ENVS research talk: O'Malley NEXT Wed 2/15, 1:30, WSQ 111: Local policy-driven ecological research

[Rachel O'Malley]

Please forward, post, and announce:

The Department of Environmental Studies at San José State University is pleased to invite you to join us for the kickoff of our Spring 2017 public research talk series:​

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15, 2017, 1:30 pm
Washington Square Hall, Room 111

Rachel Emerson O’Malley, Professor
Department of Environmental Studies, San José State University

Don’t get mad, get active. An ecologist’s guide to policy-driven research in the era of “alternative facts”

Fake news and billionaires dominate the public space these days. It is easy for academic researchers and students to feel overwhelmed and irrelevant. Through examination of the interaction between local environmental data and decisionmaking at the city, county and state levels, I demonstrate that environmental research needs, like politics, are often local. Using examples of research from rare insect conservation, urban wetland management, and parks planning, and inviting colleagues to share their experiences and expertise, this talk argues that it may be the federal government that is largely irrelevant. Instead, understanding and interacting with local city councils, county supervisors, and state representatives and their staffs to support “evidence-based” policy may provide a stronger critical focus for environmental protection in the new millennium.

 L I G H T  R E F R E S H M E N T S  P R O V I D E D .              A L L  A R E  W E L C O M E .