The Nicholas Institute is co-sponsoring a daylong conference, "Carbon Offsets: Opportunities and Challenges for State Carbon Trading Schemes," April 11 at Harvard Law School. This will be a high-level event featuring panelists and invitees with a broad range of expertise, including policy makers, offset market participants, state officials and academics. Conference co-sponsors are the Environmental Law Program at Harvard Law School and the Harvard University Center on Environment. For more information, email environment@law.harvard.edu. 

The March 19 workshop, "Managing Costs in a U.S. GHG Trading Program: Issues, Options, and Implementation," is now online at http://www.rff.org/rff/Events/Cost_Containment_USGHG.cfm. The workshop was co-sponsored by Resources for the Future, the Nicholas Institute and the National Commission on Energy Policy. It brought together top economists and policy experts to discuss design options for a U.S. GHS trading program, and to address the potential costs and adverse economic impacts such a program may have. Brian Murray, the Institute's director for economic analysis, was among the presenters. Director Tim Profeta served as a moderator. 

The Institute is co-sponsoring two public events on April 3.  First up is an hourlong panel discussion on "Corporate Sustainability: A Strategic Imperative," at 5:15 p.m., featuring industry leaders James E. Rogers, president and CEO of Duke Energy; William K. Reilly, president of Aqua International Partners and former EPA Administrator; and Peter K. Nicholas, chairman of Boston Scientific. Then, at 6:30, Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, will read from his new book, "Earth The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming." Both events will be in Love Auditorium in Duke's Levine Science Research Center. For information, call (919) 613-8709.

As North Carolina enters its second year of drought, a public forum hosted by the Institute on March 25 provided a platform for four gubernatorial candidates to put forth the policy options and conservation measures they propose to address the state's water woes. More than 200 policymakers and state and local leaders attended the forum, which was organized by Director of State Policy Bill Holman and moderated by Director Tim Profeta. To learn more, or to watch each candidate's 30-minute interview, click here. 

Deborah Chay will join the Institute as its first full-time director of development in April. A Duke alumna (PhD '92), she brings with her nearly a decade of leadership experience in development at institutions including Occidental College, Yale University and the American University of Beirut. Welcome, Deborah!