The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is having their Annual Meeting in San Francisco this weekend at the Hilton and Nikko hotels. Themed “Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being,” the AAAS gathering will bring 10,000 attendees and hundreds of the world’s top scientists together to share their findings, ponder interconnections, and explore solutions on such topics as “habitable niches on Mars,” "reliable warheads," ”efforts to revive threatened or extinct languages,” and the most recent work on climate change.
The main conference of the Annual Meeting, running from this Thursday, February 15th, through next Monday, February 19th, is accessible to those who’ve already registered, but there are also a wonderful variety of free programs, including weekend “Family Science Days,” many lectures, and a climate change Town Hall forum.
Family Science Days looks pretty cool:
Family Science Days—scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, 17-18 February in the Hilton San Francisco—will include hands-on activities for children and families. The 2007 lineup includes Adam and Jamie from the popular Discovery Channel television show, "Mythbusters;" Billinda the Robot Dog; and authors of science books for children, plus demonstrations such as how recycled vegetable oil can be transformed into biodiesel fuel.
Both topical lectures and the plenary lectures, hosted at the Hilton, are free and public. Check out the events listing to see the variety, ranging from the Friday evening plenary by Larry Page of Google to Monday’s plenary by Susan Solomon, an author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007 report. Other free lectures explore human population, sustainable nanotechnology, cancer, energy security, stress and health, the oceans, and "ice balls at the edge of the solar system."
The AAAS Annual Meeting will be making a point to highlight climate change and sustainability. A key feature of this year’s meeting is Sunday’s Town Hall forum focused on climate change and what can be done about it:
On Sunday, 18 February, Holdren [AAAS President] will preside over a free public event on global climate change, a town hall meeting for K-12 teachers, students, scientists, policy-makers and others, and he will release the AAAS Board's first consensus statement on global climate change. Leaders and students from Shishmaref, Alaska, will be on hand for the premiere of a video featuring the plight of their tiny community, where the retreat of sea ice and the rise of sea level are combining to drive them from their village and destroy their way of life. Also, Princeton researchers will conduct the first large-scale, interactive demonstration of the Stabilization Wedge concept, a unique, hands-on learning tool that illustrates the impacts of different strategies for reducing greenhouse gases.
Proceedings from the AAAS Annual Meeting can also be followed at the new conference blog, as well as at the conference’s 2007 press release newsroom.
The international city of San Francisco is a relevant setting to host the AAAS annual meeting. As recent stories in major local newspapers (SF Chronicle, Contra Costa Times, and San Jose Mercury News) have discussed, our region will face the impacts of climate change with rising sea water levels and thus likely inundated low lying lands from Richmond to SFO and OAK airports to the south bay. Climate change has an effect on our local environment, the systems we use to reap the benefits of living here, and the communities and people who call this place home. Like the variety and number of topics covered at the AAAS Annual Meeting, a Bay Area response to climate change and its connection to great places and even the vistas we hold sacred, will take many different perspectives, authors, and span many topics and solutions.
I’m hopeful San Francisco Bay Area residents attending the AAAS annual meeting will come away enlightened and excited about contributing to and making greatness in the place they call home. And from exchanges of various findings, new ideas, and eureka moments, I hope those in attendance -- whether scientists, policy leaders, designers, architects, computer programmers, musicians, journalists, homemakers, or students -- will become inspired to think about their own work and actions much the same way we need to think about the future and climate change: with an appreciation for adaptation, change, collaboration, long-term thinking and planning, and dedication to life and its beauty. I imagine the scientists contributing, much like those featured on WorldChanging, already think about their work with such passion and commitment; with the meeting’s presence in the Bay Area, it’s a great opportunity to inspire us all.
(photo credit Matt Waxman; sunset over golden gate)
