According to a White House report released on May 6, climate change is here and getting worse. The National Climate Assessment found that effects of human-induced climate change are already affecting the United States, with increasing heat waves and worsening wildfires as just two examples. The George Washington University has experts available to comment on various aspects of climate change. Steve Billet, director of the Legislative Affairs program, can provide analysis on the prospects for legislative or executive orders to address climate change. Donald E. Hawkins, Eisenhower Professor of Tourism Policy, is an expert on policy analysis, sustainable tourism, ecotourism, environmental management and community development. His current research focuses on sustainable coastal tourism, environmental practices of tourism industry, World Bank tourism policies and biodiversity conservation. Dennis Johnson, professor of political management, can provide historical perspectives on previous legislative attempts to address climate change as well as the likely impact of executive orders. He can also speak about international political efforts to mitigate climate change. Marcus King, John O. Rankin Associate Professor of International Affairs, conducts research on climate change impact, adaptation and resilience, as well as water scarcity, the consequences of nations’ failures to adapt and the impacts of climate change on national and international security. Before joining GW, Professor King held presidential appointments in the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he represented the U.S. in multilateral environmental negotiations including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Peter LaPuma, associate professor of environmental and occupational health, is an expert on alternative sources of energy. He has also studied the carbon emissions of electric vehicles compared to gasoline powered vehicles and can talk about new ways of finding cleaner sources of energy, such as wind turbines.

John Lill, assistant professor of biology, can discuss the ecological effects of climate change, particularly the effects of climate change on species interactions and life cycles.

Sabrina McCormick, associate professor of environmental and occupational health, is an expert on the extreme impacts of climate-related phenomena such as heat waves, vector borne diseases and climate-related disasters. Professor McCormick can also talk about the public health impact of extreme weather events.

Kathleen Merrigan, executive director for sustainability and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, can discuss climate change and its implications surrounding dairy and perennial crops. Claire Monteleoni, assistant professor of computer science, can discuss climate informatics, or the cutting-edge data analytics applied to impactful questions in climate science. Jorge Rivera, associate professor of strategic management and public policy, is an expert on business and public policy, corporate environmental management and environmental policy. He is the author of the book “Business and Public Policy: Responses to Environmental and Social Protection Processes,” which was given an Outstanding Book Award by the Academy of Management Organizations and the Natural Environment Division. Nikolay Shiklomanov, associate professor of geography, is an expert on the Arctic climate and climate change impacts on Arctic natural and human systems. He is currently working on the National Science Foundation (Arctic System Science) project “The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring Network - CALM III (2009-2014): Long-term Observations on the Climate-Active Layer-Permafrost System.”