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ABCD Newsletter

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 Volume 3, Issue 3  

September 2013
In This Issue
New Staff
Southern Alberta Watershed Project
Call for Facilitators
Conference Presentation
Farewell to Sue Cole
Upcoming ABCD Events
Tuesday, Oct 8th: Involving the Public in Environmental Planning: The Edmonton Citizens' Panel

Wednesday, Oct 9th: MacEwan University Brown Bag Seminar: How to increase response rates to surveys

Wednesday, Oct 16th: Energy Transition & Economic Transformation: Tim Flannery in Conversation
Energy Transition & Economic
Transformation: Tim Flannery in Conversation
Wednesday, 16 October 2013 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM (MDT)
Calgary, AB

Though half a world apart, Australia and Alberta have much in common. Both are resource economies facing the challenge of a fast-changing global energy landscape. Both also face choices and opportunities in the transition to a lower-carbon economy. ABCD and

Clean Energy Canada are pleased to present Professor Tim Flannery in conversation with Dr. Robert Page.

  

Tim Flannery is the Chief of the Australian Climate Council, a new non-governmental organization providing information about the science of climate change. His books include The Future Eaters and the New York Times bestseller The Weather Makers -- widely regarded as one of the pivotal public works on climate change.

  

Bob Page is director of the Enbridge Centre for Corporate Sustainability at the University of Calgary and the former chairman of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy.

  

Through a candid on-stage conversation with Dr. Page, Professor Flannery will share successes and lessons from his nation's experience in transitioning to a lower-carbon economy, and will comment on issues of public opinion and citizen involvement.

This is the first talk in our Low Carbon Leadership speaker series. It is our hope that this non-partisan program will engage attendees and participants in a thoughtful and candid discussion about various approaches to achieving a prosperous low-carbon Canadian economy.

  

Please note: Doors open at 4:30pm with a cash bar. Program begins promptly at 5:00pm.

 

Sponsored in part by Bullfrog Power. Event hashtag: #lowcarbon.

New Staff 

Project Manager Debra Elliot
Debra Elliot holds a BA Hons & MSc (both in Linguistics) as well as an Education Diploma (Teaching English as a Second Language), all from the University of Alberta. She worked as an administrative professional officer at the UofA for 13 years in the Faculties of Arts and Education. Debra is now pursuing a new career in ESL and Pronunciation teaching. She will be working part-time in an administrative role for ABCD. Debra is very happy to be helping David and the ABCD team with their important work

 
RA Communications 
Mike Burton, a first year PhD student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta, joined the ABCD team in September to work on communications and social media. Mike is moving to Edmonton after spending 12 years in Regina, SK where he received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Campion College at the University of Regina and and MA in Political Science from the University of Regina. Mike is excited about being involved in a progressive, cutting edge research project like the ABCD.
Dear members and colleagues,

ABCD is in its fourth year of engaging Albertans on climate change and learning through research on these events. In the Spring of 2013 Members of our team took part in a roundtable discussion at the Canadian Political Science Association Annual Conference in Victoria. Read about their roundtable on "Deliberative Democracy and Climate Change in a Municipal Context" below.

 

Also, this issue features a story about our Southern Alberta Watershed Project experimental citizen deliberation in partnership withe University of Calgary and the Oldman Watershed Council; a farewell to old staff and an introduction to new staff; information on some upcoming events we are involved in and a call for Facilitators as part of an upcoming deliberation on Alberta's Energy Efficiency Choices.  

 

Thank you for your ongoing interest in ABCD!   

Water in a Changing Climate: A Citizen Deliberation 
 
In February 2014, researchers at the University of Calgary, together with the Oldman Watershed Council (OWC) and Alberta Climate Dialogue (ABCD), will hold an experimental citizen dialogue on water and climate change.

This one-day event will bring together 50 diverse citizens to review climate predictions for the region, share their hopes and concerns about the future of the watershed, and identify key areas that warrant more community involvement and policy development. Communities in Alberta already struggle with water-related challenges, including floods, droughts, seasonal shortages, water pollution, and exploitation of groundwater.

These issues are compounded by global climate change. The uncertainty and complexity of climate change makes it harder to ensure a safe and reliable water supply. We will invite participants to share their stories and experiences about water and climate issues in the watershed. 
 
This deliberation will take place in February of 2014 with more details to follow. During the event, participants will learn about water and climate issues, discuss these with other participants, and develop recommendations that will influence the Oldman Watershed Council. 
 
Please feel free to pass this information along to people in your network who may want to apply to participate. For further information contact Erin Navid, 403-220-7928, [email protected]
Call for Facilitators and Recorders: citizen deliberation on Alberta's Energy Efficiency Choices

Contribute your facilitation skills to an innovative public engagement and research project about energy efficiency in Alberta. Volunteer discussion facilitators will support four hundred citizens meeting in small groups to learn, share and make energy efficiency recommendations to the Alberta government.

Each event will last for two hours and will be held on the phone and/or internet. Facilitators are requested to commit to a minimum of three events, plus orientation and debrief activities.


Energy Efficiency Choices is a partnership between ABCD and the Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance, a multi-sector organization that collects and provides input on energy efficiency issues to the provincial government; see www.aeea.ca. 

The results of this project will be presented to the Alberta government as input into their decisions about provincial energy efficiency programs.

Click Here to apply to be a Facilitator  Click Here to apply to be Recorders
Conference Presentations  
This past June, Shelley Boulianne, David Kahane, Lyndsay Hobbs, and Kristjana Loptson participated in a roundtable discussion at the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) annual meeting in Victoria, BC, with Mark Warren serving as respondent.

The roundtable on "Deliberative Democracy and Climate Change in a Municipal Context" provided highlights from research conducted on the Citizens' Panel on Edmonton's Energy and Climate Challenges.

Shelley outlined the survey work conducted over the course of the deliberation. She presented findings about how panel members' sense of personal efficacy increased as a result of participating in the panel.

Kristjana presented findings about participants' trust in the municipal government's ability to make good decisions about climate change. Participants reported higher levels of trust, on average, after participating in the panel.

The presentations are based on Research Briefs which will be available soon on ABCD's website.

Also in June Lorelei Hanson and Deborah Schrader presented at Environmental Studies Association of Canada at Congress in June (Victoria).

The presentation was on "Obstacles to preserving urban land for food. Fresh: Edmonton's Food and Agricultural Strategy case study". ABCD members collaborated with the Centre for Public Involvement on research on this engagement process, which helped us to hone tools for our own climate deliberations. Lorelei and Deb described the history of the strategy, the citizen engagement pieces, and the strategy that resulted. 

The strategy was analyzed using Mendes' (2008) framework of factors that influence governance capacity for food policy development. This framework describes three structural factors and two procedural factors. They described how Edmonton's process was exemplary in respect to the framework. They then finished with a more critical look at the strategy and what they learned about this process beyond the scope of the framework. They found that the process created a divide between those supporting the strategy and those against it. Fresh has little power to protect agriculturally zoned land, as evidenced by an approved area structure plan in Edmonton's northeast in the months following. The concluded that policy analysis led by the framework wasn't sufficiently able to factor in the larger context.
ABCD Project Manager says "Farewell!"   

Scole1

Sue Cole, ABCD Project Manager since October 2010, bids us farewell. She has moved back to Ontario to be closer to family.   

 

"Thanks to all ABCD members for their participation in the project over the past few years. It's been my pleasure getting to know you and to be a part of this exciting work. Please keep in touch, I'd love to hear from you!"

 

Sue can be reached at [email protected] or through LinkedIn.  

 

Thank you. We hope you enjoyed this issue.    

Remember, if you have an event, announcement, or resource you would like to share in an upcoming e-newsletter, send the details to us at: [email protected]

David Kahane
ABCD Project Director

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