2007 Public Policy Symposium for Presidential Scholars Addresses
Global Climate Change

The first annual public policy symposium for Presidential Scholars was held on Saturday, January 20, 2007. The "Symposium on Global Climate Change" challenged Scholars to re-negotiate the Preamble to the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol. Seventeen Scholars represented various global consitutencies: Scientists, Industrialized/Developed Countries, Environmental NGOs, Skeptics, and Developing Countries.

The Symposium on Global Climate Change was created and facilitated by Prof. Loren Cass of the Department of Political Science. Five students from his "Comparative Environmental Policy" course served as Lead Delegates, advising each group.

In the closing Plenary Session the final text of the Preamble was presented. Although the Skeptics Delegation declined to endorse the Preamble, all Delegates did agree that the opportunity to grapple with a critical issue of public policy had been invaluable.

Prof. Cass assessed the participation of each Delegation. To close the Symposium he announced that the Environmental NGO Delegation had been most effective in advocating for its interests.

Members of the Environmental NGO Delegation are pictured below.

Jessica Napolitano '09, Neha Patel '09, Christina Edgerly '09, Sara Bolthrunis '09 (Lead Delegate), Prof. Loren Cass