“Effective Advocacy and Climate Change Science”

Alice Madden, University of Colorado’s Wirth Chair in Sustainable Development spoke at the Natural Resource Ecology Lab this Monday about sustainable energy standards in Colorado, as well as ways to more effectively advocate and communicate climate change science to different publics.

Alice was the first speaker to kick off the Women, Population and Environment speaker series, hosted by Dr. Gillian Bowser and Graduate Research Assistant, Kate Wilkins. The series invites both men and women to talk about their work, as well as discuss issues related to women, climate change and sustainability.

Alice’s talk focused on the political side of sustainable development, highlighting the fact that many women wait to to run for office later in life. Women tend to hold off on holding decision-making positions until they feel more qualified, where as men tend to begin at a younger age.  According to a report conducted by American University,  women are still underrepresented in U.S. political institutions because in general they do not run for office as much as men. It is important to have equal representation of men and women in the legislature to ensure balanced approaches to decisions that affect different groups (Rutgers report: “Poised to Run”).

Alice’s discussion highlighted the legislature role’s in pushing for Colorado’s new energy economy and the need to encourage more women to run for office, concluding with, “Don’t wait for someone to invite you to the table, pull up a chair.”

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For more information on the Women, Population and Environment Speaker series, please contact kwilkins.jur@gmail.com.

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