On December 4, 2009, 1-3 pm, at the Kellen Auditorium, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York City, we will hear from two experts: Dinah A. Koehler and Iddo Wernick who are active in the debate on alternative energy. Each of them will present a critical view on the state of alternative energy systems. In addition, Barry Herman, Research Director at the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment will be moderating the discussion.

Alternative Energy: Risks and Rewards:

Analysts and advocates alike have looked to alternative energies to potentially balance demand for power, reduce the global carbon footprint and lessen dependency on fossil fuels. While some investments in this sector have met with success, the alternative energy industry remains vulnerable to numerous, and largely unknown risks; and the rewards, while potentially great, often seem elusive. In the United States, first generation biofuels resulted in investment in corn-based ethanol, with significant international political impacts. The resulting crisis opened a knowledge window into the consequences of using food for fuel.

Core questions for this symposium include: What are the costs associated with shifts towards alternative energy; what lessons have been learned from biofuels; what alternatives have the most promise, from the perspectives of carbon reduction and economic sustainability; and what governments and regions are best poised to take advantage of alternatives, with an eye towards what lessons we can learn from their experiences?
> Dinah Koehler’s talk “Biofuels – an easy way out?” will address the need for alternative energy sources to supplant high carbon fossil fuels, particularly in the context of mitigating climate change. Dr. Koehler will also discuss the resource requirements from various biofuel sources, provide some guidance on the life cycle impacts of biofuels and discuss investment trends.

> Iddo Wernick will discuss his research on carbon reduction strategies, with background on the spatial density of energy systems and the roles of natural gas and nuclear power in potential carbon reduction strategies.  A background paper on his work can be found on the International Relations and Security Network:
>  http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Libra…

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Dinah Koehler, Sc.D., earned her Doctor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Risk Management from Harvard’s School of Public Health, did coursework at MIT Sloan and Harvard Business School, received an M.A., Law & Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a BA from Wellesley College. Her research, writing, environmental management, and public policy experience and practice span 17 years in the public and private sectors and academia. She worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Research and was Senior Research Associate at the Conference Board’s Center for Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability. Among her areas of expertise are corporate sustainability reporting models and performance ratings systems, energy intensity and sustainability indicators, trade and sustainability, international relations and environmental policy, capital markets and environmental health, finance, decision sciences, and climate change.
Iddo Wernick, Ph.D., has worked in the field of industrial ecology – the study of industrial activity as an integral part of ecological systems  – in developing methods and indicators useful in formulating public policy and commercial applications  An applied physicist by training, with a Ph.D. from Columbia, Dr. Wernick has taught at Yeshiva University and Columbia University, was one of the founders of Ecos Technologies, an environmental knowledge management software venture, and served as a project leader at the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC.  Dr. Wernick currently works as a medical physicist in New York City and serves as a guest investigator at The Rockefeller University as well as the Center for Responsible Environmental Strategies in Austin, Texas.

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