DC Climate, Politics, and Sustainability Weekly
- Michael Svoboda
- Feb 9
- 6 min read
Below please find this week’s lists of events, reports, peer-reviewed studies, news and commentary, and podcasts
Included are advance notices for half-day events next month at Catholic University* and for a multi-day “summit” at George Washington University* in April; for a two-day event this week at Center for Global Development; and for 42 shorter events spread across the city. A good cross-section of DC universities are represented (and highlighted in yellow): American, Catholic, George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, and Trinity Washington (TWU)
And the weather warms by mid-week.
Michael
* Electify DC is looking for volunteers to help out with their Healthy Homes Fair in March. Student submissions for the Student Leadership Summit at Catholic and for the Storyfest Contest at GW’s Planet Forward Summit are due by Feb. 20th and Feb. 23rd respectively.
The Climate, Politics & Sustainability Weekly – Sun., Feb. 8th – Sat., Feb. 14th
Advance Notices for Upcoming Events
March 21, Half-Day – Student Sustainability Leadership Summit – Catholic University
March 21, Half-Day – Healthy Homes Fair – Catholic University / Electrify DC / Mitsubishi
April 17–18, Multi-Day – 2026 Planet Forward Summit: Take the Mic, Shape the Story – GW
Multi-Day Events Coming This Week
Feb. 10-11, Multi-Day – Panel & Workshop on School-Related Violence Prevention – CGD
DC Events – In-Person and/or Online
– Sun., Feb. 08 @ 06:00 PM – Waging Peace in Vietnam w/ Bob Chenoweth & Susan Schnall – B&P
– Mon., Feb. 09 @ 12:00 PM – Runaway Capitalism, w. James Mittelman – AU School of Intrntl Service
– Mon., Feb. 09 @ 04:00 PM – Understanding the Presidential Pardon w/ Saikrishna Prakash – AEI
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 09:00 AM – Bluff or Death? How to Assess Nuclear “Threats” – Carnegies EIP
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 09:30 AM – 30 Years of the Telecommunication Act: What Did We Learn? – AEI
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 10:00 AM – City Solutions for Children & Families: Lessons from Detroit – Brookings
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 10:30 AM – Year One of Trump’s Foreign Policy, w. Congressman Pat Fallon – Hudson
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 11:00 AM – The Affordability Conundrum: Immediate Relief v. Expanding Supply – CAP
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 01:00 PM – Mobilizing in MN: Activism & Pol. Power w/ Dallek, Rocha, Miller - GW
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 01:00 PM – Coexisting with AI: Conversation w/ Kay Firth-Butterfield – New America
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 01:30 PM – Frances Strategic Vision & Adapting Land Forces for HI Conflict – Hudson
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 02:00 PM – RESCHEDULED: Workshop on Studying Disaster – America Univ./CECE
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 03:30 PM – Asst. Sec. of War on Rebooting America’s Defense Industrial Base – Hudson
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 04:00 PM – Blueprint to Resist AI Injustice w/ Kevin De Liban – GU Loewy Lecture
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 04:00 PM – Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action: DC Crossroads – NASEM
– Tues., Feb. 10 @ 07:00 PM – The War Within a War: Black Struggle in Vietname and at Home – P&P
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 08:30 AM – Aid Cuts: How Should Major Countries Prioritize? – Cntr for Global Dev.
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 10:00 AM – ‘The Doom Loop’ and the Future of the Global Order – Brookings Inst.
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 10:00 AM – Escaping the Cycle of Conflict in Libya, w/ Tim Eaton – Stimson Center
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 10:00 AM – On the Road to 1.3 Trillion: How to Improve … Climate Finance – WRI
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 11:00 AM – National and Economic Security Implications of Fusion Energy – Hudson
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 11:00 AM – Decoding the Language of Global Jihad: Introducing TITAN – GW PoE
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 12:00 PM – Justice Anton Scalia’s Legacy: 10 Years Later – American Enterprise Inst.
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 12:00 PM – Mobilizing Environmental Voters in 2026 – Environmentall Voter Project
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 01:00 PM – Apprenticeships for Economically Disadvantaged Youth – New America
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 01:30 PM – Safe, Healthy & Resilienct Homes: Building Resilience Together – Brookings
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 04:00 PM – Dr. Patricia Rodney: A Public Heatlh Conversation – Howard Universiy
– Wed., Feb. 11 @ 04:30 PM – Convers. w Graphic Novelist & PP-Winning Illustrator Michael Sloan – GU
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 10:00 AM – Nuclear Flashpoint: How Pakistan and India Manage Escalation – CEIP
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 10:00 AM – Land Sector and Removals (LSR) Standard – World Resources Institute
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 11:00 AM – After Caracas: A New US Posture in the Americas & What It Means – Stmson
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 12:00 PM – Rising Debt, Depleting Trust Funds, and Affordability Crisis – Cato @ Capitol
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 12:00 PM – No Compulsion in Religion … No Exceptions: Islamic Arguments – Cato
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 12:00 PM – Future of Aid: Can Aid Marginalize? w Rafanelli, Deloffre, Espejo – GW ESIA
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 12:00 PM – Will Carney’s Davos Speech Help Build a Better International Order - Quincy
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 01:00 PM – NTIA’s Arielle Roth on The Future of the Digital Economy – Brookings
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 01:00 PM – The Promise and Potential of Energy Parks – National Academice SEM
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 02:00 PM – Opportunity & Uncertainty in ME: Next Steps for Kurdistan – Hudson
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 03:00 PM – Film Viewing: Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat – TWU Black Student Alliance
– Thrs., Feb. 12 @ 07:00 PM – Hey Yang: Where’s My Thousand Buck? w Andrew Yang & N. Souza – P&P
– Satr., Feb. 14 @ 03:00 PM – Every Moment Is a Life: Gaza in Time of Genocide w/ S. Abulhawa – P&P
Note: If any part of the title for an event has been italicized, then it’s focused on an author interview or book discussion.
New Reports and Books
Recalibrating Climate Risk: Aligning Damage Functions with Scientific Understanding by JF Abrams et al (Green Futures Solutions 2026, 73 pages, free download)
Ocean Travellers: Safeguarding Critical Habitats for Migratory Sharks and Rays by R.W. Jabado et al (ISRA 2026, pages, free download)
The Race Report 2025 by Advisory Group (Race Report 2026, 84 pages, free download)
A New Age of Nations: Power and Advantage in the Age of AI by M.J. Mazarr (Rand 2026, 20 pages, free download)
How the U.S. EPA Got It Wrong about Monetizing Benefits of Air Pollution Regulations by B, Hubbell & A. Krupnick (Resources for the Future 2026, 19 pages, free download)
Peer-Reviewed Studies
Env. Comm.(AdvOn) – “Pos. Images of Heat Waves Reduce Effects of Messages abt Ext. Heat”
Nature (02.05) – “Ocean Equiy Index: Ensuring Better Outcomes for Coastal People & Ecosystems”
Nature Rev. Clean Teach (AdvOn) – “Role of Biodegradable Plastics in the Global Plastic Future”
Science (02.05) – “Biological Data Governance in Age of AI: Tailored Access Would Reduce Risks”
Popular Commentary, News and Analysis
Bay Journal (02.03) – “Study Offers Best Picture Yet of Sinking Land in the Chesapeake Bay Region”
Climate Café (02.04) – “2026 Climate Actions Deserving Watchful Eye” by Ward, Jacoby, Yohe”
Deutsche Welle (02.06) – “Why Scientists Warn of Privately-Funded Geoengineering”
Drilled (02.02) – “From Venezuela to Greenland and Beyond: The Story Behind the Story”
Grist (02.05) – “Vegan Fine Dining Had a Moment. Now It’s Over” by Caroline Saunders
The Lever (02.04) – “A Secret Oil Cartel Might Have Killed Our Clean Energy Future”
National Review (02.07) – “America’s Irreversible Goodbye to Climate Governance”
Podcasts & Radio Stories
Chatham Hse – Independent Thinking (02/06) – “Oil, Regime, What’s Next for MAGA”
Climate One – The Podcast (02.06) – “Crude Behavior: Venezuela & Global Politics of Oil”
Heatmap – Shift Key (0204) – “Trump’s Most Self-Defeating Moves on Rare Minerals”
ICN – Sunday Morning (02.08) – “Disaster Looms on Guadalupe Flood Plain [due to Fracking]”
Planet Critical – The Podcast (02.05) – “Who Will Lead the Future? w Extinction Rebellion”
PRX – Living on Earth 02.06) – “The Law and Environmental Justice w/ Dr. Robert Bullard”
RFF – Resources Radio (02.03) – “Personal Impacts of Changing Energy System w Konisky”
Volts – The Podcast (02.06) – “So How’s the Climate Doing? with Dr. Sarah Kapnick”
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