Tuesday 31 May 2011

EPUK National Students and Young Professionals Competition 2011 - June 28th - Bristol

History of the competition
In 2005 the National Society for Clean Air South West Division (now Environmental Protection UK South West Division) held a day to showcase student research projects on air quality management by students at the University of the West of England (UWE). In 2006 and 2007 this special day was opened up to postgraduate students at educational institutions throughout the South West and the subject area widened to include all environmental issues within the Society’s remit. In 2009 the competition was opened up to students from anywhere in the UK and attracted a wide range of entries.

This year’s competition
Continuing the evolution of this competition, entries are now being invited from both postgraduate students and any young professionals throughout the UK (e.g. consultants, local authority officers etc.) working on any aspect of air quality, noise, contaminated land, climate change or other environmental issue relevant to Environmental Protection UK’s work. This event provides a unique platform for students and young environmental professionals to engage with and disseminate their research or an interesting project to a variety of environmental practitioners. Entrants should be students or recently qualified professionals with no more than 5 years professional experience on the date of the event.

Entry
Entrants need to send an abstract on their subject (200 words maximum) to Peter Fryer, Environmental Protection UK South West Division Secretary, c/o CREATE Centre, Smeaton Road, Bristol, BS1 6XN or email peter.fryer@bristol.gov.uk Shortlisted entrants will then be sent full details and invited to attend the National Student and Young Professional Presentation Day on Tuesday 28th June 2011 where they will be asked to make a short presentation in a friendly, informal environment. Judging by a panel of experts from academia, local authorities and industry takes place on the day.

Shortlisted entrants will receive a free one year subscription to Environmental Protection UK’s new online resource, Essential Environment Online and one year’s membership of the charity. In addition the winner will receive a certificate, £100 and the opportunity to present the paper at the autumn regional conference in front of an audience of professionals. The precis of each of the shortlisted papers will be published in EPUK’s Briefing.

Entries to be received no later than Friday 10th June 2011

Selected participants will be notified by Friday 17th June 2011.

The Students and Young Professionals Presentation Day will take place at UWE on Tuesday 28th June 2011 (Room 1R021 in R Block UWE -10.30am – 15.30pm). Lunch will be provided for all who attend.

For further information contact Peter Fryer direct at peter.fryer@bristol.gov.uk. Please circulate this to all students and young professionals carrying out environmental research.

Thursday 26 May 2011

Festival of Ideas 31 May 2011

Festival of Ideas
Bjørn Lomborg
Putting Global Warming in Perspective

At-Bristol, 31 May 2011, 18.30-20.30

Bjørn Lomborg believes that global warming is real, man-made and will have a serious impact on humans and the environment toward the end of this century. In a range of books (including The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It), articles and now a film, Lomborg argues that we need to look at the costs and benefits of the proposed measures. He demonstrates that drastic, here-and-now measures are the worst way to spend money as climate change is a 100-year problem that cannot be fixed in ten years. Instead we should focus on the smartest solutions to the problems that the world faces, whether we're dealing with climate change, communicable diseases, malnutrition, or agricultural subsidies. If we want to help the world to the greatest extent we can, we do need to fix climate, but should do so smartly and effectively, and we should also remember there are many other important things we can focus on right now, like micronutrient supplementation and fortification, community nutrition programmes, expanded vaccination coverage for children, elimination of financial barriers to education, improving agricultural technology that would do amazing things at very low cost. He presents his case and then debates it with local experts including Juliet Davenport (CEO and founder of renewable electricity supplier, Good Energy), Professor Jim Longhurst (University of the West of England) and Peter Madden, Director, Forum for the Future.

Biography:
Bjørn Lomborg was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2004. Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines listed him as the world's 14th most influential intellectual in 2005. He is the author of the bestselling The Skeptical Environmentalist (CUP, 2001) which sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and regularly appears in the media. His most recent book is Smart Solutions to Climate Change: Comparing Costs and Benefits. http://www.lomborg.com/

How to book:
Price: £7.20 / £5.60. Contact At-Bristol, on: 0845 4586 499, book online, or visit in person. Please note there is a 10% charge for online bookings.