MADISON, Wis., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The debate on climate change is heating up and its far reaching impacts will be discussed in New Orleans with two heads of state who are facing visible signs of climate change in their own countries — Iceland and Bangladesh. What are they doing to slow it? How can their countries serve as models for the rest of the world? The Iceland and Bangladesh presidents will address the International Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) on Nov. 5 at the Morial Convention Center, New Orleans.
According to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Arctic and coastal areas in tropical Asia are vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. Iceland, just south of the Arctic Circle, and Bangladesh are at greater risk than other countries.
On Nov. 5 at 8:15 am, Iceland President Olafur Grimsson will present a lecture on how Iceland can be a laboratory for global climate change solutions via a video message at the Convention Center. A live audio Q&A with him will be at 9 am.
“The debate about climate change is about the future of energy and how the preservation of land and cultivation can help to prevent disaster climate change,” Grimsson says. “Iceland has shown how this can be done by transforming its energy system from being primarily dependent on coal and oil to being the leading clean energy country in the world.”
Also on Nov. 5 at 5:30 pm, Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed will present “Bangladesh: Problems of Global Warming, Land Inundation, and Arsenic Poisoning” at the Convention Center with a Media Q&A at 6 pm. He is a former soil science professor at Dhaka University.
“IPCC impact assessments identify Bangladesh as one of the most susceptible countries of the world,” Ahmed says. “These impacts range from an overall increase in sea level, atmospheric temperature and rainfall to more intense natural disasters in the form of floods, cyclones, storm surges, drought and others consequential impacts, which will have severe impacts upon agriculture.”
More than 4,000 scientists will be in attendance at ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings Nov. 4-8. For information, go to http://www.acsmeetings.org/.
Complimentary registration is offered to credentialed journalists, PIOs, and NASW members. Register in advance by contacting Sara Uttech, suttech@agronomy.org. On site, present a photo ID and business card or other credentials in the Press Room, R06-R09, Convention Center. For information, contact Sara Uttech at 608-268-4948 through Nov. 2 or 608-772-0217 during the meetings.
ASA (http://www.agronomy.org/), CSSA (http://www.crops.org/) and SSSA (http://www.soils.org/) are educational organizations helping their 11,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy, crop, and soil sciences by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.
