We scientists and engineers are forever complaining about policy-makers and decision-makers. They: 1) don't use our wonderful work to implement smart policy and make defensible decisions; 2) want us to reduce everything to the least common denominator; 3) are ignorant; and 4) dislike uncertainty - just give 'em a single number!
And policy-makers and decision-makers love to complain about us. We: 1) can't communicate effectively; 2) want to study everything to death; 3) waffle; 4) don't provide actionable information; and 5) are supercilious (Moi? Supercilious?).
Both groups are right to some extent. So why not have a conference to address these issues (not the first time this has been done)?
Water in the Pacific Northwest: Moving Science Into Policy and Action
will occur at the beautiful Skamania Lodge on the banks of the mighty Columbia River, just about 45 minutes east of Portland, OR, and easily accessible from Portland International Airport (PDX).
View the conference WWW site where you can download the brochure, register online, etc. The brochure is also downloadable below:
Download conference_brochure.pdf
Featured speakers will be Oregon State Rep. Jackie Dingfelder and Dr. P. Patrick Leahy, former Associate Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and current Executive Director of the American Geological Institute (AGI).
There will be pre-conference (7 November) activities: 1) field trip to Bonneville Dam (afternoon); 2) a workshop on Designing Collaborative Strategies to Integrate Science and Policy: An Interactive Workshop (afternoon); and 3) a showing of the film Waterbuster hosted by Paul VanDevelder (7-9 PM).
There will also be great oral and poster presentations and panel discussions.
See you at Skamania!
"The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished." -- George Bernard Shaw
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