The DC Climate, Politics & Sustainability Weekly

Below please find this week’s lists of events, reports, peer-reviewed studies, news and commentary, and podcasts

Included are (1) advance notices for two half-day events next month at Catholic University* and for a multi-day “summit” at  George Washington University* in April, (2) notices for two multi-day events this week at GW Law and Georgetown University; and (3) for 37 shorter events spread across the city. A good cross-section of DC universities are represented (and highlighted in yellow): Catholic, Gallaudet, George Mason, George Washington, and Georgetown. See also the entries from American in the reports and podcasts.

Only the first ripples from the revocation of the endangerment finding appear in these lists, but more are certain to follow.

Best,

Michael

P.S. If you would like to offer advance notice of an upcoming event at your institution, just include the necessary details and links in a reply to this email.

* Electrify 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. 20^th and Feb. 23^rd respectively.   

The Climate, Politics & Sustainability Weekly – Sun., Feb. 15^th – Sat., Feb. 21^st         

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 Event Coming This Week

       Feb. 20–21, Multi-Day – The 2026 Shapiro Environmental Law Symposium – GW Law

           Feb. 20–21, Multi-Day – The Politics of Youth Workshop – Georgetown University  

DC Events – In-Person and/or Online

– Mon., Feb. 16 @ 07:00 PM – How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America – P&P 

– Tues., Feb. 17 @ 09:00 PM – The UNICEF/World Bank Data Package for Children – UNICEF/WB

– Tues., Feb. 17 @ 10:00 AM – On the End of the New START Treaty w Asst. Sec. State – Hudson

– Tues., Feb. 17 @ 11:00 AM – How CBAs Can Mitigate Public Concerns abt Data Cntrs – Brookings

– Tues., Feb. 17 @ 01:00 PM – Kennedy’s Coup: Diem’s Assassination as For. Pol. Albatross – Quincy

– Tues., Feb. 17 @ 02:00 PM – Mapping Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States – PRRI

– Tues., Feb. 17 @ 03:30 PM – Are Schools Caught in a Digital Illusion? w JC Horvath – AEI

– Tues., Feb. 17 @ 07:00 PM – Biography of a Dangerous Idea: New Hist. of Race w AS Curran – P&P

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 08:00 AM – Navigating Local Relations w China in Europe – German Marshall Fund

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 09:00 AM – Why Climate Targets Can’t Be Met without Skilled Workers – CGD

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 09:00 AM – Is the World Trade Organization at a Crossroads? – Peterson Inst. for IE

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 10:00 AM – Tracking Systems Change for People & Planet – World Res. Institute

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 10:30 AM – Racial Coop. in America: US Is Not as Divided as It Seems – Brookings

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 02:00 PM – Democracy on the Line: Trump’s Attacks on Freedom of Press – CAP

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 05:30 PM – Engaging America: Ambassadorial Perspectives on Diplomacy – GW  

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 06:00 PM – The State of Civil-Military Relations in 2026 and Beyond – CEIP

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 07:00 PM – Gaza: The Dream and the Nightmare w JM Norman & P Bailey – P&P

– Wed., Feb. 18 @ 07:00 PM – American Struggle: Democracy,  Dissent, … w Meacham – P&P/6^th&I

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 08:00 AM – All Day – Environmental Law 2026 – Environmental Law Institute

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 09:00 AM – Focusing on What Matters: How Dems Can Connect w America – P&P

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 09:00 AM – Women in Policy Alliance: Coffee & Conversation for February – PPI

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 10:00 AM – How Authoritarians Weaponize Gender, w/ Chandra/Gonzalez – CEIP

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 12:00 PM – Cultivating Seeds:  Latine Speaker Series w Natalie Delgado - Gallaudet

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 01:00 PM – Is Peace Agreement in Ukraine Possible w Beebe/Mearsheimer – Quincy

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 12;00 PM – Empire of Madness: Reimaging West. Mental Health Care – New America    

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 12:30 PM – Fault Lines in the Horn of Africa: The Gulf States & Turkey – AEI

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 01:00 PM – The Economic Case for the Israel-US Partnership – Hudson Institute

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 03:00 PM – Building Peace: Infrastructure & Env. in UN Peace Operations – GMU

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 05:00 PM – Powering People and Planet: Impact of Energy System Change - GU

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 07:00 PM – Hey, Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks? w Andrew Yang – P&P

– Thrs., Feb. 19 @ 07:00 PM – In Sickness & in Health: America’s Caregiving Crisis w Mauldin – P&P UM

– Frid.,  Feb. 20 @ 10:00 AM – Toward a Stronger US-Taiwan Partnership: Reciprocal Trade – Hudson

– Frid.,  Feb. 20 @ 12:00 PM – Winter Storm Impacts on Communities and the Power Grid – EESI 

– Frid.,  Feb. 20 @ 02:00 PM – Securing America’s Future Against a Rising China, w author – Cato Inst.

– Frid., Feb. 20 @ 03:00 PM – The Public Misunderstanding of Shark Conservation – GU EcoTalks

– Frid., Feb. 20 @ 04:30 PM – Democracy & Culture of Encounter: A Key Theme of Pope Francis – GU

– Satr.,  Feb. 21 @ 03:00 PM – Every Moment Is a Life: Gaza in Time of Genocide w 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

Understanding Community Response to Disaster: Results from Three AmeriCorps Programs by N. Piland et al (CECE 2026, 11 pages, free download)

The World’s Most Important Problem: What People Need Leaders to Hear in 2026 by Research Team (Gallup 2026, 42 pages, free download)

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage: Paving the Way for Climate Neutrality by E. Askor et al (State of Green 2026, 44 pages, free download with registration)

Building Human Capital Where It Matters: Homes, Neighborhoods, and Workplaces, edited by A. Holla et al (World Bank Group 2026, 164 pages, free download)

Jobs and Skills for the New Economy: An Action Agenda for a People-Centered Climate Transition by L. Steer et al (World Resources Institute 2026, 171 pages, free download)  

Peer-Reviewed Studies

Academia Nutrition (Dec) – “Planetary Health Diets: Sust. Nutrition Transition … in Anthropocene”

Biological Conservation (April) – “Extreme Weather Events Accelerate Biological Invasions”

Env. Comm. (AdvOn) – “Positive Images of Heat Waves Reduce Effectivenes of Ext. Heat Messages”

Frontiers in Comm. (AdvOn) – “How Do-More-Good Frames Influence Climate Action ..”

Materials & Structures (Jan) – “From Durability to Circularity: Enabling Reuse of Concrete”

Nature (02.12) – “Pesticide Residues Alter Taxonomic and Functional Biodiversity in Soils”

Nature Comm. (Jan) – “Severe & Widespread Coral Reef Damage During 2014-17 GCB Event”

One Earth (February) – “The Risk of a Hothouse Earth Trajectory” by WJ Rippling et al

Science (02.12) – “Driving Forward the Restoration of an American Icon: The Chestnut Tree”

WIREs Climate Change (AdvOn) – “Climate Shocks and the Poor: A Review of the Literature”

Popular Commentary, News and Analysis

CNN (02.12) – “Tracking Measles Cases in United States’ [Record-Breaking] Year” by D. McPhillips

Drilled (02.10) – “Yes, Climate Still Matters. Here’s How It Connects to Every Other Crisis in World”

Grist (02.13) – “It Just Got Harder to for Shareholders to Push Companies on Climate” by Tik Root

Guardian (02.09) – “Economic Growth Is Still Heating the Planet. Is There Any Way Out?” by A. Clark

Heated (02.10) – “Trump Is Wiping out Climate Regulation. Big Oil May Regret It” by Kane & Vorhees

ICN (02.14) – “Mamdani’s New Climate Officer Wants to Make NYC a ‘Better Place to Live’”

New Humanitarian (02.09) – “In Gaza, My Homeland Is Being Transformed Into an Eng. Project”

Politico (02.06) – “Big Split Driving the Tricky Politics of AI Data Centers” by Bordelon/Miller

Report Earth (02.11) – “A ‘Profound’ New Twist on Sea Level Rise Along the U.S. East Coast”

WP (02.15) – “Why Changes in Florida Ocean Current Could Wreak Havoc Worldwide”

Podcasts & Radio Stories

AU-CECE – The Apocalyptic Optimist (02.03) – “Learning from the Free America Walkout”

Climate One – The Podcast (02.13) – “Figure It Out … or Else: Feds to Colorado River States”

Heatmap – Shift Key (02.13) – “Power Grid Just Passed It’s Biggest Test in Years: The NE Freeze”

Inside Climate News – Sunday Morning (02.15) – “Climate Action in the Hands of the [PA] State”

The Lever – Lever Time (02.12) – “When Disaster Inc. Comes to Town: East Palestine Derailment”

Outrage & Optimism – Podcast (02.06) – “Who Wields Power Now? Money, Movements & Future”

Planet Critical – Podcast (02.12) – “Lithium: The ‘Miracle’ Mineral, w/ Javiera Barandiaran”

PRX – Living on Earth (02.13) – “US Losing Econ & Energy Edge to China / Wind Power Hdwinds”

RFF – Resources Radio (02.10) – “Sea Level Rise and Sunny Day Flooding w Miyuki Hino”

Volts – Podcast (02.11) – “Are Utilities Making Too Much Money? with RMI’s Joe Daniel”