocated funding and accelerate the adoption of the technologies needed to address climate change. This talk explores how public and private sector forces have aligned to catalyze successful Green Market Transformation in the building industry, and how these successes can be leveraged for sustainability transitions.
Daniel Matisoff is an associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Public Policy where he founded and directs the Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management program, serves as a fellow with the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, and is on the advisory board of the Strategic Energy Institute. He has authored over 25 journal articles and the forthcoming book: Ecolabels, Innovation, and Green Market Transformation : Learning to LEED with Cambridge University Press. He has participated in over $5 million of sponsored research through the National Science Foundation, amongst other public and private sector sponsors. Recently Dr. Matisoff served as the lead author for the Buildings and Materials and Alternative Transportation solutions for Drawdown Georgia, a privately funded initiative to assess and implement techno-economic solutions to mitigate carbon emissions in Georgia. His degrees are in Public Policy from Indiana University and Economics and International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
In his free time, he enjoys backpacking in the Georgia wilderness, brewing beer, running on roads and trails, and competing in ultimate frisbee against people much younger than himself.
If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else for a seminar talk, please contact Alfie Vick at ravick@uga.edu. Please check back soon for more information!
To watch the recording of the seminar, click here.