The ongoing work of the U.S. National Academies Committee on America's Climate Choices was the topic of a Transatlantic Dinner Dialogue on 23 March 2010 in honour of Donald F. Boesch. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) addresses critical national issues and gives advice based on scientific findings to the U.S. Government and the public. Don Boesch is a Professor of Marine Science and President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and is a member of the 'Overarching Committee' of the U.S. National Academies Committee on America's Climate Choices.

U.S. National Academies Committee on America's Climate Choices

In response to a request from Congress, the National Academies have launched America's Climate Choices, a series of studies designed to inform and guide responses to climate change across the nation. Experts representing various levels of government, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and research have been selected to serve on four panels and an overarching committee. The committee will issue a final report in 2010 that will integrate the findings and recommendations from the four panel reports and other sources to identify the most effective short-term actions and most promising long-term strategies, investments, and opportunities for responding to climate change.

Donald F. Boesch introduced the work of the Committee on America's Climate Choices, and the participants of the Dinner Dialogue discussed how experiences with implementing and communicating adaption measures can be made accessible to policy makers and the public.

The subsequent discussion touched upon topics like:

• possible effects on communities and the uncertainties arising from different forecasts, ranging from incremental to radical changes in their local environment.
• the importance of finding a common language among different communities and the positive role epistemic communities can play in overcoming cultural barriers and fostering a common mind-set.
• the importance of taking into account the regulatory culture of the affected community, especially that the success of participatory processes is dependent on the degree to which local people are familiar with participation efforts.
• the difficulties arising from the diversity of  regulatory frameworks that govern water bodies and their corresponding watersheds, be it different state legislation in the US or differences of neighbouring regions or states in the Baltic Sea area.
• implications for national security, the accessibility of formerly disclosed data from monitoring facilities operated by the military, and the heightened awareness to climate change of the security community as expressed in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR)

Further links:

• Bio Donald F. Boesch
• The Committee on America's Climate Choices
• Panel on Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change
• Panel on Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change
• Panel on Advancing the Science of Climate Change
• Panel on Informing Effective Decisions and Actions Related to Climate Change
• Quadrennial Defense Review
• Ecologic Project: RADOST - Regional adaptation strategies for the German Baltic Sea
• Ecologic Project: CALAMAR - Cooperation Across the Atlantic for Marine Governance Integration