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(l to r) Dr. Stephen Hubble, Hon. Russell Train,
Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, Amb. Richard Benedick,
Dr. Jared Diamond, Senator Lincoln Chafee, and
Dr. Craig Schiffries gather after Dr. Diamond’s
lecture on the first night of the conference.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond delivered the John H. Chafee Memorial Lecture, Environmental Collapses of Past Civilizations. Diamond explained how environmental degradation led to the demise of the isolated civilization on Easter Island in the South Pacific.
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Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute for Studies in
Development, Environment and Security, said that the world
is in “a water crisis� that is getting worse. However, he also
noted that the water crisis can be alleviated by pursuing soft-
path solutions that involve community-scale water systems,
open and decentralized decisionmaking, and greater efficiency. |
Mohamed El-Ashry, Chairman and CEO emeritus of the Global Environment Facility, discussed the need for water price reform during his roundtable discussion.
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Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior,
noted that there is no absolute shortage of water
in most areas, emphasizing that we have viewed
water as a free commodity that is delivered at
vastly below cost and is used inefficiently. Fellow
panel members Amb. Richard Benedick,
Mohamed El-Ashry, and Barbara Sheen Todd are
seated behind. |
During his plenary presentation, American Water President and Deputy CEO of RWE Thames Water, Jeremy Pelczer said that the water industry has a responsibility to improve the water situation for the world’s poor. He suggested a role for the private sector that would include very low-return, low-risk investments to provide water more effectively in the developing world.
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NCSE held a luncheon at the Ronald Reagan Building
and International Trade center. |
During his opening address William Reilly, former Administrator of the U.S. EPA, stressed the need
to modify U.S. water policies that have become remnants of a bygone era-when water was plentiful.
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Senator Lincoln Chafee introduces the Fourth Annual
John H. Chafee Memorial Lecture, given in memory
of his late father Senator John Chafee, by recalling his
father’s dedication to the “connection between good
science and good policy.�
| The exhibition and poster sessions featured exhibitions
of innovative water resource programs, products and technologies, as well as research at the interface between water science and water policy.
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