Tenth environmental summit set

Florida Coastal School of Law and Jacksonville University will once again combine resources for the 2008 Northeast Florida Environmental Summit Nov. 6.

Now in its 10th year, organizers say this year’s event, “Water Wars: Use, Conflict, and the Future,” is especially relevant.

“For a long time people thought of water use conflicts as being a problem only felt by western states,” said Coastal Law Professor Andrew Long, “but we are now seeing these issues arise within Florida, as in the case of the St. John’s, and between states in the southeast.” 

Long said panelists at the summit will provide scientific, legal and policy perspectives on water-related issues arising in international, national and regional settings. Further discussions, he said, will include the physical and jurisdictional underpinnings of water use conflicts, the various approaches to effectively handling water shortages, and the water crises bubbling up in Florida.

Scheduled speakers include State Rep. Charles McBurney, Christine A. Klein, professor of law and the University of Florida, Cynthia Barnett, senior writer at Florida Trend Magazine, and Adam Schempp, director of the Western Water Program at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C.

“The Environmental Summit is an opportunity for national and regional experts to discuss lessons learned from other conflicts, their bearing on Florida’s current issues, and potential actions for creating a sustainable water management framework for our region,” said Long. “We expect there to be some very timely and insightful dialogue.”

The Northeast Florida Environmental Summit will take place at the Jacksonville University Davis College of Business from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information and a complete agenda, e-mail envsummit@ju.edu or visit www.ju.edu.