ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder’s Max Boykoff documents how the industry-funded Heartland Institute has morphed in the past decade

In 2011, Max Boykoff attended the 2011 Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change in Washington, D.C., to better understand how the prominent conservative think tank was influencing the climate debate.

The institute was founded in 1984 to “discover, develop and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems,” rejecting the consensus of relevant experts on issues such as climate change, healthcare and tobacco regulation.

In his (co-authored with Shawn Olson-Hazboun), “’‘Wise contrarians’: a keystone species in contemporary climate science, politics and policy,” Boykoff examined the motivations, drive and exhilaration among attendees “that prop up these contrarian stances, such as ideological or evidentiary disagreement to the orthodox views of science.”

Max Boykoff, a ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder professor of environmental studies, conducts research to better understand climate contrarianism.

Ten years later, Boykoff ventured back into contrarian country to interview attendees of the Heartland Institute’s 14^th climate-change conference and examine how it compares with the earlier conference.

In his in the journal Climatic Change, Boykoff identified “ten key themes—five comparisons and five contrasts—that point to adaptive strategies deployed in ongoing and wider CCM (climate-change countermovement) efforts that effectively shape sustainability technology and climate policy.”

While in some ways the organization has declined in visibility, Boykoff says it maintains a $6 million budget, largely funded by conservative contrarian entities such as the American Petroleum Institute, the Charles G. Koch Foundation, ExxonMobil, Philip Morris International and the Walton Family Foundation.

“There is a tendency to dismiss them as a bunch of goofballs, aging, largely white men who chip away at people doing good work through (the organization’s) efforts online and elsewhere,” says Boykoff, professor of environmental studies and fellow at , the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, at the University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder. “But it is a mistake to dismiss them because of their ongoing activities that they are continuing to pursue often behind the public scenes.”

Understanding climate contrarianism

Through interviews with 21 speakers in the 2021 conference, Boykoff identified five continuities with the 2011 gathering:

• Ongoing rhetoric of freedom, appeals to liberty and support for free-market capitalism
• Attacks on science, scientists and purported climate “alarmism”
• Self-perception as “embattled underdogs”
• Righteousness and confidence that their views trump those of relevant experts
• A proud “us vs. them” stance and nostalgia for past fights that garnered public attention

“(W)hile they may have viewed themselves as benevolently motivated and careful, critical thinkers, in their prepared remarks, self-assurance, appearances of bold conviction, poor listening skills, sensitivity to criticism, and a lack of empathy were evident … throughout the (2021) conference,” Boykoff writes.

He also identified five key contrasts that have developed over the past decade:

• Instances of paranoia—such as doubting Boykoff’s credentials—in the face of shrinking prestige
• Waning public-facing influence
• “A penchant to feed climate contrarianism into ‘culture wars,’ including anti-vaccination and anti-mask movements”
• Reflection on their individual legacies
• A shift in focus from federal- to state-level sites of resistance and increased undermining of environmental, social and governmental (ESG) actions to influence climate change

Of those, Boykoff finds the shift to state-level action and influence, the attack on ESG principles and the conflation of climate change with seemingly unrelated “culture war” issues the most concerning.

 

Through the freedom and liberty tropes, alarmism and attacks on science, many feel like they are embattled underdogs who think they know better than those who dedicate their lives to this issue.”

 

“Hitching their wagon to culture wars … helps give them a purpose, some semblance of notoriety that some of them seemingly crave,” says Boykoff, adding he was careful to “stick with observation” rather than speculation in writing the paper.

A potent disrupter

Boykoff personally experienced the intensity of Covid-related contrarianism, with one man demanding that he remove his mask.

“Anti-masking rhetoric pervaded my conversations,” he says. “It helps them feel as if they are fighting some heroic, just cause.”

Attacking ESG principles gave participants a “hook to talk about the ‘woke left,’ the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the Fed (Federal Reserve). … Through the freedom and liberty tropes, alarmism and attacks on science, many feel like they are embattled underdogs who think they know better than those who dedicate their lives to this issue,” he says.

Despite the vigorous contrarianism he encountered, the 2021 conference struck Boykoff as further evidence of the conference sponsor’s fading public-facing influence.

“While this research finds persistent animosity and division fed by Heartland Institute speakers and participants,” he writes, “there are emergent signals that these rhetorical strategies are increasingly being viewed as ossified and fossilized in a decarbonizing world.”

Even so, Boykoff warns that the institute remains a potent disrupter, supporting such efforts as mailing climate-contrarian school materials to teachers who may not have time to fully vet the information.

“These are dated perspectives, and the world is moving on,” he says. “But they are persistent, and they are still getting a lot of funding.”

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What the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020–and 2,500 years of forest history–tell us about the future of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ in the West

Strong winds blew across mountain slopes after a record-setting warm, dry summer. Small fires began to blow up into huge conflagrations. Towns in crisis scrambled to escape as fires bore down.

This could describe any number of recent events, in places as disparate as , ,  and . But this fire disaster happened over 110 years ago in the Northern Rocky Mountains of Idaho and Montana.

The “” of 1910 still holds the record for the largest fire season in the Northern Rockies. Hundreds of fires burned over 3 million acres – roughly the size of Connecticut – most in just two days. The fires destroyed towns, killed 86 people and galvanized public policies committed to putting out every fire.

Today, as the climate warms, fire seasons like in 1910 are becoming more likely. The  was an example. But are extreme fire seasons like these really that unusual in the context of history? And, when fire activity begins to surpass anything experienced in thousands of years – as research suggests is happening in the Southern Rockies – what will happen to the forests?

ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder researcher Kyra Clark-Wolf holds a sediment core pulled from a lake containing evidence of fires over thousands of years. (Photo and top image: Philip Higuera)

As paleoecologists, we study how and why ecosystems changed in the past. In a multiyear project, highlighted in  , we tracked how often forest fires occurred in high-elevation forests in the Rocky Mountains over the past 2,500 years, how those fires varied with the climate and how they affected ecosystems. This long view provides both hopeful and concerning lessons for making sense of today’s extreme fire events and impacts on forests.

Lakes record history going back millennia

When a high-elevation forest burns, fires consume tree needles and small branches, killing most trees and lofting charcoal in the air. Some of that charcoal lands on lakes and sinks to the bottom, where it is preserved in layers as sediment accumulates.

After the fire, trees regrow and also leave evidence of their existence in the form of pollen grains that fall on the lake and sink to the bottom.

By  of those lake sediments, like a straw pushed into a layer cake from above, we were able to measure the amounts of charcoal and pollen in each layer and reconstruct the history of fire and forest recovery around a dozen lakes across the footprint of the 1910 fires.

Lessons from Rockies’ long history with fire

The  that high-elevation, or subalpine, forests in the Northern Rockies in Montana and Idaho have consistently bounced back after fires, even during periods of  and more frequent burning than we saw in the 20th century.

High-elevation forests only burn about once  on average.  that the amount of burning in subalpine forests of the Northern Rockies over the 20th and 21st centuries remained within the bounds of what those forests experienced over the previous 2,500 years. Even today, the Northern Rockies , including  after extensive fires .

But  in high-elevation forests of the Southern Rockies in ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ and Wyoming tells a different story.

The record-setting 2020 fire season, with , helped push the rate of burning in high-elevation forests in ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ and Wyoming into  relative to the past 2,000 years.

Long-term changes in climate, forest density and fire frequency over the past 4,800 years in one high-elevation forest in the Northern Rockies, reconstructed from lake sediments. The red dots reflect timing of past fires. (Infographic: Kyra Clark-Wolf)

Climate change is also having bigger impacts on  in warmer, drier regions of the West, including the , the . When fires are followed by especially warm, dry summers, seedlings can’t establish and forests struggle to regenerate. In some places, shrubby or grassy vegetation replace trees altogether.

Changes happening now in the Southern Rockies could serve as an early warning for what to expect further down the road in the Northern Rockies.

Warmer climate, greater fire activity, higher risks

Looking back thousands of years, it’s hard to ignore the consistent links between the climate and the prevalence of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ.

Warmer, drier springs and summers  to make extensive fire seasons more likely. This was the case  in the Northern Rockies and  in the Southern Rockies.

When, where and how climate change will push the rate of burning in the rest of the Rockies into uncharted territory is harder to anticipate. The difference between 1910 and 2020 was that 1910 was followed by decades with low fire activity, whereas 2020 was part of an overall trend of increasing fire activity linked with global warming. Just one fire like 1910’s Big Burn in the coming decades, in the context of 21st-century fire activity, would push the Northern Rockies beyond any known records.

Lessons from the long view

The clock is ticking.

 as the climate warms, and it will be . Human activity is also raising the risk of fires starting.

The Big Burn of 1910 left a lasting impression because of the devastating impacts on lives and homes and,  and many other recent fire disasters, because of the  in igniting them.

Accidental ignitions – from downed power lines, escaped campfires, dragging chains, railroads – expand , and . The fire that , is the most recent example.

So what can we do?

 from vehicles, power plants and other sources can help slow warming and the impacts of climate change on ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ, ecosystems and communities.  can , protecting humans and .

 – building with fire-resistant materials, reducing accidental ignitions and increasing preparedness for extreme events – can  while maintaining the critical role that fires have played in forests across the Rocky Mountains for millennia.

is a post-doctoral research associate in ecology in at ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder; Philip Higuera is a professor of fire ecology at the University of Montana

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

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ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder and NOAA scientists join panel discussion following Boulder screening of Ice on Fire, an HBO documentary

Human activity has changed the climate, and humans have not yet done enough to slow—much less reverse—the damage, yet four scientists who study climate change all agreed this week that they have reason for optimism.

The scientists, all of whom appear in the HBO documentary , joined a panel discussion after the Boulder screening of the film on the University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder campus.

Gabrielle Petron, at right, makes a point during a panel discussion on campus following the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder screening of the HBO documentary Ice on Fire. To her left are other Boulder experts who also appear in the film: College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean James W.C. White, NOAA Scientist Pieter Tans, and INSTAAR Climate Technician Jennifer Morse. Photo by Glenn Asakawa. At the top of the page is an image from the filming of the documentary.

“On the pessimism scale, I’m an 8 or 9” on a scale of one to 10, said James W.C. White, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a highly cited climatologist. On the optimism scale, however, he said he was a 9 or 10. 

“The generation of students that comes to this campus wants to change the world. I want to give them every opportunity to do that,” White said.

Produced by Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, George DiCaprio and Mathew Schmid, Ice on Fire focuses on solutions designed to slow the accelerating environmental crisis. It argues that renewable energy is necessary but insufficient to meet the climate challenge. 

White’s acknowledgement of the grim scientific findings but expression of hope reflected the themes of Ice on Fire, which also features three other Boulder scientists who joined the panel discussion: 

• Jennifer Morse, climate technician at the Mountain Research Station of the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder (INSTAAR).
• Gabrielle Petron, research scientist at the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder (CIRES)/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Pieter Tans, chief of the Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases Group at the Global Monitoring Division. 

Waleed Abdalati, who directs CIRES and moderated the panel discussion, asked the experts how they’d rank both their pessimism and optimism.

Tans said he was both pessimistic and optimistic, noting that the Paris Agreement on climate action hasn’t been effectively implemented. On the other hand, he said, people have the freedom to vote for government leaders who will take action.

Petron, too, expressed both pessimism and optimism, emphasizing the desire of younger people to address climate change. “Even our generation, we want a world we can thrive in,” she said.

Morse emphasized hope. “I’m super-optimistic about the next generation, but let’s not leave it all to them,” she said.

Meanwhile, the rapid decreases in land and sea ice are grave causes for concern, the panelists said. “What’s concerning about an ice-free Arctic is a planet that has a very different weather pattern from where we live,” White said. “There’s a huge amount of carbon locked up in the Arctic.”

Indigenous people see the change first hand, he added: “If you are indigenous to the Arctic, you are terrified.”

Ice on Fire argues for a two-pronged approach to reversing the crisis: reducing carbon emissions through traditional renewable energy sources and new ones, like tidal energy, and implementing “drawdown” measures, focusing on methods for drawing down and sequestering carbon, including direct air capture, sea farms, urban farms, biochar, marine snow and bionic leaves.

The panelists also discussed how individuals can help in their everyday lives, even if they can’t afford to buy solar panels and don’t own their own homes (and thus can’t invest in energy-efficiency measures). Consuming less stuff and eating lower on the food chain were two suggestions.

After a spirited Q&A session with the audience, Abdalati asked the panelists to give the audience a one-sentence message to take home. Two responded with one word.

Morse: “Together.”

Tans: “Solidarity.”

Petron: “We don’t have time; we need to act.”

White: “Show your children and grandchildren that you really do love them.”

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ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder and NOAA scientists to join panel discussion following the film

Leila Conners and Leonardo DiCaprio arrive for the LA Premiere Of HBO's Ice On Fire. Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images. At the top of the page, cinemetographer Harun Mehmedinovic surveys an Arctic sky. Photo by Harun Mehmedinovic.

(Note: Due to a family emergency, Leila Connors, the film's director, will not attend the screening as originally reported. This story has been amended accordingly.)

Have humans past the tipping point with the climate, or can we act, even now, to reduce the damage the planet’s inhabitants will suffer? That’s a question posed in the HBO documentary Ice on Fire, which features three University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder scientists. 

The university will host a screening of the film on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the CASE Auditorium on campus. The event is free, but registration is required; follow . 

Produced by Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, George DiCaprio and Mathew Schmid, Ice on Fire focuses on solutions designed to slow the accelerating environmental crisis. It argues that renewable energy is necessary but insufficient to meet the challenge. 

Ice on Fire emphasizes the importance of an immediate, two-pronged approach to reversing the crisis: reducing carbon emissions through traditional renewable energy sources and new ones, like tidal energy, and implementing “drawdown” measures, focusing on methods for drawing down and sequestering carbon, including direct air capture, sea farms, urban farms, biochar, marine snow, bionic leaves and others.

“It’s an intelligently structured series of arguments which repeatedly takes the audience to the brink of despair, before pulling back with a glimmer of optimism,” a Screen Daily review said. The film premiered to a standing ovation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. 

The post-screening panel discussion will be moderated by Waleed Abdalati, director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder. The panelists will include four local scientists who appear in the film. They are:

• Jennifer Morse, Climate Technician, Mountain Research Station, ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR).
• Gabrielle Petron, research scientist at CIRES/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Pieter Tans, chief, Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases Group, NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory Global Monitoring Division.
• Jim White, interim dean, ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder College of Arts and Sciences, professor of geological sciences and former INSTAAR director. 

The event is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, with support from the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder Research & Innovation Office, INSTAAR and CIRES.

[video:https://youtu.be/Elf0RFBhr8I]

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Book description: As climate change adaptation rises up the international policy agenda, matched by increasing funds and frameworks for action, there are mounting questions over how to ensure the needs of vulnerable people on the ground are met. Community-based adaptation (CBA) is one growing proposal that argues for tailored support at the local level to enable vulnerable people to identify and implement appropriate community-based responses to climate change themselves.

Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change: Scaling it up explores the challenges for meeting the scale of the adaptation challenge through CBA. It asks the fundamental questions: How can we draw replicable lessons to move from place-based projects towards more programmatic adaptation planning? How does CBA fit with larger scale adaptation policy and programmes? How are CBA interventions situated within the institutions that enable or undermine adaptive capacity?

Combining the research and experience of prominent adaptation and development theorists and practitioners, this book presents cutting edge knowledge that moves the debate on CBA forward towards effective, appropriate, and ‘scaled-up’ adaptive action.

Publication date: Jan. 17, /2014

Publisher:

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Book description: The Galápagos Islands are renown for their unique flora and fauna, inspiring Charles Darwin in the elaboration of his theory of evolution. Yet in his Voyage of the Beagle, published in 1839, Darwin also remarked on the fascinating geology and volcanic origin of these enchanted Islands. Since then, the Galápagos continue to provide scientists with inspiration and invaluable information about ocean island formation and evolution, mantle plumes, and the deep Earth.

Motivated by an interdisciplinary Chapman Conference held in the Islands, this AGU volume provides cross-disciplinary collection of recent research into the origin and nature of ocean islands, from their deepest roots in Earth's mantle, to volcanism, surface processes, and the interface between geology and biodiversity.

Volume highlights include:

• Case studies in biogeographical, hydrological, and chronological perspective
• Understanding the connection between geological processes and biodiversity
• Synthesis of decades of interdisciplinary research in physical processes from surface to deep interior of the earth
• In-depth discussion of the concept of the island acting as a natural laboratory for earth scientists
• Integrated understanding of the Galápagos region from a geological perspective

Collectively, The Galápagos presents case studies illustrating the Galápagos Archipelago as a dynamic natural laboratory for the earth sciences. This book would be of special interest to a multidisciplinary audience in earth sciences, including petrologists, volcanologists, geochronologists, geochemists, and geobiologists.

Publication date: Oct. 1, 2014

Publisher:

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There probably is not a more suitable location for one of the world’s only interdisciplinary certificates in Arctic studies than the University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder.

Benjamin Teitelbaum

“In some ways we couldn’t afford not to do it,” said Assistant Professor Benjamin Teitelbaum, who will serve as the director of the certificate that will be administered by the College of Arts and Sciences’ International Affairs Program.

“We have a world-class research institutes like INSTAAR (the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research) and CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences), a program in International Affairs, a program in Nordic Studies, and the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies.”

“With all that already in place, there is relatively little new that is needed,” Teitelbaum said. Indeed, talks between International Affairs, INSTAAR and CIRES, which oversees the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), were initiated little more than a year ago.

“Part of the impetus to creating the certificate was our recognition of the growing geopolitical significance of the Arctic area in general,” said Teitelbaum, noting the growing potential for international conflict over natural resources as shipping lanes open.

In addition to International Affairs, INSTAAR and CIRES, the undergraduate certificate is also supported by the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, the Department of Geography, the Environmental Studies Program, the Department of Anthropology, and the Department of Ethnic Studies. Teitelbaum credited NSIDC Director Mark Serreze, a geography professor, and Tom Zeiler, director of international affairs, with really getting the ball rolling in early discussions.

“Of course, one of the most pressing issues is ice melt; where we see the effects of global warming taking place at a greater degree than elsewhere,” Teitelbaum said. “But we’ve designed this certificate to crisscross the boundaries between the humanities, social sciences and the natural sciences.”

The program’s first offerings will begin in spring 2017 semester and are open to all ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ undergraduates. The certificate requires the completion of six courses for a total of 18 credit hours.

“I think this is going to attract a wide range of students. Students interested in geopolitics, or students interested in environmental studies or students interested in policy can all concentrate in areas they are familiar with, though we want to make inroads in showing people that the environment, politics and arts are all affected together.”

Credit hours are distributed in three categories: certificate core courses, environment and policy, and culture and society. The core courses include Geography 2271 - Introduction to Arctic Climate and Environment; Political Science 3206 - The Environment and Public Policy; and International Affairs 3631 - Arctic Society and Culture.

From the core courses, the program offers flexibility for undergraduate students to follow their own strengths—for instance, in choosing among science-, policy- or societal-driven studies. That’s important to Teitelbaum, who hopes that the program attracts a good cross-section of students who will also bring differentiated interests on board.

“I think this is going to attract a wide range of students,” he said. “Students interested in geopolitics, or students interested in environmental studies or students interested in policy can all concentrate in areas they are familiar with, though we want to make inroads in showing people that the environment, politics and arts are all affected together.”

While perhaps the Inuit people in Alaska and Canada get at least some coverage by the American press, there is growing nationalism and conflict involving indigenous people in northern Europe, Russia and Siberia, as well. Teitelbaum's doctorate is in ethnomusicology, but his studies have extended into such areas as radical nationalism and neofascism in the Nordic countries, and he said that cultural offerings in the certificate will also explore modern culture and politics.

For more on the certificate in Arctic studies, click .

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The Milky Way, the brilliant river of stars that has dominated the night sky and human imaginations since time immemorial, is but a faded memory to one third of humanity and 80 percent of Americans, according to a new global atlas of light pollution produced by Italian and American scientists.

Light pollution is one of the most pervasive forms of environmental alteration. In most developed countries, the ubiquitous presence of artificial lights creates a luminous fog that swamps the stars and constellations of the night sky. 

Light pollution now blots out the Milky Way for eight in ten Americans. Bright areas in this map show where the sky glow from artificial lighting obscures the stars and constellations. An interactive version of this image, credits and data download instructions are .

"We've got whole generations of people in the United States who have never seen the Milky Way," said Chris Elvidge, a scientist with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information in Boulder, ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ. "It's a big part of our connection to the cosmos -- and it's been lost." 

Elvidge, along with Kimberly Baugh of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder, is part of a team that just updated a global atlas of light pollution published today in the journal Science Advances. Using high-resolution satellite data and precision sky brightness measurements, their study produced the most accurate assessment yet of the global impact of light pollution. 

"I hope that this atlas will finally open the eyes of people to light pollution," said lead author Fabio Falchi from the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute in Italy.

The atlas takes advantage of low-light imaging now available from the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, calibrated by thousands of ground observations. 

Light pollution is most extensive in countries like Singapore, Italy and South Korea, while Canada and Australia retain the most dark sky. In western Europe, only small areas of night sky remain relatively undiminished, mainly in Scotland, Sweden and Norway. Despite the vast open spaces of the American west, almost half of the U.S. experiences light-polluted nights.

"In the U.S., some of our national parks are just about the last refuge of darkness - places like Yellowstone and the desert southwest," said co-author Dan Duriscoe of the National Park Service. "We're lucky to have a lot of public land that provides a buffer from large cities." 

Light pollution does more than rob humans of the opportunity to ponder the night sky. Unnatural light can confuse or expose wildlife like insects, birds and sea turtles, with often fatal consequences.

Fortunately, light pollution can be controlled by shielding lights to limit shine to the immediate area, reducing lighting to the minimum amount needed -- or by simply turning them off. 

More on the Web:

• Interactive map with data download instructions (note: not available until embargo lifts) - 

This press release was from the

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The new Sustainability, Energy and Environment Complex (SEEC) at the University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder is now open. After many years of hard work by scores of people, the university held an official dedication ceremony on April 14 for the $114 million scientific collaboration center, which will position ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ as a global hub for environmental, energy and sustainability research.

Several ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ dignitaries and donors spoke at the ceremony.

“SEEC establishes ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ-Boulder as the epicenter for environmental sciences and geosciences research nationally and perhaps worldwide,” said ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Provost Russ Moore. “The opportunity for our students is going to be incredible.”

Chancellor Philip DiStefano concurred, “SEEC offers a new gateway to the university, welcoming the community for public talks, artist exhibits, educational outreach and department centers.”

Bob Sievers, a professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry and one of the major donors to the project, said, “Sustainability is about reduction of stress, reduction of pain. It is the future of our world. We are on a new journey.”

SEEC consists of two buildings: a brand-new 115,000-square-foot, LEED-certified laboratory building with state-of-the-art analytical instruments and synthesis capabilities and an adjoining refurbished 289,000-square-foot educational facility designed for departmental centers, teaching, programs, collaborative work and community outreach. The complex is located on East Campus, near the northwest corner of Foothills Parkway and ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Avenue.

SEEC was designed as a collaborative space to bring together the best minds in the world to tackle problems related to sustainability, energy and the environment.

“Our world is facing significant issues with the changing environment, increasing populations and limited resources,” DiStefano said. “The intersection of people, resources and our planet is where ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ-Boulder can use its expertise to address the world’s most pressing problems.”

“The new building is a spectacular instantiation of what that kind of innovative, interdisciplinary, forward-thinking work can represent and produce,” said John Stevenson, dean of the Graduate School. “This building is crucial for the future of the planet. We have done enormous damage to it in the name of progress. A place like this will change the way the world thinks about its own future.”

“SEEC has been a long and evolutionary process,” said Jim White, director of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), who was an integral part of the planning process. “What began as a single building in the Grandview area of campus for environmental studies has become two buildings” that will house many researchers from many different disciplines and agencies.

Some of the entities that will be collaborating at SEEC include:

• Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department (ATOC)
• Center for the American West
• ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ School of Mines
• ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ State University (CSU)
• Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
• Environmental Engineering Department
• Environmental Studies Department
• Federal agencies and contractors, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Institute of Arctic & Alpine Research (INSTAAR)
• Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI)

Vice Chancellor for Research Terri Fiez remarked, “We are excited about the future research in education in the energy and environment. Our partners are key to that. We see this as an opportunity to deepen these relationships. When that all comes together, it will change the way we do what we’ve done traditionally at ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ. That’s what this building is really about is transforming the opportunities.”

The ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ administration emphasized that the facilities were created without financial help from the state. DiStefano said, “It’s notable that SEEC had no state funding whatsoever. We did this on our own. It was totally funded by the university and our donors who believe in what we can accomplish.”

“The state has difficulty with capital construction funds, but it doesn’t stop us from taking the lead to do things in the areas of sustainability, the environment and energy,” DiStefano remarked.

Photos from SEEC Opening Ceremony, April 14, 2016

Click on picture for larger image.

Laura Kriho is web and publications coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences.

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