SENSE Researcher Lars Hein (Environmental Systems Analysis group, Wageningen University) has been awarded with a prestigious research grant from the European Research Council (ERS).

The ERC grants are the European equivalent of the Veni, Vidi and Vici grants of the Dutch NWO. They are given to promising top researchers with an outstanding CV and research proposal.

Lars Hein receives the grant for his proposal 'EcoSpace: Spatial-Dynamic Modelling of Adaptation Options to Climate Change at the Ecosystem Scale'.

For those who are stuck in their research or who just would like to have a different view on life as a PhD student, we can recommend the website www.phdcomics.com. The website offers an interesting view on the academic world, in a new comic every day. The comics are made by Jorge Cham, who also went through the PhD experience himself. Enjoy!

After the crises of 2009 and early 2010, the role of the IPCC is being challenged. What is its role at the interface of climate change science and climate policy? Are the crises emblematic of the strenuous relationship between science and policy, or were there simply mistakes? And what are the challenges of the science-policy interface at the global level?

 

The Research cluster D-bate on Science, Technology and Environmental Governance is proud to present its first debate: On Wednesday 8 September Prof. Frans Berkhout (IVM) and Prof. Arthur Petersen (PBL) will discuss about the present and future of IPCC in the global climate policy (moderated by Laurens Bouwer).

Het omgaan met onzekerheden in de postnormale wetenschap leidt regelmatig tot heftige debatten. Dit speelt zich meer en meer af in de media tussen zowel wetenschappers als burgers, bestuurders en vertegenwoordigers van maatschappelijke instellingen. Gevolg is dat bij het zoeken naar zekerheid en draagvlak om beslissingen te nemen de gezagswaarde van de wetenschap ter discussie staat en het vertrouwen erin afneemt. Vers op het netvlies liggen de perikelen rondom het IPCC-klimaatrapport.

Reden voor de VVM om een ‘high-level’ debat te organiseren over de gezagswaarde van de (milieu)wetenschap, de kennisdemocratie, de sociaal-maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen en de rol van burgers en media in deze ‘post-trust society’. Gezocht zal worden naar wegen die bij complexe (milieu)vraagstukken leiden naar betere relaties tussen wetenschap, politiek en maatschappij.

On May the 28th the members of SENSE Research Cluster XIII (Land Use, Spatial Analysis and Modelling / Ecosystem and Landscape Services) had a 'meet & greet' to get to know each other and to think about possibilities to get more out of their research cluster. This activity was a follow-up of the meeting on research cluster developments that was organised by SENSE in December 2009. The group of researchers that attended this meeting was in theory already connected for quite some time (through the internet). However, now it was time to actually meet the people behind this crosscutting research cluster. With interactive discussions and “speed-dates”, great weather and location, and, most importantly, a clear mandate and list of upcoming activities, the afternoon could only be described as the right step forward for “lucky Research Cluster XIII”!

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and is estimated to be responsible for approximately one-fifth of manmade global warming. Per kilogram, it is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time horizon -- and global warming is likely to enhance methane release from a number of sources. Current natural and man-made sources include many where methane-producing micro-organisms can thrive in anaerobic conditions, particularly ruminant livestock, rice cultivation, landfill, wastewater, wetlands and marine sediments.

This timely and authoritative book, edited by Dave Reay, Pete Smith and André van Amstel, provides the only comprehensive and balanced overview of our current knowledge of sources of methane and how these might be controlled to limit future climate change. It describes how methane is derived from the anaerobic metabolism of micro-organisms, whether in wetlands or rice fields, manure, landfill or wastewater, or the digestive systems of cattle and other ruminant animals. It highlights how sources of methane might themselves be affected by climate change. It is shown how numerous point sources of methane have the potential to be more easily addressed than sources of carbon dioxide and therefore contribute significantly to climate change mitigation in the 21st century.

Op vrijdag 4 juni heeft prof.dr. Carolien Kroeze haar oratie gehouden, horende bij haar benoeming tot hoogleraar Milieutoekomstverkenningen bij de factulteit Natuurwetenschappen aan de Open Universiteit.

De inaugurele rede had als titel: Een toekomst vol verrassingen.

Op vrijdag 4 juni zal prof.dr. Carolien Kroeze haar oratie houden, horende bij haar benoeming tot hoogleraar Milieutoekomstverkenningen bij de factulteit Natuurwetenschappen aan de Open Universiteit.

 

De inaugurele rede heeft als titel:

Een toekomst vol verrassingen.

Playing it Forward: Path Dependency, Progressive Incrementalism, and the Super Wicked Problem of Global Climate Change.

To participate in this event, please contact:  Dr. Eleftheria Vasileiadou

The SENSE Research School aims to foster scientific exchange and to inspire new generations of junior and senior researchers.

 

Therefore we are pleased to hereby cordially invite you to a ‘meeting of minds’ – which is likely to make you think (again):

Neem deel aan het debat over transities naar een duurzame samenleving!   

 

Georganiseerd door het Kennisnetwerk voor Systeeminnovaties en Transities (KSI) i.s.m. met de KNAW

 

Graag horen wij of u van plan bent te komen. Stuur een email naar m.e.h.a.rossou@tue.nl. Voor meer informatie kunt u emailen naar j.w.schot@tue.nl.

Recently, SENSE launched a so-called research cluster on Environmental Analysis, Behavior and Risks of Engineered Nanoparticles, named NanoSENSE (see: http://www.sense.nl/docs/2867). 

 

Aim is to (a) stimulate communication and crosslinks between researchers working in this field, primarily SENSE PhD students, and (b) contribute to (inter)national activities in this domain of research. Among the currently planned activities are a PhD workshop and a national symposium for a wider audience.

 

The NanoSENSE cluster coordinators hereby announce the first in a series of annual workshops on 'Detection, fate and risks of Engineered nanomaterials'.

In response to the ongoing discussion about the reliability of the IPCC and the climate reports, a group of 55 leading Dutch scientists working in the field of climate change, energy and the environment has written an open letter. The letter was published in several Dutch media on February 10.

After this date, the opportunity for additional support signatories was provided till about March 20, 2010. This possibility was used by 222 scientists (professor or doctor) from the Netherlands and from other countries. You can download the full open letter (including the complete list of 277 signatories and support signatories) below.

---

Click HERE to download the pdf version of the open letter in English (including the complete list of signatories and support signatories).

---

 

Dear SENSE PhD students, May we ask for your cooperation? Thanks in advance! As you know, the SENSE Research School is trying to build and develop a strong supportive context for PhD researchers in the disciplinary and multidisciplinary environmental sciences. In this process we highly value your feedback and input and therefore we hereby invite you to take part in our online SENSE PhD Inquiry 2010. Your feedback in this inquiry will be used as part of the upcoming SENSE Midterm Review 2010. Completing the SENSE PhD Inquiry 2010 will take about 10 minutes of your time and we will be very grateful for this.

Een groep van 55 vooraanstaande Nederlandse onderzoekers, werkzaam op het gebied van klimaatverandering, milieu en energie, heeft in een open brief gereageerd op de discussie die is ontstaan over de betrouwbaarheid van het IPCC en het klimaatrapport 2007. De brief is op 10 februari openbaar gemaakt in diverse media.

Daaropvolgend is de mogelijkheid geopend om tot medio maart 2010 adhesie te betuigen met deze open brief en met een Engelstalige versie ervan. Hiervan hebben 222 wetenschappers (prof. of dr.) uit zowel Nederland als uit andere landen gebruik gemaakt. De volledige tekst van deze brief (inclusief de lijst van totaal 277 ondertekenaars en adhesiebetuigingen) is hieronder beschikbaar als pdf download.

---

Download HIER de pdf-versie van de open brief (inclusief de lijst van totaal 277 ondertekenaars en adhesiebetuigingen).

---

From a legal perspective, one would aim to seek for objective and transparent criteria that could guide the international and national decision-making process for developing climate laws.

 

The PhD thesis delivered in the research school Ius Commune by Javier de Cendra de Larragan regarding Distributional choices in EU climate law and policy aims to enhance the debate on such criteria, not only for internal EU climate policy choices but also for the EU climate policy positions that affect the rest of the world.

 

On Friday 5 March, Javier de Cendra will present main challenges for EU climate policy as concluded in his thesis, after which three presentations will follow.

---

The full workshop programme is available for download HERE .

---

Registration (no fee required) can be done by email to: marjan.peeters@maastrichtuniversity.nl

 

Venue: Statenzaal,
Law Faculty,
Bouillonstraat 1-3 Maastricht
Maastricht University

 

To all PhD researchers, supervisors and fellow scientists with interest in the cross-cutting topic(s) of "Land use, spatial analysis & modelling / Ecosystem and Landscape Services" as well as friends from “neighbouring” Research Clusters IV and VI.

 

We would like to ask you to put Friday the 28th of May 2010 in your agendas. That will be the day on which we will have the opportunity to really get to know each other in person. This “Meet & Greet / Research Cluster launch" will take place at an interesting location – most likely with a continuously moving / changing landscape... We cannot tell you much more about it yet, except that it will last from the early afternoon to after dinner. In addition to several “ice-breaking” activities an interesting speaker will share his/her thoughts with us as well.

 

In the past weeks, some errors in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have found wide attention in the media. These errors are unfortunate and require correction, as is common in the scientific process.

However, in view of the management of the SENSE research school and its many affiliated researchers, these errors do not affect the scientific content and overall message of the reports of the IPCC. Climate change requires urgent political action.

We regret that some media outlets have published articles on this matter that contain misleading, incorrect and incomplete information. Moreover, we regret that some articles have questioned the personal integrity of members of our research school who participate - unpaid and on their own time - in the international IPCC network.

The SENSE A1 course "Environmental Research in Context" is compulsory for SENSE PhD students and is led by Dr. Ad van Dommelen, who is the Director of Education of SENSE.

During this week (19-22 January 2010) 39 SENSE PhD students have been exchanging experiences and ideas about their work, as well as on their project planning. They get to know each other and the people within the SENSE network. On the first evening they had an inspiring meeting with NRC journalist Joris Luyendijk.

A Picasa web album with photo impressions (and download options) of the SENSE A1 course "Class of January 2010" may be found HERE.