Tackling the ‘Water Problem’: Challenges facing U.S. regulation, sustainability, and global geopolitics
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Tackling the 'Water Problem': Challenges facing U.S. regulation, sustainability, and global geopolitics
Tackling the 'Water Problem': Challenges facing U.S. regulation, sustainability, and global geopolitics
A conversation with former U.S. Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt
U.S. water infrastructure and regulatory reform
Global water security, economics, and geopolitics
Climate impacts on water are felt at every corner of the globe. From drought in California and a shrinking Colorado River to limited access to safe and clean drinking water in emerging economies, concerns about water are increasingly urgent. Addressing the water crisis facing the United States and other nations requires innovative, bipartisan ideas for how to alleviate water challenges, bolster resource security, and foster sustainable economic growth.
On March 28, the Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate and the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, hosted a half-day conference on key issues in water policy. This event celebrated the launch of the new Brookings Press book “The Water Problem: Climate Change and Water Policy in the United States,” edited by UNLV/Brookings Senior Fellow Pat Mulroy.
Following an opening keynote conversation from former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Mulroy moderated a panel discussion on domestic water infrastructure and regulatory reform. A second panel of experts analyzed issues facing global water security, economics, and geopolitics, including regional dynamics in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and China.
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Agenda
Welcome and introduction
Kimberly Churches
Managing Director - The Brookings Institution
Keynote address
A conversation with former U.S. Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt
Bruce Babbitt
Former Secretary - U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. water infrastructure and regulatory reform
Bret Birdsong
Professor of Law - William S. Boyd School of Law, UNLV
Jim Lochhead
CEO/Manager - Denver Water
Roger K. Patterson
Assistant General Manager, Strategic Water Initiatives - Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Jennifer Pitt
Director, Colorado River Project - National Audubon Society
Global water security, economics, and geopolitics
Samantha Gross
Director - Energy Security and Climate Initiative
Fellow - Foreign Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative
Kumud Acharya
Ecological Engineering Program Director - Desert Research Institute
Vanda Felbab-Brown
Director - Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors
Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology
Chris Gasson
Publisher - Global Water Intelligence
Betsy Otto
Global Director, Water Program - World Resources Institute
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