Beyond the Classroom - Laura Pence (Part 2)

Join Beyond the Classroom host, David Schonfeld, on Thursday, July 17, 2014 from 12 noon to 12:30 p.m (repeated at 7:30 p.m.).

In Program #45, David talks to Dr. Laura Pence.

Laura Pence is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Hartford.

In the first segment, Program #44, Laura talked about the field of inorganic chemistry; the properties and uses of organic chemicals, particularly as catalysts; the ruthenium and copper complexes she researches; career paths for chemistry graduates; her background and education; women in the sciences; her experience as a Congressional Science Policy Fellow in the U.S. Senate in Washington, DC; her work for Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett's office; the difference between weather and climate; the meaning of "global warming"; its connection with wildfires and flooding in Colorado; climate change and land-use management; the Forest Service and its mission.

In today's segment, Laura talks about forest fires in the West and problems with prescribed burns; the tension between residential development and forest preservation--a.k.a. the "wildland-urban interface" (WUI); differing perceptions of climate change in the East and West; politics and denialism at the State level; the threat of water scarcity worldwide; the many players involved in working out water-use strategies; "show-horses" and "work-horses" in the Senate; the middle way as an alternative to partisan stalemate.