Ohio State’s Climate, Security, Health and Resilience Initiative has put out a call for abstracts for a series of workshops and conferences it will be hosting this autumn. Copied below are the details for the abstract request. More information can be found here.
Climate, Security, Health and Resilience Initiative Calls for Workshop Abstracts
Ohio State has launched a Climate, Security, Health and Resilience Initiative to develop a better understanding of the impact of climate change on a range of human problems. The initiative is organizing a series of workshops and conferences beginning this autumn to develop a better understanding of the impact of climate change on human issues ranging from human health to food, water and energy security to community sustainability. Abstracts for workshops related to the initiative are due April 25.
Under the leadership of the Office of Research, the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, the Byrd Polar Research Center and the Center for Resilience, the initiative aims to raise awareness and stimulate research regarding the emerging impacts of climate dynamics on human health and well-being; energy, food and water security; international security; population dynamics; and community sustainability and resilience. Traditionally, these domains have been addressed separately in various disciplines, but it is increasingly important for both academics and decision-makers to better understand the systemic linkages among them, and to identify the potential hidden consequences of policy and technology choices.
During 2014-15 the initiative will hold two workshops, one on Climate Change and Health and another on Climate Change and Resource Security. These initial workshops are intended to bring together a network of Ohio State scholars to share their current research, identify a research agenda, and lay the foundation for a broader conference that includes nationally and internationally recognized experts from outside the university.
To participate in either or both of these workshops, email your title and abstract (100 words) for your proposed presentation by Friday April 25, 2014 to mershoncenter@osu.edu. Teams including faculty and graduate students are encouraged to apply. Dates and further details for these workshops will be established in May. Please address questions about the workshop plans to mershoncenter@osu.edu.
The Climate, Security, Health and Resilience Initiative has identified five principal topics, each focusing on specific interdependencies.
(1) Climate and Health — impacts of climate on human and animal health, spread of disease, animal migration, genetic transformations, epidemics, mass extinctions; early warning/preventive methods.
(2) Climate and Resource Security — impacts on water, food, and energy security, including fresh water availability, crop adaptations, renewable resources, nutrition and sanitation in developing nations, commodity supply chains, as well as mitigation of associated greenhouse gas emissions.
(3) Climate and International Security — climate impacts on diplomatic and military conflict resolution, regulation, transboundary environmental problems, governmental instability, and international aid.
(4) Climate and Population Dynamics — impacts on international migration, social mobility, age and gender structure, fertility and social mobility, as well as methods of climate/population modelling.
(5) Climate and Community Resilience — responding to climate impacts and the energy-water-food nexus through adaptation, including urban and regional design, land use, transportation, green buildings, smart growth, carbon mitigation, infrastructure resilience, disaster preparedness, community governance, development of adaptive capacity, and open source urbanism.
For additional information about the Climate, Security, Health and Resilience Initiative, contact Megan Uhrig, program coordinator, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, 614-688-5944.
