by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Florida Coastal School of Law and Jacksonville University are teaming up for the ninth year to hold the Environmental Summit.
The Summit is from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 2 at Florida Coastal School of Law.
This year’s Summit topic — “Rising to the Challenge: Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies to Combat the Impacts of Sea Level Rise” — has gained national and local attention.
“This topic is very relevant nationwide as well as right here in Northeast Florida,” said Florida Coastal Professor Randy Abate.
Some of the areas the Summit will focus on include global climate change and the impact that rising sea levels have on coastal areas including wildlife, coastal property owners and business/tourism.
This year’s luncheon keynote speaker is Dr. Orrin Pilkey, the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Geology, Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke University. Much of his research concentrates on coastal geology. The closing keynote speaker is Robin Kundis Craig, professor at Florida State University College of Law. Abate said Craig is a national expert on Ocean and Coastal Law and she will be offering more of a legal perspective to the topic.
The Summit will begin with registration and a continental breakfast. The rest of the day will be set up in a panel discussion with moderators from both schools and the legal community.
The first two topics for the whole group are The Basic Science Underlying Climate Change and Sea Level Rise and Mitigating the Causes of Climate Change.
After lunch, those attending the event can go to one of these three panels:
• Impacts on Marine Wildlife and Fisheries.
• Impacts on Beaches and Coastal Property Owners.
• Impacts on Development, Industry and Tourism.
The last panel, Federal, State and Local Government Perspectives on Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies to Combat the Impacts of Sea Level Rise, is again for everyone:
The summit ends with the closing keynote speaker.
Last year the Summit saw its largest turnout with 130 attendees. This year, Abate said they are hoping for more.
“We have a new multi-purpose room (on the 5th floor) that holds 160,” he said. “We will also have a room with video feed for students who are interested, but we may also have some paying customers there as well.”
The event is open to the public. Abate said in the past they have drawn environmental consultants, environmental activists, attorneys and private citizens.
“It has been more of a non-legal event in the past and we are trying to move to more legal, but still keep it multi-disciplinary,” he said.
Environmental Summit 2007
• To register visit www.fcsl.edu/env_summit or if you have the brochure fax the form to 904-680-7679.
• Early registration deadline is Oct. 19.
- $75 for the public
- $50 for government, academic, and non profits
• Regular registration
- $100 for the public
- $75 for government, academic and non profits
• Accommodations: To make hotel reservations call the host hotel, The Crowne Plaza at 904-398-880, and ask for the Jacksonville University rate.